Auckland is a place where big city style and stunning natural beauty go hand in hand. Breathtaking scenery, world-class food and wine and incredible opportunities for outdoor pursuits mean the itinerary of your dreams is at your finger tips, no matter what your tastes.
Are you a gourmand who likes to get to know a destination by its flavour, or are you more of an adventure lover, who likes to explore the landscape from the ground up? Either way, Auckland and its varied surrounds dish up a variety of opportunities to suit your preference.
Wine, Dine and Shop
Action and Adventure
Cruise Auckland's harbour
Head out on a Pride of Auckland Dinner Cruise on Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf to experience tasty New Zealand cuisine on the magnificent harbour. Enjoy the sunset and watch the lights of the city sparkle to life as you sip on a local sauvignon blanc and let the cool sea breezes ruffle your hair.
Visit picturesque Matakana
Escape the city and experience the food, wine and arts of the Matakana Coast. The highlight of a tour to Matakana is a visit to Brick Bay Winery for a wine tasting and sculpture trail walk, showcasing more than 40 carefully chosen sculptures set in a beautiful natural environment. On your return to Brick Bay’s Glass House, sample hand-crafted wines and enjoy a lunch of local produce as you reflect on your experience of ’art and wine entwined’ at Brick Bay.
Discover Kumeu Wine Country
Leave the bustle of central Auckland behind and travel northwest to Kumeu Wine Country.
With wineries dating back to the 1930s, this heritage wine region is home to some of New Zealand’s most renowned wines. Enjoy a Mediterranean-style lunch with a New Zealand twist at Soljans Winery restaurant and sample world-renowned wines at Soljans Vineyard, Matua Valley Wines and West Brook Winery.
The tour also includes a very special stop where you will discover one of the few mainland gannet nesting sites in the world, situated on the clifftops overlooking the Tasman Sea.
Tantalise your tastebuds
Explore the wild west
Just 40 minutes’ drive from the CBD, Auckland’s west coast is famous for its spectacular scenery, lush native rainforest, stunning waterfalls and wild black-sand surf beaches.
Experience Auckland from above
Take an exhilarating scenic seaplane flight over Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf and see breathtaking landscapes unfold before your eyes. Departing from Auckland’s vibrant Wynyard Quarter waterfront precinct, your sea plane will cruise into Auckland Harbour ready for take-off, enjoying views of yachts and the city skyline from the water and the air. Fly past Devonport, Lake Pukupe, Rangitoto – Auckland’s youngest volcano, Rakino Island, Motutapu Island, the top of Waiheke Island, Motuihe Island, Browns Island and Mechanics Bay.
Soak up the views from a volcano
Take a ferry to Rangitoto Island and hop aboard a road train to learn about Rangitoto’s fiery past.
A two-hour tour around Rangitoto, Auckland’s youngest and largest volcano, will take you on a journey through the largest Pohutukawa forest in the world, passing a treasured fern glen and rugged lava terrain as you make your way to the base of the summit of Rangitoto. From there it’s a 900-metre walk along a scenic boardwalk to the summit where you will be rewarded with 360-degree views of Auckland city and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf.
Trek the Waitakere Ranges
Explore the Waitakere Ranges and enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of the Auckland isthmus. The coast and rainforest tour takes you through the regenerating rainforest, where giant tree ferns grow alongside picturesque streams. Unwind by a cascading waterfall or swim in the crystal clear water, enjoying the power of the cascades.
Stroll along the soft black sand of a west coast beach, feel the clear ocean breeze and enjoy a kiwi-style picnic lunch.
Get in touch with your local Travel Associates expert to chat about your ideal short break in Auckland!
