I went over to Waiheke the other day with a girlfriend to see what we could get up to. Having not…read morearranged any transport prior to getting to Waiheke, we thought we'd just see what happens. We bumped into a local man called Dave. He has a little shuttle business offering tours around Waiheke Island, then finishing off the tour by dropping you at your selected vineyards. For $45 Dave will give you a big tour of the island and be your diver for the day, dropping you off at vineyards and eventually taking you back to the ferry terminal to catch the 4pm ferry back to Auckland. What Jamie and I did was a mini tour, only $15, we received a mini tour around Waiheke Island and then got dropped at our chosen vineyard. Dave was incredibly helpful and I would recommend giving him a call when you next need a driver on Waiheke Island. He is incredibly well priced as we ended up using another company to the ferry terminal (arranged by the vineyard) which cost us $15 just to get us there directly. Calling Dave is the way to go.

I mainly wanted this glowworm tour because they allow pictures to be taken while in the cave. The…read moretour date I was looking at was fully booked but you can email them to be added to the waitlist. I asked to be added to the waitlist for 2 on October 12, and got off the waitlist on November 9, for a tour on December 28 so don't give up hope if it is originally fully booked! I did the spellbound explorer tour which included a walk through a cave as well as a boat ride through a cave for the glowworms. The tour guide was great and allowed pictures during the first back and forth on the boat ride and asked us to put away our phones during the second. This is because the first go-around allows for the eyes to adjust and see the glowworms better so the second go-around the glowworms are much brighter. The cave walk was also a nice add on for 20 NZD but if the tour with the cave walk is not available the regular boat ride is perfect on its own. I loved this tour as our tour guide took pictures for each group that wanted some with glowworms and also provided us with personal pictures of glowworms taken with a nicer camera with a longer shutter speed.

Oceane was an informative and friendly guide. We were able to see so many glow worms! It was like…read moreseeing the milky way! Ask her about Mama Mia if you like aquatic wildlife.

MUST DO on your first day! Highly recommend Liz's Aucky Walky Foodie tour in Auckland CBD. Debbie…read more(and Liz) met us right outside Sky City Tower sign/ticketing area which is right in front of the SkyCity Hotel entrance. You won't be disappointed... you end up with tummies full of delicious food, ton of information, and new found friends. I really liked the small group setting bcuz it's like you are on a private tour. Knowledgeable and they chose the perfect spread of foods while meandering the streets of Auckland CBD down to the wharf. Take the tour first before anything else... that way you can narrow down where to eat/see next. Debbie - you are the BEST! Thank you for being our guide. Special thanks to owner Byron at Cocoa Wilds Chocolates for personally coming out to greet us. We could just feel the good vibes and passion he has for his business. God bless you and much success to you and your team! Special MAHALO to Jed, SkyCity Tower Hotel OUTSTANDING concierge, for recommending us to Aucky Walky tours.

Great tour! Debbie customized the tour to accommodate our interests and she graciously answered our…read moremany, many questions about architecture, history, culture, restaurants, places to buy men's shoes and Auckland customs. We enjoyed our time with Debbie and wholeheartedly recommend Aucky Walky Tours. -Michael Florida, USA P.S. the mussels were incredible! Thanks for the recommendations.

Rangitoto was definitely a highlight of our visit to Auckland. We had a free day and wanted to get…read moresome exploring in, so we took the 10:30 ferry ride on over which was quick and beautiful. The range in microclimate hiking to the summit was fascinating. There were times where it was unbearably hot and then others when it was cool and wet. So interesting! The views, unsurprisingly, were magnificent.

We booked this tour through Fullers/360 Discovery Tours. They made it very simple to find the…read morecorrect dock, pick up our ferry tickets, and hop on board to the island. It was a fun little cruise to Rangitoto and then a very well organized tour and hike once there. We boarded an open-sided cart pulled by a truck/tractor, and it drove us all over the island - with our guide pointing out neat sights along the way, including volcanic fields, old dwellings where the WWII soldiers used to bunk, and some flora and fauna that we passed: birds and pōhutukawa trees (of which Rangitoto is the largest forest in the world). We stopped at the foot of the summit, and those who wanted to venture to the top hopped onto the boardwalk that runs alongside the mountain. It was an easy climb along the flat winding boardwalk, but the views do get a little daunting for those afraid of heights. There is a stop along the way called the crater summit track. Here you can walk around the edge/ring of this very large and very deep volcanic crater. There were lots of beautiful trees and scenic views to stop and see/snap photos of along the way. You can see Motutapu Island from the summit, where it connects to Rangitoto. Our guide said that some people hike from Rangitoto to Motutapu along the causeway connection, but we did not have time for that on this tour. Once we snagged our photos at the top of the summit, we headed back down and then boarded the vehicle again to meander back around the island to the dock and start our journey home. Overall, I would say this island (as part of a tour or a self guided hike with your own ferry pass) is a great way to spend a day. Hiking, beautiful views, and the sights of New Zealand that you don't get from just staying in Auckland!

