World City Guide

Tours of the City

Walking Tours
The two Auckland Visitor Centres (tel: (09) 979 2333) provide leaflets giving details of the many marked trails around the city. These include heritage walks that visit historic buildings in the city’s various suburbs, as well as nature walks near the city and way out in the ‘back-blocks’ (more remote areas). However, as Auckland is a sprawling city and most tourists prefer walking in the natural terrain (see Excursions), there are no dedicated walking tours of the city.

Bus Tours
The Explorer Bus (tel: (0800) 439 756; e-mail: info@explorerbus.co.nz; website: www.explorerbus.co.nz) links many of the visitor attractions in central Auckland. A day pass costs NZ$30, the bus leaves from the ferry terminal every 30 minutes, 1000-1600, and as it is a hop-on hop-off experience, the tour takes as long as it takes. At the Auckland Museum, there is an additional summer satellite link that takes passengers on to more outlying attractions, including the Auckland Zoo and the Auckland Art Gallery.

Several companies offer city tours, which last half a day and cost around NZ$55 (or NZ$185 for a full day) including hotel pick-up and drop-off. Companies include Claud 9 Tours (tel: (09) 818 2562; e-mail: info@claud9tours.com; website: www.claud9tours.com) and Great Sights (tel: (0800) 744 487 or (09) 375 4700; e-mail: reservations@greatsights.co.nz; website: www.greatsights.co.nz). North West Auckland (tel: (09) 630 1540; e-mail: john@winetrailtours.com; website: www.winetrailtours.co.nz), run half-day winery tours that include sightseeing, for NZ$90 or NZ$145 for a full day, while Bush and Beach offer wilderness and adventure tours (tel: (09) 575 1458; e-mail: bbl@bushandbeach.co.nz; website www.bushandbeach.co.nz) for NZ$85 a half-day, NZ$130 all day, with downtown pick-up included.

Boat Tours
Tours of Auckland harbour are available through Fullers (tel: (09) 367 9111; website: www.fullers.co.nz). The most popular tours are the 90-minute to two-hour ‘Harbour Cruises’, costing NZ$30.40 and departing 1030 and 1330. Most call in at Devonport and sail across to Rangitoto Island in the Hauraki Gulf, while some also visit Kelly Tarlton’s. For the tourist in search of exhilaration there are NZL 40 and NZ 41, two ex-America’s Cup racers (tel: (0800) 724 569) offering cruises of two hours for NZ$125, and three-hour races for NZ$195 or the more sedate Pride of Auckland (tel: (09) 373 4557) which cruises gently, for NZ$48. A coffee cruise costs NZ$58, a luncheon cruise for NZ$68 and a dinner cruise NZ$90. Alternatively, visitors could try a cruise on the Soren Larsen (tel: (0800) 707265 or (09) 411 8755; e-mail: escape@sorenlarsen.co.nz; website: www.sorenlarsen.co.nz), a Danish Baltic trader made of oak and built in 1949. Tours take three to four hours and cost NZ$97, including lunch. Departures are from opposite the Ferry Building and Dock office, on the weekend (mid November to mid February).