For our 25th anniversary, my husband and I visited the north island of New Zealand. It was a magical trip. Planning a great trip takes lots of research. I hope sharing our experiences and tips will help you, if you decide to visit New Zealand.
As of this post, Air New Zealand has nonstop flights from the U.S. to Auckland from San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston. We took the 14.5 hour flight from Houston.
We bought premium economy tickets. I'd done a lot of research about the differences between economy and premium economy on various airlines. With many airlines, the perks really aren't worth the price. But with Air New Zealand, premium economy is a big upgrade. The seats are larger. They recline farther. There is a foot rest. It's just all around a great spot to be. But, as great as it is, business class is even more luxurious with lay flat seats, more privacy and all sorts of little perks.
We booked premium economy then used Air New Zealand's OneUp option to bid on seats in the next class up; business class. We found out five days before our flight that our bid was accepted. We loved flying in business class. The flight felt too short! You board the plane at night. You get dinner. Maybe watch a movie and go to sleep. When you wake up you are given breakfast and then you arrive in Auckland. On the way home we bid even more than the way out, because we really wanted to fly business class again, but this time our bids were not accepted. Factors that play into this are: how full the flight is, what other people are bidding (you won't know where your bid falls in relation to theirs) and how many people are in your group. But if you're willing to play the OneUp game, you could get a seat in a the next class up for far less that the full price ticket. For long haul flights, Air New Zealand is a great option.
We stayed at M Social in Auckland. This is a cool modern hotel in a great location near the water. It's within walking distance of many restaurants and the ferry that goes to Rangitoto and Waiheke Island.
My husband and I enjoy working out. I'm a fan of Les Mills classes. It was a treat to visit their Auckland gym. It is massive and modern.
A fun food to try in New Zealand is hokey pokey. It has a light, sort of crispy center covered with chocolate.
From Auckland, we drove roughly three hours to Cook Beach in the Coromandel Peninsula. We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast called 970 Lonely Bay. We were within walking distance of Cooks Beach. This is a long beautiful family-friendly beach. We hiked to Shakespeare Cliff where we took this photo of Cooks Beach (the long beach) and Lonely Bay (the smaller secluded beach). We also hiked down to Lonely Bay.
The rock formations on Lonely Bay are spectacular. We learned later, from a local, that this beach, because it is so secluded, has been known to be used as a nudist beach. But, thankfully, we did not see any of that while we were there!
Whitianga is a short (less than five minutes) ferry ride from the end of the road by Cooks Beach. In Whitianga we had a delicious dinner at Blue Lagoon Bar and Eatery. We sat outside looking at the water, the families playing at the park across the street and the impressive Norfolk Pines in the area. We also ate lunch at The House of Chang Thai. There we found good food, kind people and reasonable prices.
For a better view of the coastline, we took a boat tour with Ocean Leopard Tours. Our guide grew up in the area. He gave us an interesting and enjoyable tour of the coastline by sharing facts and personal experiences.
Many people recognize Cathedral Cove from a scene in the Prince Caspian movie (a Narnia movie). It is a gorgeous place for photographs but increasingly difficult to get to. The path to the cove was damaged by a storm in 2023. This means the only way to the cove is by boat. Pieces of the rock fall from time to time, so it's also somewhat dangerous to spend time in the cove. And the water really is that beautiful!
We met so many friendly Kiwis! One lady recommended the Hive for a dinner spot. It's a fun indoor/outdoor setting. Kids ran around in the grass while adults relaxed at tables under the trees. The food was good but did take a while to come. Best to go before you're super hungry.
From Cooks Beach, our next stop was Hobbiton, on the way to Rotorua. Whether you're a fan of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit movies or not, I think you'll find something to enjoy there. It exceeded our expectations.
For one, Hobbiton is in a beautiful location.
The tour was well run. Just be sure to book tickets ahead of time online as tours fill up in advance. We learned interesting facts about the making of the movies.
We explored places we'd seen in the movies. I mentioned how beautiful this place is, right?!
But the most fun was when we went inside a hobbit hole/home. These homes were finished in Dec of 2023 so this experience is new for visitors. The details were remarkable. I can only imagine how much fun it must have been to create these spaces.
