etepper300

Hello,

I am traveling to New Zealand for a conference in mid March. We fly into Auckland and have 1 full day to explore before the conference begins, and then we have 6 1/2 days to travel around after. While near Auckland, we want to see Waiheke Island, Rangitoto, the Bay of Islands, and the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. The coworker I am traveling with would really like to go down to Kaikoura to swim with seals and to whale watch. We will not be renting a car, as I do not drive and she does not feel comfortable driving on the opposite side of the road. So we will be relying on organized day trips, flights and public transportation.

I'm not sure if this is all even realistic in the short time we have, so any help that you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

A few questions:
1) Best way to get down to Kaikoura? Should we fly into one of the bigger cities (Wellington or Christchurch?) Which city should we stay? Is it worth more than 1 night there?
2) Should we try to make our way over towards Marlborugh Sound? Is it worth spending the time traveling there if we will be going to bay of islands, etc up north? If it is, places to stay?

Diamantina

I'm guessing you already know that 6.5 days is not enough time to fit in all the places you'd like to visit in, north and south of Auckland, and go to the Kaikoura and Marlborough Sounds. You both want to see Bay of Islands, Waiheke Island, Rangitoto, the Bay of Islands, and the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, while your friend wants to visits Kaikoura and Marlborough.

It appears your priorities differ slightly from your co-worker. I would suggest you take separate trips or agree to visit either the north or south.

On your first day in Auckland before the conference, if, you're like most international visitors, arriving early morning, you could explore Auckland city (waterfront, museums, the Domain, Mission Bay, etc.), take a harbor cruise, or visit Rangitoto. The ferry to Rangitoto should be relaxing and scenic, but once you get to Rangitoto, the only thing to do is walk around, with the best view being from its summit, which is a bit of climb. You may not be up to this, if you're still tired from your flight. Return ferry fare from Auckland to Rangitoto is $36. But if you have the energy and if the weather is pleasant, it's a nice relaxing way to spend the day. If you feel like your energy levels are low, there's also the option of doing the Rangitoto Explorer tour, which won't involve as much walking, as a 4WD will take you around most of the island. See this option:
https://www.fullers.co.nz/experience...explorer-tour/
Or look at some of these other day tours from Auckland:
https://www.fullers.co.nz/experiences-tours/day-tours/

Keep in mind, if your hotel is busy, you might not be able to check into your room until 1 p.m. (or sometimes later). You'd be able to leave your luggage with reception for safe-guarding and be able to freshen and change in the hotel's restroom. I don't know about you, but I don't often feel like walking around too much after arrival on a long international flight until I've had a shower and washed my hair. But that's just me.

I recommend you wait until you're recovered from jet-lag before you visit Waiheke. The ferry ride from Auckland takes a little longer and costs more than that to Rangitoto. I believe it's $45 return (but you should check). There is a lot to see and do on Waiheke, and I think you'd want to devote an entire day to enjoying its attractions (beaches, wineries, restaurants, walks). The ferry doesn't drop you off close to most of these attractions. Once.you get there, you'll have to walk or take the regular bus or the hop on hop off tourist bus to get around. Or take a tour. This all takes time. So I'd give it a whole day.

I recommend you spend at least two nights in the Bay of Islands, so you can enjoy it. Stay in Paihia or Russell as these are both convenient, scenic and served by public transportation. There are a lot tours you can do out of Paihia or Russell. Maybe this one would appeal:
https://www.dolphincruises.co.nz/bay...with-dolphins/
Here are others:
https://www.dolphincruises.co.nz/bay-of-islands-tours

To get to Bay of Islands independently, look at the Intercity bus schedule. The bus will take around 4 hours each way so you can see how this will eat up a lot of your time. Otherwise, look at the options offered by Great Sights for tours from Auckland to Bay of Islands or Waitomo:
https://www.greatsights.co.nz/find-a...from-auckland/

If you decide to go to Kaikoura and Marlborough instead. I'd suggest you fly into Christchurch. From Christchurch, you can take the bus or Coastal Pacific train up to Kaikoura. Spend two nights in Kaikoura, as whale cruises can be cancelled due to weather. You can continue to Blenheim or Picton by bus or train. The Marlborough wineries are mainly clustered around Blenheim. It would really be best to rent a car in Christchurch. This way you could stop at the wineries of North Canterbury en route to Kaikoura, stop along the coast enroute to Picton and/or Marlborough and maybe continue on to Nelson and Abel Tasman, perhaps handing in your car in Nelson and flying back to Auckland from there.