New Zealand was a bucket-list destination for me, so what better excuse to make the trip than for my 50th birthday! It’s a fairly small country made up of two islands – the North and South – but it’s not super easy to get around and there’s a ton to see and do, so you do need quite a bit of time. We managed to fit five cities into twelve days, but it was jam-packed and we could’ve used a little more time (we’ll just have to go back!). Our first destination in New Zealand was Auckland on the North Island, and one of the two days was a full day trip that included a stop in Rotorua (worth a day trip, but probably not more than that). We visited in early November, which is the beginning of their spring, and the weather was perfect the entire trip…60’s and 70’s for temperatures and lots of sun (it’s typically a very rainy place).
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Here is a sample itinerary based on our couple’s trip in November:
DAY 1: EXPLORING AUCKLAND, INCLUDING A FOOD TOUR
We left Phoenix on a Wednesday morning and arrived in Auckland at 5AM Friday local time; it was about a 24-hour journey in total with just one stop. We got some sleep on the plane, so we were rested enough for a marathon day exploring everything we could in Auckland! Travel Tip: if you’re arriving super early in the morning and / or have an especially long journey to your destination, reserve your hotel room starting the night before your arrival. It’s a little extra cost, but that shower, a place to rest briefly, and a solid breakfast upon arrival are worth it. Since we arrived so early, nothing was open yet so we were glad to have a room to unpack, shower, and then have this delicious breakfast to start our day. We stayed at The Hotel Britomart in the city center right near the harbor. It was a beautiful hotel in a perfect location, and had an excellent restaurant and bar. Fantastic service too – I’d highly recommend!
We had a very full agenda since this was our only day in Auckland, including a 3-hour food tour in the afternoon. So we set out after breakfast to see as much as we could. We started by getting a ferry to Devonport Island (just about a 20 minute ride) and had a nice view of the Harbour Bridge on the way. Once we got to the island we took the quick hike up Mount Victoria and took in the beautiful views of the city from across the harbor. There were plenty of cute restaurants and cafes on the island as well, but we decided to ferry back to the city to explore some more.
Once back on the mainland, we walked about 1.5 miles to Auckland Domain, which is the city’s oldest park, based around an extinct volcano and home to the War Museum and the formal Wintergardens (aka Conservatory). We decided to explore the War Museum (there was a small fee), which had a nice little cafe where we grabbed a toasty (grilled sandwich) and a coffee.
It was getting close to time to meet for our food tour, so we walked back down by the harbor to meet our group. Our tour was booked through Trip Advisor and was with The Big Foody – Kath and Clare were our guides, and they were fantastic! We made five stops in our 3-hour tour, with plenty of seafood, wine, chocolates, and Korean sandwiches at the end. Food tours are one of my favorite activities on vacation…the guides always share cultural and historical information, take you to some lesser-known bars and restaurants, and give great recommendations for additional things to do and see during your visit.
After we finished our food tour, we were sufficiently full for the day…we had two more stops to make! We went to the Sky Tower Auckland next, which is a great way to take in 360 degree views of the city. There are several viewing levels that you can visit with your ticket, and if you’re super adventurous you can do the Sky Walk (walking outside the perimeter at Level 53) or Sky Jump (BASE jumping from Level 53) as well. Or you can just have a coffee or glass of bubbly…
After the Sky Tower, we walked to a nearby bar on the 38th floor of the Voco Hotel called Bar Albert. This bar has amazing views of the city and the Sky Tower, both indoor and outdoor seating. I’d recommend making a reservation here just to be safe. We had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the sunset here. Phew…that was a long day and we were exhausted…time to rest up for another full day on Day 2!
DAY 2: DAY TOUR TO ROTORUA AND GLOW WORM CAVES
For Day 2, we had a 13-hour day tour with Cheeky Kiwi Tours that we had booked through Trip Advisor starting very early in the morning. The hotel was nice enough to make us some to-go breakfast boxes and had them ready in advance. Travel Tip: always ask your hotel about to-go breakfast the day before, especially if breakfast is included in your rate. We were on a small group tour with two main destinations…Waitomo Glow Worm Caves and Rotorua’s Te Puia Geothermal Park. It was a 2.5 hour drive to Waitomo, and our guide stopped for restrooms and coffee along the way. The Waitomo Caves were definitely worth a visit; there’s a full, guided walking tour of the caves that was very informative and entertaining, followed by a short boat ride through the glow-worm caves…really amazing to see. New Zealand has just a couple of places where you can see these glow worms (both North and South islands). Of course we couldn’t take any pictures inside the caves, so you’ll have to take my word for it!
After about an hour at the caves, we got back in the van and headed East for a 2-hour drive to Te Puia Geothermal Park and Maori Cultural Center in Rotorua. About 20% of New Zealand’s population is comprised of the native Maori people. We spent about 3-4 hours here, including lunch (there’s a full-service restaurant plus a cafe with lots of good options), mud pools, geothermal pools, geysers, a cultural center, and the highlight…a Kiwi bird sanctuary! We were able to see two adult Kiwis and a baby too…of course no pictures in the sanctuary either. Again, this was a very informative stop, with lots of interesting things to see and a nice gift shop as well. From here it was a 3.5 hour ride back to Auckland.
We were ready for dinner by the time we got back to Auckland, and were craving some pizza. We found Bar Ziti near our hotel, and it really hit the spot. It’s a bar with an adjacent golf simulator! We had some cocktails, salad, and some really tasty wood-fired pizza (and the only decent pizza we found our entire trip!). After dinner we had to check out the famous Giapo Ice Cream…known not only for their funky flavors, but their insane cones…check out their website to see some of the options like the squid!
That concluded our two days in Auckland, which I think was sufficient. You could spend one extra day there to see a little more or spend more time exploring the islands, but we were ready to move on to our next destination…the Marlborough Wine region on the South Island!