North Island Touring Routes

New Zealand’s North Island combines natural beauty with city style and sophistication. Whether your clients are looking for a beach holiday, an authentic cultural experience, or retail therapy in some of the country’s most vibrant cities, they’ll find it here.

The North Island, gateway to New Zealand for many international visitors, is a place unlike any other. From the northern tip, where swirling seas form an eerie backdrop to Maori legend, to the culture capital of Wellington, this is an island where abundance knows no bounds.

With a comfortably temperate climate that ranges to subtropical in the far north, the North Island invites exploration year-round. Highlights range from amazing natural landscapes to high culture. The central North Island features astounding thermal activity, from geysers to mud pools and hot springs. Underground activity also features in the Waitomo district, where cave networks provide opportunities for adventure. Delve further into legend with an exploration of intriguing Maori culture. Easily accessible to any visitor, Rotorua is a particular highlight for those interested in learning about Maori.
No visit to the North Island would be complete without setting foot in the native forests that drape the hills. Sample the bounty of rivers and lakes by fishing for trout. Offshore, swim with dolphins or explore underwater life on a diving expedition. The North Island is blessed with a huge variety of beaches, from golden bays to wild surfing breaks. Great places to enjoy New Zealand’s maritime treasures include the subtropical setting of the Bay of Islands and Auckland, the ‘City of Sails’.

If your clients would like to discover the latest in contemporary New Zealand culture, their adventure should begin in Auckland or Wellington, the North Island’s largest cities. Auckland enjoys a unique setting on two harbours that are studded with islands, and features more restaurants, cafés and bars per capita than New York. Wellington has a style all its own. Set on a harbour and surrounded by hills, this is where New Zealand’s politicians get down to business. Intriguingly, it’s also a place for unique fashion and art, and the country’s cutting-edge national museum.

From one end to the other, the North Island embraces a diversity of natural and cultural features that is simply mind-blowing.

Highlights

National Parks
The North Island has four National Parks: Te Urewera, Whanganui, Egmont and Tongariro.

Geothermal activity
Rotorua and Taupo are excellent places to experience New Zealand’s incredible geothermal activity. In the Ruapehu region, south of Lake Taupo, visitors can even ski on a volcano during the winter ski season.

Maori and Pacific culture
Maori culture can be encountered all around the North Island. The Central North Island offers an excellent range of Maori cultural activities, while Waitangi, in Northland, is historically significant as the place where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by Maori and Pakeha in 1840. Eastland is a great place to experience 21st Century Maori culture – this is where the movie Whale Rider was filmed.

5 days +
Start: Auckland
Finish: Auckland

Day 1 Auckland - Whangarei
Day 2 Whangarei - Bay of Islands
Day 3 Bay of Islands - Kaitaia
Day 4 Kaitaia - Dargaville
Day 5 Dargaville - Auckland

Route 1 Subtropical North

Tour New Zealand’s subtropical north and enjoy coastal scenery and water adventures. Cruise the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, then travel north past surfing spots to Whangarei. Indulge in seafood eaten on the waterfront, before diving into the Bay of Islands. From Kaitaia, visit Cape Reinga and Ninety Mile Beach. Follow the west coast back to Auckland, discovering native kauri forests and coastal lakes, and setting your wild side free with dune-surfing and 4WD motor-biking.

5 days +
Start: Auckland
Finish: Wellington

Day 1 Auckland - Waitomo Caves
Day 2 Waitomo Caves - Rotorua
Day 3 Rotorua - Taupo
Day 4 Taupo - Palmerston North
Day 5 Palmerston North - Wellington

Route 2 Mystical Heartland

For a journey of body and soul, delve into museums and swim with dolphins in Auckland. Explore Hamilton’s Museum of Art and History or cruise the Waikato River. Discover an eerie underground world of black-water rafting and glow-worms at the Waitomo Caves. Learn about Maori legends and indulge in a soak in the geothermal springs of Rotorua. Enjoy the peace of Lake Taupo, then stroll through the gardens and forests of Palmerston North. Finish in the culture-rich capital, Wellington.

13 days +
Start: Auckland
Finish: Auckland

Day 1 Auckland - The Coromandel
Day 2 The Coromandel - Tauranga
Day 3 Tauranga - Rotorua
Day 4 Rotorua - Taupo
Day 5 Taupo - Tongariro National Park
Day 6 Tongariro National Park - Tokoroa
Day 7 Tokoroa - Whakatane
Day 8 Whakatane - Gisborne
Day 9 Gisborne - Napier
Day 10 Napier - Wairarapa - Wellington
Day 11 Wellington - Wanganui - New Plymouth
Day 12 New Plymouth - Waitomo
Day 13 Waitomo - Hamilton - Auckland

Route 3 North Island Circuit

This round trip will introduce you to the best of the North Island; cities, surf, creativity and culture. Urban entertainments in Auckland lead to seaside pleasures in the Coromandel. Taste Tauranga’s sunny lifestyle and marvel at the Maori culture and geothermal activity of Rotorua and Taupo. At Tongariro National Park, take a walk on a volcano. Gisborne and Napier offer vineyards, surf beaches and Art Deco architecture, while Wellington is a cultural experience which combines heritage with creativity. Browse the gardens and galleries of New Plymouth. Stop at Waitomo on your return to Auckland and experience an eerie underworld of caves and glowworms.

7 days +
Start: Wellington
Finish: Wellington

Day 1 Wellington - Wairarapa
Day 2 Wairarapa - Palmerston North
Day 3 Palmerston North - New Plymouth
Day 4 New Plymouth - Waitomo
Day 5 Waitomo - Taupo
Day 6 Taupo - Tongariro National Park
Day 7 Tongariro National Park - Wellington

Route 4 Cultural Discovery

Explore New Zealand culture in the lower North Island. Feast your eyes on Wellington’s museums and galleries. Indulge in fine wine in Wairarapa before going rural in Palmerston North and New Plymouth, where pastoral landscapes abound. In Waitomo, venture underground to see glow worms. Taupo and Turangi offer geothermal activity and fishing. At Tongariro National Park go mountain-biking or horse trekking. Return to Wellington via small towns perfect for coffee stops along the way.

8 days +
Start: Auckland
Finish: Auckland

Day 1 Auckland - The Coromandel
Day 2 The Coromandel - Tauranga
Day 3 Tauranga - Whakatane
Day 4 Whakatane - Gisborne
Day 5 Gisborne - Napier
Day 6 Napier - Taupo
Day 7 Taupo - Rotorua
Day 8 Rotorua - Auckland

Route 5 Coast and Culture

Combine surf with culture for a perfect balance. Enjoy Auckland beaches, fine restaurants and cafés. In the Coromandel, discover beaches and art galleries. Take a forest walk before a coffee break at Mount Maunganui. Head to Whakatane and Gisborne for surf and Chardonnay. Discover more vineyards in beautiful Hawke’s Bay, then soak up the Art Deco architecture of Napier. Taupo and Rotorua promise fishing, cruising and swimming. Soak in a hot mineral pool before heading back to Auckland.