5 days in Auckland - Best area to stay? What not to miss?

5 Days in Auckland prior to RCCL Auckland to Sydney 14 night cruise January 17, 2018

I'm looking for suggestions from experienced travelers on the best area/place to stay in or near Auckland. We'll be arriving jet-lagged from California so the first day may be a blur. We are in our 60's, reasonably fit and we enjoy walking, both in nature to see beautiful vistas, and taking in the architecture of a city. We would like to visit Waiheke Island and its wineries. We would prefer a hotel/vacation rental that allows us to walk to good restaurants and sites, maybe close to a harbor or beach, but that's not an absolute. We can rent a car or take public transportation.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your reply.

Hi TTFN2013. Wow, I'm surprised that nobody has answered you as yet. We also will be in Auckland early next year prior to a cruise. I always do all the bookings myself for accommodation when we travel, and I was stunned at the prices of hotels in Auckland. We really wanted to be in the Viaduct area, near where the ships tie up and where there seems to be a huge amount of shopping and dining options, not to mention being right near a great transport hub. Hotels in the area were showing rates of between NZ4$400 to NZ$650 a night. Insane! I then looked at Airbnb, but balked at providing them with a photograph of myself plus copies of my identity document, such as driver's licence or passport. That ruled them out. I then found a pretty good rate at a serviced apartment that I booked through Qantas, who we're flying from Perth to Auckland with, and with the added bonus of getting lots of lovely frequent flyer points. The property I've booked us into isn't luxurious but it's a nice, very comfortable-looking one bedroom apartment - always prefer an apartment if it's more than a couple of nights - and it was only Aus$250 a night.

Good luck in your searches, but perhaps it is worth checking out properties in the CBD or Viaduct area that offer good rates through the airline you're flying in with, or even through your automobile association.

Hello Beejay4016,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. After much consternation over the high prices in Auckland, I bit the bullet and booked the Sofitel. If you're on the Jan 17 Radiance of the Seas, let's keep up with each other. My DH and I are traveling from California. Meg and Ian

Hi TTFN2013. Wow, I'm surprised that nobody has answered you as yet. We also will be in Auckland early next year prior to a cruise. I always do all the bookings myself for accommodation when we travel, and I was stunned at the prices of hotels in Auckland. We really wanted to be in the Viaduct area, near where the ships tie up and where there seems to be a huge amount of shopping and dining options, not to mention being right near a great transport hub. Hotels in the area were showing rates of between NZ4$400 to NZ$650 a night. Insane! I then looked at Airbnb, but balked at providing them with a photograph of myself plus copies of my identity document, such as driver's licence or passport. That ruled them out. I then found a pretty good rate at a serviced apartment that I booked through Qantas, who we're flying from Perth to Auckland with, and with the added bonus of getting lots of lovely frequent flyer points. The property I've booked us into isn't luxurious but it's a nice, very comfortable-looking one bedroom apartment - always prefer an apartment if it's more than a couple of nights - and it was only Aus$250 a night.

 

Good luck in your searches, but perhaps it is worth checking out properties in the CBD or Viaduct area that offer good rates through the airline you're flying in with, or even through your automobile association.

Hello Beejay4016,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. After much consternation over the high prices in Auckland, I bit the bullet and booked the Sofitel. If you're on the Jan 17 Radiance of the Seas, let's keep up with each other. My DH and I are traveling from California. Meg and Ian

Having been to NZ several times, I find Auckland to be one of the least interesting places in NZ. It's a relatively big city and for me, the best places in NZ are outside of the cities. I'd recommend heading out of Auckland the day after you arrive. (Because you are arriving in Auckland after a transpacific flight, do not head out-of-town right away. Stay the night and get somewhat over the jetlag before you start driving.) There are many choices of places to go. Personally, I like the areas around Waitomo and Rotorua.

Great suggestion. We've booked a room on the lake in Rotorua pre-cruise. Then just two nights in Auckland.

Hello Beejay4016,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. After much consternation over the high prices in Auckland, I bit the bullet and booked the Sofitel. If you're on the Jan 17 Radiance of the Seas, let's keep up with each other. My DH and I are traveling from California. Meg and Ian

Hi Meg and Ian. I'm sure the Sofitel will be fantastic - it's in a great location. No, we're not on the Radiance of the Seas; we're doing a Celebrity cruise out of Auckland in February. Last year we did a HAL one around NZ from Sydney. We did plan to head back over there for a driving holiday, but Celebrity had a great offer for the cruise we're doing so it was just too good not to take advantage of. If your cruise takes you to Picton, the Omaka Aviation Museum is fabulous and I highly recommend it as an excursion. Here is a link to give you a very brief idea of what you get to see there: http://www.omaka.org.nz/ On our HAL cruise we did the Knights of the Sky Exhibition as a short excursion and then spend the afternoon wandering around Picton, but this year we've booked with Jade Tours for their Wings and Wine tour, so we get to visit the WWII exhibition at Omaka and then have lunch and wine-tasting at some of the Marlborough region vineyards. While we do have some great wines here in Australia, we personally love our New Zealand wines and a visit to a vineyard is always enjoyable.

Whatever you do, enjoy, and have a safe trip.

Cheers,

Bev

5 Days in Auckland prior to RCCL Auckland to Sydney 14 night cruise January 17, 2018

 

I'm looking for suggestions from experienced travelers on the best area/place to stay in or near Auckland. We'll be arriving jet-lagged from California so the first day may be a blur. We are in our 60's, reasonably fit and we enjoy walking, both in nature to see beautiful vistas, and taking in the architecture of a city. We would like to visit Waiheke Island and its wineries. We would prefer a hotel/vacation rental that allows us to walk to good restaurants and sites, maybe close to a harbor or beach, but that's not an absolute. We can rent a car or take public transportation.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your reply.

Get the ferry over to Devonport, the Mussels at the Irish pub are so good, the Guinness is worth drinking.

Hi. What Sofitel are you looking at? I will be there in November for a night and full day before the cruise departs; any tips are much appreciated! Anything for us to see while we will be there...we're coming a LONG way!

Hello Cruisingchaggers, we're staying at the Viaduct Harbour Sofitel.

Get the ferry over to Devonport, the Mussels at the Irish pub are so good, the Guinness is worth drinking.

Thanks Ozy71