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Auckland Complete Guide

In our ‘Complete Guide’ series, we’re going to be visiting some of New Zealand’s most popular tourist destinations and getting the inside track from our GO Explore followers on the best places to stay, eat, drink, sunbathe and more. Instead of just finding out what the guidebooks tell you, find out what the locals and the travellers think when it comes to the best place to get an ice cream, the best fish and chips and the best cocktail you’ll ever taste!

New Zealand’s biggest city is also one of the most popular in the country in terms of visitors. Whether you are a Kiwi visiting the ‘big smoke’ or an international visitor arriving in New Zealand for the first time, Auckland is a great place to start any adventure and despite its relatively small size on a global scale, this cosmopolitan city has a lot to offer! Whether you are looking for fine dining, amazing beaches, beautiful regional parks or an adventure out on the water, Auckland has so much to offer. The City of Sails is a water lover’s paradise. Getting out to explore the water and the islands that are all within a short distance of the city is one of the highlights of a visit to the city and we take a closer look at some of the best water adventures below. Auckland is a wonderful, exciting and action-packed city and we think you will love spending time here no matter how long you are here for. Let’s get GOing!

Best accommodation in Auckland

As you would imagine, New Zealand’s largest city is not short on accommodation options from the five star luxury boutique hotels to backpacker accommodation. There are some truly awesome hotels in the city and depending on your budget you can stay in some world-class accommodation right on the waterfront or even choose to stay out in the leafy suburbs if you are looking for something a bit quieter. For most people heading to Auckland, the city centre is where you want to be based so we have focused on the CBD with our top tips for places to stay in Auckland with a couple of wild card entries to keep you on your toes!

Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour

Auckland is not short on the chain hotels – they’re all found here but if you are looking for something a bit special, the Sofitel on Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour is a favourite amongst our GO Explore fans. For one the location is an absolute winner. Right on the waterfront and a short 5 minute walk from the downtown shops, this is a great place from which to explore the city. Then there’s the facilities which are second to none in Auckland including a spa and swimming pool. It’s not cheap but if you are looking to splurge, it’s well worth it!

Hotel DeBrett

Moving away from the big chains, Hotel DeBrett is a luxury boutique hotel right in the heart of the city. The hotel links two of Auckland’s coolest precincts – High Street and Shortland Street and is situated in a pretty iconic building. Every room has been individually designed and furnished and the Housebar is one of Auckland’s coolest meeting places. The hotel also features an awesome restaurant so everything is under one roof if you are feeling pretty lazy or jet-lagged after a long flight to New Zealand.

Grand Millennium Hotel Auckland

Back to the chain hotels and if you are looking for something a bit cheaper than the Sofitel but somewhere that still delivers a great experience, the Grand Millennium is a winner. The Grand Millennium is another hotel that enjoys an awesome central location close to the central Queen Street and a short walk from the Viaduct area. The Grand Millennium is a big hotel with over 450 rooms so you can often get some pretty awesome deals as they look to fill up those rooms every night. The hotel has some great facilities including an indoor heated pool and a pretty tasty Japanese restaurant.

Haka Lodge Backpackers

Auckland attracts its fair share of backpackers to the city and there is no shortage of hostels and cheap accommodation to suit smaller budgets. Whether you are backpacking or just want a cheap break to the City of Sails, Haka Lodge backpackers is an awesome place to base yourself on a visit to Auckland. Haka Lodge is the newest backpackers in Auckland and the décor suggests something that is pretty upscale compared to your usual backpackers. Located in the heart of the action on Karangahape (‘K’) Road, The Haka Lodge offers some really great accommodation options from dorm rooms to a private apartment which is perfect for families and groups. With a brand new kitchen, bathrooms and living area, this is a great place to base yourself for a low cost trip to the big city.

The Boatshed - Waiheke Island

Moving away from downtown Auckland, there are heaps of places to stay in the suburbs around Auckland but for something really different, we recommend hopping on a ferry and taking the 45 minute crossing to Waiheke Island. There is so much to do on Waiheke (more of that later) that it makes for a great place to base yourself when visiting Auckland. The Boatshed is a pretty unique collection of five guest suites and two bungalows which have an upmarket ‘bach’ feel to them. All the properties enjoy a stunning cliff top location with views out over the water and white sandy beach at Oneroa.

Birdwood House B&B - Hillcrest

We have tried to pick through all our top tips from GO Explore fans and pick out some real hidden gems when it comes to places to stay in Auckland. Birdwood House definitely ticks this box and GO Explorers John and Linda picked this out as a cool place to stay if you want to take a step back from the hustle and bustle of the busy city. Located in the leafy suburb of Hillcrest on the North Shore, just a short 10 minute drive from the CBD, Birdwood House is situated amongst native bush and gets its name thanks to the abundance of bird life you can enjoy whilst staying here including tuis, fantails and many others. They also serve up a mean breakfast!

Best places to eat out in Auckland

Perhaps one of the trickiest categories for us to narrow down was recommendations for the best places to eat out in Auckland. As you can imagine, our GO Explorers come from all over the world with different budgets and different tastes so we literally had hundreds of suggestions for places to eat out. We have tried to pick out the ones that came up time and time again or those that were a bit different to your usual top tips for places to eat. Let us know what you think and whether we have missed off any crackers!

Best beaches in Auckland

Auckland is literally spoilt for choice when it comes to beaches. Whether you’re staying local and heading to one of the bays or you’ve got wheels and you’re heading out west or up north, the beaches in and around Auckland are some of the best in the country. The difference from west to east is remarkable and if you can, we recommend sampling both sides! Here are some of our favourites:

Best Activities in the Auckland

Auckland is a great place to explore whether you’re looking for thrills and spills or you want to kick back and do something a bit more relaxing. With some fantastic museums, beautiful parks, stunning beaches and a whole host of islands just waiting to be explored, finding time to squeeze everything in to a trip to Auckland is going to be your biggest headache. We’ve tried to narrow things down to our top tips for things to do in Auckland but make sure you follow our blog for more great ideas:

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