☕ Ponsonby Road cafés
Our weekend ritual: a flat white and a cheese scone, people-watching on Ponsonby Rd.
Our favourites
Explore Auckland & beyond
Make a holiday of it! Here are the places we love and think you will too.
Fuel up
Coffee & food
Kiwis take their flat whites seriously.
☕ Britomart laneways
Tucked-away espresso bars perfect before a ferry ride.
🍜 Dominion Road
Auckland’s best (and cheapest) dumplings and noodles. Go hungry.
🦪 Wynyard Quarter
Waterfront seafood, sunset drinks and a stroll across the bridge.
🥐 Saturday farmers’ markets
La Cigale in Parnell or the Matakana market for local produce and pastries.
🍷 Kingsland & Mt Eden
Neighbourhood bistros and natural-wine bars with real character.
Sand & surf
Beaches
Piha
Dramatic black-sand surf beach on the wild west coast, guarded by Lion Rock. ~45 min drive. Swim between the flags — the rips are powerful.
Muriwai
Another stunning black-sand beach, home to a takapu (gannet) colony you can watch from the clifftop lookout. ~45 min drive.
Mission Bay
Golden sand, calm water, gelato and views of Rangitoto — just 15 minutes from the city. Ideal for a lazy afternoon.
Get out of town
Day trips
Waiheke Island
Vineyards, olive groves and beautiful beaches. Hop on the ferry from downtown and spend the day wine-tasting.
Matakana
Saturday market, wineries, sculpture parks and Goat Island marine reserve for snorkelling.
Coromandel
Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach — dig your own hot pool in the sand at low tide. Best as an overnighter.
Only in Aotearoa
Kiwi experiences to try
🪶
Māori cultural experience
Learn about te ao Māori through a guided cultural tour, a hāngī feast or a visit to the Auckland Museum’s Māori court.
🖤
Black sand beaches
Volcanic iron-sand beaches on the west coast — moody, dramatic and nothing like home. (It gets hot underfoot!)
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Bush walks
Wander under ancient kauri and tree ferns in the Waitākere Ranges, or climb a volcano like Maungawhau / Mt Eden for city views.
Stay a little longer
A 5-day NZ add-on
Coming all this way? Here’s a sample itinerary to see more of the country.
Days 1–2
Northland & Bay of Islands
Drive north (~3 hrs) to Paihia. Cruise out to the Hole in the Rock and visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds — the birthplace of the nation.
Day 3
Rotorua
Geothermal wonderland: bubbling mud, geysers, a Māori cultural evening with hāngī, and the Redwoods treewalk. (~3 hrs from Auckland.)
Days 4–5
Queenstown
Fly south (~1 hr 50) for mountains, lakes and adventure — a day trip to Milford Sound, a gondola ride, or wine in the Gibbston Valley.