In Rotorua, we stayed at Quest Rotorua Central. We stayed here because it is within walking distance to restaurants, the gathering place for a tour we did and the spa we visited. The rooms are like small apartments. It was clean. But the smell from the lake is definitely something you will experience, even inside the hotel. It was worth paying for the parking package so we didn't have to fuss with the street parking. If you're in Rotorua on a Thursday night, they close down a main road for a couple of blocks and have a market. You can shop for souvenirs and dinner.
The Redwoods of the Whakarewarewa Forest which is about 10 minutes outside of Rotorua. You can buy tickets for a day tour or a night tour. The tour includes crossing many hanging bridges between the giant Redwood trees. Information signs are on several platforms around the trees. In the day you'll see more of the forest. At night, you'll see the forest lit up by artistic light features. Although the night lights were cool, next time, I think we'd go during the day to get a feel for the size of the trees. Again, this is a tour you'll want to book ahead of time, especially for the night tour. There are long lines at night. You can skip that headache by booking in advance.
The Polynesian Spa is a unique place on the shore of Lake Rotorua. This spa has many different pools of varying temperatures and chemical properties that are supposed to help the body in different ways. By booking a package ahead of time you can take time to relax in the pools. We also had a couples massage, lunch and time in a private hot spring. This was a fun way to pamper ourselves on vacation.
For a cultural experience, I highly recommend a visit to Te Pa Tu. Here we learned about the Maori people, their traditions, their music and their beliefs. It was a special night. It included a dinner. Again, book ahead online to assure yourself a spot on the tour.
From Rotorua, we drove south to Lake Taupo. It's only about an hour away. On the way there, we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu to check out the thermal pools. The gift shop is great. The colors of the different thermal pools are impressive. And so is the smell, but not in a good way!!! I may never fully recover from that smell!
Lake Taupo is beautiful. And it doesn't have a stinky smell! This is a place we wish we'd had more time to explore. Along the water is a road with many restaurants. We ate at Dixie Browns. We sat outside and had a nice view.
I think my husband was most excited about seeing the coolest McDonalds in the world. Seriously. Check it out! There is a plane in the playground.
For a big dose of adrenaline, we got in a HukaFalls jet boat. Again, book this in advance to avoid the long line when you arrive. This boat ride was like being in a James Bond movie! We zoomed around trees and rocks. We pulled several 360s. We went right up close to the roaring falls. The way back was the same with many more 360s! Our boys would have loved this. It's like a theme park ride without being on rails.
Our skipper told us about a short hike on the Aratiatia Rapids track. We drove a few kilometers from the HukaFalls jet boat tour location to the parking area by the dam. From here we crossed the road and got on the path. The viewing spot was wonderful. This is where the scene from a Hobbit movie was filmed that had hobbits floating down a river in barrels. It's also a cool spot because every two hours during the day the dam opens releasing water that fills the ravine. That was fun to watch.
Back in Auckland, we did an ebike tour with Power to the Pedal. We learned cool facts like the harbour in Auckland is the largest in the southern hemisphere. We rode to the top of Mt Eden. What a great view from up there. You can see the Tasman Sea on one side and the Pacific on the other. We saw cool parks and museums. It was a great way to get a feel for the city.
The north island has some black sand beaches on the west coast. We drove about 45 minutes from Auckland to Piha Beach. It's best to go early, particularly during the summer months, to get parking by the beach. We picked a spot by the Domain Motor Camp because it was a good middle point between the beach and the hike to Kitekite Falls. We visited the falls first. What a stunning hike!
Next, we walked over to the beach. The black sand beach was so cool. It sparkled! It was full of families having a fun summer day together. It was fun to wander along the surf. We grabbed tacos from a food truck nearby. Pretty much a perfect day!
Just in case you're like me and you need to know where to find toilets near the hike/beach!
One last shout out to a place we spent way too much money: Honest Chocolat! Yum. Yum. Yum.
Monsoon Poon deserves a thumbs up as well. My husband said this restaurant has the best naan he's ever eaten! Nice mocktails too.
We loved New Zealand. The country was easy to navigate, once we got used to driving on the left side of the road! We felt safe wherever we went. We loved the beauty of the land as well as that of the people and the culture.
One last tip: Tips are not expected in New Zealand. We'd read this but still felt uncomfortable not tipping. When we did tip a tour guide he informed us that tips are not done in New Zealand. And another guide seemed almost insulted by it or at least not comfortable with it and certainly was not expecting it. What we were told is that employees are paid a fair wage and do not expect tips as part of their compensation. I think this is one more reason New Zealand is an easy and fun place to travel in!
