The best things to do in Auckland

From cultural activities to foodie experiences.

As the country’s largest, Auckland is New Zealand’s most culturally diverse city with plenty to do and a stellar food and wine scene to explore.

Ready to go? Here’s our pick of the best things to do in Auckland to make the most of your time in this vibrant harbour city.

In short

If you only do one thing in Auckland, make it hiking a volcanic maunga (mountain). It’s free and because the city is home to more than 50 volcanic cones and craters, you’re spoiled for choice. Rangitoto Island is perhaps Auckland’s best-known volcanic landmark (at around 600 years old). Get to Rangitoto Island by a daily ferry that departs from the Auckland Ferry Terminal in downtown Auckland. Take all supplies (there are no shops on the island).

Explore Auckland’s culture and heritage

Auckland War Memorial Museum is steeped in the culture and history of the Pacific. (Credit: Getty/Erik V)

Few civic spaces beat a national museum or gallery for insight into the history and culture of a place. That’s one of the reasons to spend a few hours at Auckland War Memorial Museum/Tāmaki Paenga Hira in Parnell and the Auckland Art Gallery/Toi o Tāmaki in the city centre. At the museum, the ground level explores the story of Pacific people and how Māori and Europeans came to New Zealand. A guided tour of Auckland’s art gallery, meanwhile, introduces you to exhibitions and provides insight into New Zealand’s art practices and traditions.

BOOK IT: Auckland War Memorial Museum in the Auckland Domain costs $AUD 25/13 to enter for adults/children and is open daily. Find out more, at: aucklandmuseum.com.

Auckland Art Gallery on the corner of Kitchener and Wellesley Streets is open daily and free to enter. Learn more at:  aucklandartgallery.com

SkyJump or SkyWalk for views and thrills

Sky Tower rises 1,076 feet above the city. (Credit: Getty/denizunlusu)

Reality assumes a different dimension when you’re leaping off a 328-metre tower. Dominating the Auckland skyline for nearly three decades, Auckland’s Sky Tower offers visitors panoramic views of the city, as well as the chance to SkyJump from a platform near the top (they say it’s like base jumping by wire) or SkyWalk around it – without any handrails. Both are thrilling guided experiences operated by the experts at AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand.

BOOK IT: SkyJump and SkyWalk can be booked online or from the Sky Tower’s ticketing office accessed from either Victoria or Federal Streets in the city. The Sky Tower is open daily.

Sail away on Waitematā Harbour

Waitematā Harbour shifts from a busy transit hub to the city’s glowing centre stage at night. (Credit: Getty/Sulthan Auliya)

New Zealand is well-known for its sailing prowess. Less well-known is the fact visitors to Auckland can join a professional crew and help sail a real America’s Cup race yacht on the Waitematā Harbour with Explore Group. Two-hour sailing trips leave year-round from Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour. Cruise beyond Waitematā Harbour into the Hauraki Gulf to the island nature reserve of Tiritiri Matangi on Explore’s 80-minute ferry. The ferry travels via Gulf Harbour and departs the Explore booking kiosk in Viaduct Harbour.

BOOK IT: Explore’s Waitematā harbour sailing tour and Hauraki Gulf cruise can be booked from the company booking kiosk at Viaduct Harbour in Auckland city or online, at: exploregroup.co.nz

Shop independent fashion in Britomart and Ponsonby

The Tiffany & Co. store in Auckland is a mini New York flagship on Galway St. (Credit: Getty/JHVEPhoto)

Downtown Britomart is one of Auckland’s most stylish shopping precincts, home to a slew of independent fashion labels, including Kiwi stalwarts like Karen Walker and those newer on the scene like Kiri Nathan, a fashion house inspired by Māori culture. Across the city on Ponsonby Road, Tatty’s Ponsonby is the go-to for vintage shopping. A few doors away, at Public Record, art, fashion and craft combine in a moody minimalist interior in celebration of all things handmade.

BOOK IT: Auckland stylist Stacey Beatson offers personal shopping and styling services. Book a session with Stacey for expert guidance on boutique shopping in Auckland and seasonal looks by New Zealand designers. For more information and to contact Stacey, go to: staceybeatson.com

Join a food tour for a taste of the Pacific

Bull paddocks at Ambury Farm Park in Māngere Mountain. (Credit: Getty/ synthetick)

A range of new food tours showcasing Auckland’s food heritage has taken off in recent years. Glorious Tours, operated by sisters Ama Mosese and Louisa Tipene Opetaia, of Samoan and Māori heritage, run a small group tour exploring how Auckland became the biggest Polynesian city in the world. Featured on their Auckland Urban Māori Experience tour, for example, is hāngī (traditional earth-cooked dinner) and kava (the ceremonial drink of the Pacific). Velskov, experts in forest dining and regenerative travel, meanwhile, offer The Hotel Britomart Experience, combining a half-day food experience in Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges, with a one-night stay (early in the week) at The Hotel Britomart. Guests begin the tour foraging for herbs and plants, then later share lunch in an open-air glasshouse set in native New Zealand rainforest.

BOOK IT: The full-day Auckland Urban Māori Experience tour, starting in South Auckland and featuring a hike up Māngere Mountain (a dormant and culturally-significant volcano), can be booked with Glorious Tours online, at: gloriousnz.com. Also go online to book Velskov’s Hotel + Experience Package, at: velskov.com.

Day trip to Waiheke Island for wine and walking

Explore scenic coastal walks on Waiheke Island. (Credit: Getty/Creative Media Productions NZ)

Auckland’s Waiheke Island is a stunning island of vineyards, beaches and great food accessible by public ferry, charter boat and helicopter. A popular getaway in the Hauraki Gulf for locals and visitors alike, Waiheke Island is a worthwhile day trip or weekend stay. Operator Terra & Tide specialises in Waiheke Island tours, covering food and wine, history and heritage, birding, heli-hiking, biking and multi-day walking tours. Their five-hour Private Waiheke Island Wine & Food Tour features wine and olive oil tasting, forest walking and a vineyard lunch.

BOOK IT: Terra & Tide’s Private Waiheke Island Wine & Food Tour can be booked online at: terraandtide.co.nz/touring/private-waiheke-food-wine-tours