Auckland sits on a harbour. The best days leave from it.
Ferries to Waiheke vineyards, coaches south to Hobbiton and the Waitomo glowworms, a sailing yacht out past Rangitoto. Every Auckland tour worth booking, with the price and the catch.
Four bookings an Auckland week usually hangs on.
The Shire, a cave lit by insects, a boat in the gulf and a glass on Waiheke. What each one costs and why travellers keep picking it.
01The day southHobbiton Movie Set: Guided Tour TicketThe farmland set at Matamata, walked with a guide and finished with a drink at the Green Dragon. Drive yourself and this gate ticket is all you need.
02The underground hourWaitomo Glowworm Caves Guided TourA boat drifts through the Glowworm Grotto under thousands of tiny blue lights. No cameras allowed inside, so you actually look.
03The gulf morningAuckland Dolphin and Whale Watching Eco-Safari CruiseBryde’s whales feed in the Hauraki Gulf most of the year, and the common dolphins turn up more often than not.
04The island lunchWaiheke Island Wineries’ TourThe ferry across to Waiheke, then a run of cellar doors with the gulf below every terrace.
Hobbiton, Waitomo or Rotorua? Pick the morning you leave Auckland for.
All three sit two to three hours down State Highway 1, which is why most tours pair two of them. Here is what each kind of day costs from the city, and what you trade for squeezing in a second stop.
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,677 reviews · from $229Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves Guided Day Trip from Auckland incl lunch
The Shire onlyHobbit holes, the mill and a pint at the Green Dragon.
from $71
Waitomo cavesA grotto boat ride, or a wetsuit and an inner tube.
from $35
Rotorua geothermalGeysers at Te Puia, coloured pools at Wai-O-Tapu.
from $185
Māori cultureA pōwhiri welcome, the haka and a hāngī dinner.
from $39
All 98 Hobbiton tours, compared →
Auckland owns more boats per head than almost anywhere. Borrow one for an afternoon.
The Waitematā is calm enough for a first sail and the Hauraki Gulf is big enough for whales. Dinner yachts, America’s Cup boats, night kayaks on glowing water and the short ferry hop to a volcano.
The Auckland tours more travellers take than any other.
All Auckland tour reviews →Mostly long days south and short hops across the water, plus the reason each one keeps its place.
1
Hobbiton Movie Set: Guided Tour Ticket
Spend about 2.5 hours on a guided walk through Hobbiton, the only intact set from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. Your English-speaking guide leads you past Hobbit Holes, the Mill and famous filming spots, sharing set stories and behind-the-scenes details. Finish with a complimentary drink at the Green Dragon Inn. The tour costs $71 per person, with transport to the site not included.
From · $71
Read our review →
2
Waiheke Island: Ferry & Hop-On Hop-Off Explorer Bus Tickets
from $59
3
Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves Guided Day Trip from Auckland incl lunch
from $229
4
Auckland Dolphin and Whale Watching Eco-Safari Cruise
from $135
5
Waitomo Caves: Labyrinth Black Water Rafting Experience
from $115
6
Hobbiton Movie Set Day Trip with Festive Lunch
from $182
7
Hobbiton Movie Set Small Group Tour from Auckland
from $183
8
Waiheke island Wine Tours – PREMIUM wine tasting MAX 11 clients !
from $155
Forty minutes by ferry, and the harbour turns into vineyard country.
Waiheke grows Bordeaux-style reds and Syrah on clay slopes above the gulf. Book a driver between the cellar doors, or a long lunch that runs into the late ferry home.
What an Auckland day out actually costs.
Every bookable tour, sorted into three budgets. Museum days and ferry hops are cheap; the long drives south are where the money goes.
Museum entry, the Sky Tower lift, a harbour ferry, a hop-on bus loop.
Harbour sails, whale cruises, Waiheke tastings and the half-day volcano tours.
Hobbiton and Waitomo coach days, Rotorua, and the private guides.
Fifty-odd volcanoes, one tower, and a museum on a crater rim.
Auckland is built across a volcanic field. Maungawhau and Maungakiekie are grassy cones you can walk up in half an hour, the Sky Tower adds a lift and a 192-metre ledge, and the War Memorial Museum sits on the rim of an old explosion crater.
All the city’s tours →
Three things you only get around Auckland.
Harbours and wineries exist all over the world. A volcano that rose from the sea six centuries ago, a cave roof lit by larvae, and a hāngī lifted from the earth do not.
