Auckland 5 Day Itinerary

Ready for a relaxing trip to Auckland - New Zealand’s most populous city, and your starting point to exploring the North Island? Sit back and enjoy, because we’ve got you covered with this slow paced 4-day itinerary of Auckland, New Zealand.

Day 1

Auckland’s Icons

Stroll around Auckland’s city streets

Since it’s your first day, take a walk around Auckland and get acquainted with the city. Visit the stores, take in the buildings, soak in the atmosphere and gather your bearings.

On day 1, explore Auckland’s many streets

Explore the Auckland CBD and gather your bearings in this cool city

Get your fix of breathtaking views at the Auckland SkyTower

Your walk around the Auckland CBD area will lead you to Auckland’s very own iconic tower, the SkyTower. Like the CN Tower being a symbol for Toronto, the SkyTower is a symbol for Auckland.

SkyCity Auckland Casino

SkyCity Auckland Casino

The Sky Tower is 222m in height and offers wide, panoramic views of Auckland city. It’s actually the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere (yep, crazy!), and also the 25th tallest tower in the world.

If you’re a little bit of a gambler, you can also visit the SkyCity Auckland Casino.

SkyCity Auckland Casino

Auckland War Memorial Museum

Cap off your day by taking a short ride to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. This museum is one of New Zealand’s most important museums and war memorials. It’s world renowned, and the museum building is also one of Auckland’s most iconic buildings.

Even though the name suggests otherwise, this museum is actually so much more than a just a war museum. It’s more like an entire history of New Zealand, all in one museum - so you should definitely visit.

Mount Eden

If you have the time and you’re up for it, you can also visit Mount Eden.

Mount Eden is one of Auckland’s most famous mountains, and offers a stunning viewpoint of Auckland city.

Caption: Mount Eden is Auckland’s most famous mountain. Credit: TripAdvisor

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Day 2

Visiting the Coromandel Peninsula

Marvel at Cathedral Cove

Okay, so we have to confess that we tried to do the Coromandel Peninsula and got hopelessly lost along the way several times. We didn’t actually make it to Cathedral Cove because we didn’t have any more time, but we opted to take pictures of the beautiful vistas from the car park.

If you want to do the walk down to Cathedral Cove (which we would highly recommend based on photos), please remember the walk takes about 1 hour 10 minutes each way, so plan your day accordingly.

Relax at Hahei Beach

Hahei Beach is a scenic beach along the Coromandel Peninsula, and an excellent place to soak the views in and just relax. Conveniently, Hahei Beach is only a 4-minute drive from Cathedral Cove.

Stop over at the Auckland Botanic Gardens

On the way back to Auckland, stop over at the Auckland Botanic Gardens to witness the colourful flowers on display in this excellent showcase of New Zealand’s finest flora.

Colourful flowers at Auckland Botanic Gardens

Optional: The Lost Spring

The Lost Spring is a geothermal mineral pool surrounded by lush greenery.

Optional: Hot Water Beach

Like the name suggests, Hot Water Beach is a beautiful beach with hot water - a geological marvel.

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Day 3

Auckland’s Surrounding Islands

Take in the rugged nature on Tiritiri Matangi Island

Only a short ferry ride away from Auckland city, Tiritiri Matangi is an open air wildlife sanctuary.

Out of all the surrounding islands around Auckland, Tiritiri Matangi is perhaps the most rugged and untouched. Because the island is a wildlife sanctuary, this beautiful island is uninhabited.

Visit the quirky and cool Waiheke Island

There’s just something really unique and cool about Waiheke Island. It’s compact, cute, wildly beautiful and almost hippy-esque.

There’s plenty of hip shops and cafés, as well as some awesome vineyards and wineries you can check out, such as:

• Tanatalus Estate

• Man O’War Vineyards

• Batch Winery

• Peacock Sky Vineyard

• Te Motu Vineyard

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Day 4

Hobbiton Day Trip

Lights, camera action on the Hobbiton Movie Set

The Lord of the Rings fans will have a blast this day by visiting Hobbiton. Hobbiton Movie Set was a significant location used for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, as well as The Hobbit trilogy.

This two-hour guided tour is essentially a full day trip as Hinuera, the town that Hobbiton is located in, is a 2-hour drive away from Auckland.

The set is incredibly cute and beautiful, and very worthwhile as a day trip.

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Day 5

Waterfalls and Goodbye to Auckland

Last hoorah at Hunua Falls

If you’re taking a late flight out, today is your day to visit the majestic Hunua Falls. Hunua Falls is just a 45-minute drive from the Auckland CBD, and is a spectacular 30-metre tall waterfall that sits squarely within the Hunua Ranges Regional Park area.

It’s a bit of a hidden gem, so why not explore something a little off the beaten track before you head home?

We hope you found our 5-day Auckland Itinerary helpful!

Visited, or planning to visit Auckland? Let us know in the comments!