I visited the Waitomo Glowworm Caves the day before I visited the Kawiti Caves. Judging from both,…read moreKawiti Caves were definitely my favorite out of the two! There aren't any crowds so you have a better experience in that aspect. These caves are also family owned so they're well preserved and taken care of. The family is incredibly nice, knowledgeable, and welcoming. Kawiti definitely had more glow worms than Waitomo and I LOVED their "galaxy" of of glow worms. It was a beautiful sight. I would love to come back again if I find myself in the area. Photos are not allowed because the glow worms don't give off their "glow" if the flash goes off.

An absolute MUST stop on your way to or from Northland! A very informative and cultural guided tour…read morethrough the cave with a easy and beautiful bush walk at the end. The land in this area has been passed down by generations for around 400 years and the current owners take immense pride in sharing it with tourists. If you haven't seen NZ glow worms you really do need to take a short side trip and take the tour. Located only a kilometre from the main highway and there is plenty of parking. Locals we met in the Bay of Islands had even said it is way better than the widely known Waitomo caves! Even the toilets were impressive as they were in A+ clean condition.

My boyfriend and I did this Labour Weekend and absolutely loved it! Ben was a great tour guide,…read moretook loads of pictures and gave us copies. You're able to go under the waterfall in these kayaks which was brilliant. Would definitely do it again!

From the owner: "Our Bay of Islands adventure tourism business is a boat cruise that does kayaking. Our 18 person…read morespecialist boat that we built, allows us to deliver a more personal, informative, safer & warmer all weather adventure, be it in the day or on our sunset - night time safari. Our vessel allows us to do more with ease in the adventurous locations, including, a highlight of kayaking up to and under our white water waterfall where the river meets the sea."

The Harding family takes you on a fascinating tour of their local area in Whangarei. From the Maori…read moregreeting to the historical and truthful narration of the significance of their home, their connection to the land and family, Merv and Rangimarie share the beauty, the challenges, and the culture with you at every stop on the tour. Their Whanau, or family, all participate to make it a welcoming experience as you become part of their extended Whanau. Ping is their Whanau as she also speaks the truth of the history and significance of the beauty and the challenges in historical and modern day Aotearoa. She also shares the local food with your morning snack and we all enjoy the Hangi you help prepare for a hearty Maori lunch. This is a must do while staying in or near Whangarei. We all left with love in our hearts for the Hardings and for Aotearoa! Ross & Jan, Mark & Stacia

From the owner: Visitors experience a truly unique and authentic cultural experience that connects them with our…read morefamily and home. This is a very personal experience that takes you off the tourist trail to really connect with the indigenous people and our lands.

VISIT: end of February 2020 COMPANY: Great Sights…read moreTOUR: Full-Day Bay of Islands Dolphin Cruise with Hole in the Rock Visit Overall this cruise was beautiful and cool to see this side of New Zealand and we had a GREAT time. They DO recommend sunscreen and even offer it for free on the ship because of the ozone layer you will get burnt. I hardly ever burn and tan easily and I was definitely red the next day! I recommend lining up early, there is limited seating towards the front of the boat and was a bit of a bum rush to get those seats. I also wouldn't sit at the absolute FRONT of the boat as we got seats to the side and the boat turns around often, so you'll get close to all the sights you need to see. ON THE BOAT: there are plenty of bathrooms and snacks/drinks to order. There are also several restaurants nearby the port to stop before the cruise starts One of the major disadvantages of our trip is that it was a WHOLE day tour and the cruise itself doesn't take that long. The way Great Sights structures it is that they pick up from Auckland and some people have an earlier tour, so we get to Paihia and had 2.5 hours to kill, which was fine, but we hadn't really planned for this. So, we stopped at a restaurant to eat, but you get there so early that they're not yet ready for serving lunch, so it was a small bit of a scrambling, as you don't want to go too far, as they start lining up for the cruise soon We both LOVED this tour and it was WORTH it, but to save on travel time, it would have been nicer to stay in Paihia. You have to be at the port for pickup from Auckland so early and it takes 2 hours to get to Paihia...so we had to leave our hotel before 7am for a tour that started at 1:15-1:30pm.

We had a great tour with this company - I highly recommend!…read more We booked our reservation through our timeshare office a couple of days in advance. We were picked up at the condo, which was convenient, and were happy to see that we were the only four people on the tour this time - lucky! Our guide was knowledgeable and tailored the trip to our needs. He was just funny enough without being annoying (you know that can drive you NUTS). The van was clean, comfortable and safe, and we were driven to the places listed on the itinerary. We got a lot of history and info along the way and the guy answered lots of questions (even the weird and random ones), which was super cool. This was definitely worth the money and I would use this company again! We