Rangitoto Island
Rangitoto pushed up out of the gulf around six hundred years ago and is still mostly bare black lava under pōhutukawa. The ferry from downtown takes about twenty-five minutes, the summit track about an hour, and there is nothing to buy on the island, so carry your own water.
- 1Sunset kayak tour to Rangitoto Island★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 168 reviews
- 2Auckland to Rangitoto Island Ferry★★★★★★★★★★ 4.0 · 109 reviews
- 3Day sea kayak tour Rangitoto Island★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 79 reviews
Glowworms of Waitomo
The lights on the cave ceiling are the larvae of a fungus gnat found only in New Zealand, fishing for insects with sticky threads. Waitomo has the densest colonies, seen from a silent boat in the Glowworm Grotto or from an inner tube on a black water rafting trip.
- 1Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves Guided Day Trip from Auckland incl lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 2,677 reviews
- 2Waitomo Caves: Labyrinth Black Water Rafting Experience★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 1,673 reviews
- 3Hobbiton & Waitomo Caves Small-Group Tour W Lunch from Auckland★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 1,117 reviews
A Māori Welcome
The full evening runs in Rotorua: a pōwhiri on the marae, a haka, the stories behind the carving, then food steamed for hours in a pit of hot stones. Auckland Museum runs a shorter cultural performance most days for those who cannot make the drive.
- 1Rotorua Wai-O-Tapu, Te Puia with Haka★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 161 reviews
- 2Rotorua Māori Village & Activity Combinations★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 125 reviews
- 3Māori Cultural Experience & Auckland Museum General Admission★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 92 reviews
Black sand, Lion Rock and a rainforest under an hour from Queen Street.
Drive over the Waitākere Ranges and the coast turns into iron sand and surf. Piha has the rock, Karekare has the film-set beach, Muriwai has a gannet colony on the cliffs. Swim only between the flags.
- 1Afternoon Piha Beach and Rainforest Tour from Aucklandfrom $124
- 2Waitakere Ranges Wilderness Experience Tour from Aucklandfrom $119
- 3Coast and Rainforest Eco-Tour from Auckland with Picnic Lunchfrom $192
Four Auckland bookings that will not wait for you.
Most of the city can be sorted the night before. These four run on timed entries, fixed sailings or small groups, and the good slots go weeks out in summer.
- 01Hobbiton Movie Set: Guided Tour TicketEvery visit is a guided group on a timed departure. Summer and school holidays sell out well ahead.
- 02Auckland to Rangitoto Island FerryOnly a handful of sailings run each day and the island has no shops. The last boat back sets your afternoon.
- 03Waitomo Caves: Labyrinth Black Water Rafting ExperienceGroups are small, wetsuits are fitted in advance and start times are fixed, so the popular slots fill early.
- 04Auckland Dolphin and Whale Watching Eco-Safari CruiseSailings from the Viaduct are limited and the gulf can cancel them. Book early in the trip so there is room to rebook.
When an Auckland shower rolls in off the Tasman.
Auckland weather turns fast, and a west coast squall can close a beach or a sailing in an hour. Keep a roof in the plan: a museum, a cellar door, a cave that does not care about the sky.
- 1Auckland Sky Tower General Admission Ticketfrom $24
- 2Taste of Waiheke Food and Wine Tourfrom $179
- 3Flavours of our City Food Walkfrom $127
By place: the city, the islands, the day trips
City, island, west coast, then south to the Shire and the steam.
Just reviewed: new Auckland tours.
See the rest of the new reviews →
West Auckland: Sunset with Thermal pool & Wine Tasting
Read our review →
Waiheke Island: Scenic PREMIUM Wine Tour. Max 11 clients
Read our review →
Waiheke Island: Gulf Marine Park Sailing Adventure & Lunch
Read our review →
Waiheke Island: Premium Vineyard, Wine Tasting and Bush Walk
Read our review →
Waitomo E-bike ride including enchanting bush walk
Read our review →
Waitomo Glowworm Caves and Kiwi House Small Group from Auckland
Read our review →
Flavours of Waiheke, wine, beer, spirits INCLUDES lunch – MAX 11
Read our review →
Heke Brewery and Distillery Tour in Waiheke Island with samples
Read our review →
Waiheke Island Private History and Heritage Tour
Read our review →
Waiheke Island: Afternoon Wine Affair with Ocean Front Lunch
Read our review →