Auckland
Discover Auckland
Auckland (Maori: Tāmaki Makaurau) is the largest city in New Zealand at 1.7 million citizens, and the main arrival point for visitors to the country. It is a vibrant multicultural city, set around two big natural harbours, and ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world. It is in the warm northern part of the North Island, on a narrow isthmus that joins the Northland peninsula to the rest of the island. For information on the smaller towns, settlements and islands in the wider area around the city, see the Auckland Region article.
Famous Beaches
Taste of Auckland...
There are some good cheap food courts (food halls) offering a variety of usually Asian foods usually priced around $10. Try next to the Queens' Arcade at the bottom of Queen St (slightly hidden entrance), or the Metro award winning Food Alley (9-11 Albert St). Very good value and good quality predominantly non-Asian choices are available at Elliott Stables (39 Elliott Street, near Wellesley). Also on the same block is the Atrium on Elliott (21 Elliott Street), a good quality food court of predominantly Asian food. Check out the once-a-week night markets at various locations on different nights. Britomart Precinct on the waterfront in the city centre is home to an array of popular and diverse bars and eateries. Cafe Hanoi, Ebisu, Mexico Britomart, Giapo ice cream, to name a few. A must visit. Viaduct Harbour provides upmarket dining, starting at $30 for mains. While this area has some very nice bars and restaurants, be wary of restaurants lacking customers and usually very quiet. It may be a sign of below average food or poor service. You can find neighbourhood pubs in many parts of the city, but the highest concentration of bars and clubs is in Auckland Central — particularly around the Viaduct area, K Road, Ponsonby and Parnell. Auckland is home to the University of Auckland, which is the top ranked university in New Zealand, and is consistently ranked among the top 100 in the world by several ranking agencies.
Climate
Auckland by definition has a temperate climate, although it is often regarded by New Zealanders as having a subtropical climate. The city experiences four distinct seasons with mild to warm summers and mild winters. Winter night temperatures rarely fall below 0 °C (32 °F). Summers are mild to warm with average highs of 23 °C (73 °F) and lows of 17 °C (63 °F). On exceptionally hot days, the temperatures can climb to or exceed 26 °C (79 °F) and not go below 20 °C (68 °F) at night. Auckland experiences regular rainfall throughout the year, with more in winter than summer, though it can also have periods of drought. Snow in Auckland is extremely rare – the last decent snowfall in the city was in the 1930s, although snow flurries occurred in 1976 and 2011. Daylight hours run between 7:30AM and 5:15PM in the winter, and from 6AM to 8:30PM in the summer. -37.002174.7891 Auckland Airport. (AKL).
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple Options-37.002174.7891 Auckland Airport. (AKL). New Zealand's largest airport is located 22 km/14 miles south of central Auckland in the southern suburb of Mangere on the shores of the Manukau Harbour. There are frequent services from Australia and other New Zealand cities. There are also non-stop flights from locations in Asia, the Pacific Islands, the United States, Vancouver (Canada) and Santiago (Chile). Ground transport options from the airport to central Auckland include shuttles (NZ$35) and taxis (NZ$35-65 ask for fixed fare; NZ$75-90 metered). For public transportation, you can buy a HOP card for $10 at the airport and take the AIR bus from Stop A International Terminal, get off at Puhinui Train Station, then board a train to Waitematā Train Station in the CBD; the journey will take 60-90 minutes including waiting times depending on the time of the day. -36.657174.6532 North Shore Aerodrome. Has a few flights from Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands, Tauranga and Great Barrier Island....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Local transport options include bus, train, ferry, shuttle, taxi, and car rental. Use the Auckland Transport (AT) website to plan trips by public transport. AT also has a mobile app that can be used to find the time of the next bus, ferry or train or to find the quickest way to get to your destination using public transport. Google Maps is also reliable for directions. If you wish to do a lot of cross-city travel, or travel outside the city, it may be more convenient to hire a car, though some city roads are congested at peak times, and finding a parking spot can be challenging. If you don't travel too far, an electric scooter that can be hired from different companies via app might be a good and cheap alternative where you don't have to worry about the traffic jam and parking. Waitematā Station (formerly known as Britomart Transport Centre) on the corner of Queen St and Customs St in the CBD near the waterfront is the main information centre for public transport.
Where to Stay
Accommodation can be found throughout the city, but the largest selection is in Central Auckland particularly the central business district. Backpackers hostels are predominantly found in the central business district although there are a few in other areas. These are usually intended for young adults coming from overseas but there are few, if any restrictions on who can stay. Beds in shared dorms will cost around $40-$60 per night, female only dorms are also commonly offered. Often, they will also offer private rooms for a premium but these will be more competitively priced than a hotel room in a similar area. They will usually have a shared kitchen, and various other shared facilities such as games and TV rooms but this will vary from hostel to hostel. Motel style accommodation is found across the city, they will almost always have car parking available and a reasonably well equipped kitchenette in each room.
Money & Budget
The downtown area of the CBD has a number of souvenir shops for a range of budgets. Check around the lower Queen Street and lower Albert Street area. Hobson Street (at the top end) has a couple of large shops also stocking honey and health products. The High Street/Vulcan Lane/O'Connell Street area is the Fashion centre of Auckland Central and has local designer stores as well as international brands There are a number of markets in Auckland; perhaps the most famous for Aucklanders are the Otara and Avondale markets (serving South and West Auckland respectively). There are some good cheap food courts (food halls) offering a variety of usually Asian foods usually priced around $10.
Safety Information
Safety Overview
Auckland is a safe place to visit, thanks to a quality of life that ranks alongside cities like Munich or Melbourne. That said, thefts and robberies are more prevalent than in the rest of New Zealand, and aggravated assaults are not unheard of. Make sure to take all the usual safety precautions. Asking locals can give you an idea of where not to go. The area locals will most definitely warn you about is South Auckland, which is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most dangerous locations due to its significant poverty and unemployment rates. While it is nowhere nearly as dangerous as "rough" areas in the USA or Europe, it is advised to remain on one's guard at night. People might also advise against going to certain parts of West Auckland, a former working-class area seen as "rough around the edges" that has thankfully improved markedly over the years, but still suffers from occasional burglaries and thefts.