Auckland Region Travel Forum

Hello,
We'll be in NZ for 30 days, traveling north and south islands. We're starting out in Auckland and picking up our campervan there. My question is whether Auckland can be experienced in 1 day or 2? We're more rural seekers than city people. (we're both 30) We're not interested in doing a cruise, I may possibly do the sky tower jump. I think we're planning on checking out either Mt. eden or one tree hill for the views, possibly the Auckland Museum (we'll be visiting TePapa in Wellington - Auckland better than TePapa?), and hanging out at the harbor. So is 1 day okay? I'm anxious to get going on our journey with the campervan, but I don't want to rush too much in Auckland and miss out on something unique. any opinions would be great!
thanks alot!

Auckland Museum is complimentary to Te Papa. Well worth the visit. More traditional and a nice experience anyway.
Auckland can be more than just city. You could visit the West Coast Beaches, Muriwai and/or Piha, and Bethells. I would recommend 2 days for sure. I guess you don't need to see the penguins at Kelly Tarltons if you've been to Antarctica, but it's interesting all the same.
It's always hard to make recommendations, not knowing your likes and dislikes.
Whangaparoa Peninsula can be nice too.
Oh and it's nice to catch the ferry over to Devonport. All these things take time. And if you are arriving to Auckland, staying in one place for two nites could be nice after a long flight.

Also would recommend 2 days for Auckland, at least after a long flight.
You could easily spend one day in the city and the other day in the surrounding area: Waitakere Ranges or take a ferry to Devonport, Rangitoto or Waiheke.

Auckland Museum and Te Papa are different from each other and both worth a visit.

happy travels
jaap

Yep, I agree, 2 days.

The Sky Tower is fun and well worth doing. I prefer One tree Hill to Mount Eden myself, Cornwall Park surrounding it is my favourite corner of Auckland by far. The Auckland Museum is great, and another to consider would be the Maritime Museum down on the waterfront.

A ferry over to Waiheke Island is an excellent idea, or alternatively how about getting the ferry over to Rangitoto Island and climbing to the summit of Auckland's youngest volcanic cone? It's a great experience, and you get a very different view of the city with the Waitakere Ranges as a backdrop.

Hi Just had a 3 day stopover in Auckland last week on our way back from the USA, we hired a car and drove up to the Bay Of Isles but had to retreat to Auckland due to the Floods and roadslides/ closures. Had one night in Auckland and during that day saw most things except museums. Beware parking is hard to find in the city. Wilson car parks charge up to $40 for the first 3.5 hours, we looked for an hour , put the car in a car park for 30 minutes and booked into a nearby hotel where parking was $15 per day.
Good Luck,
Mike

Definitely at least 2! Though with only 30 days in total, you don't want to be wasting time.

Ferry to Devonport and climb North Head (walking map from Devonport Info Centre) gives you a fantastic 360 degree view of Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf (best on a nice day, of course!). If the tide is low, you can walk along the beach from North Head, northwards, along Cheltenham Beach to Narrowneck, and on to Takapuna (an hour or so?)(and further!), then get a bus back over the harbour bridge to the city, or bus back to Devonport.
I agree that One Tree Hill would be better than Mt Eden.
Take the Scenic Route through the Waitakere Ranges to Muriwai, Karekare or Piha, stunning coastal scenery often used by film-makers. There are lots of walks in the Waitakere Ranges - from the Cascades carpark the Kauri trail is beautiful.

You could have dinner at the Orbit restaurant in the Sky Tower (book first). This gives you free entry to the Sky Tower, you can look around the observation deck in the last of the daylight, before going to the restaurant for dinner with the night lights of the city below you. Seafood buffet, reasonable food, standard Auckland prices. But you get more than just a meal.

We've always had great meals at Milano, in the Viaduct.
Have fun