Where to Stay in the Bay of Islands
Five places to sleep around the bay, which suits which trip, and what each gives up
For a first visit of two or three nights, stay in Paihia. The boat trips and the Russell ferry leave from its wharf, the Treaty Grounds are a walk away, and it has most of the beds and most of the restaurants. If you want the bay quieter and older, stay across the water in Russell instead.
If you want something else from the stop:
- The Treaty Grounds and a quieter night — Waitangi & Haruru.
- History, verandahs and the slowest evenings — Russell.
- A marina and nothing much else — Ōpua & Ōkiato.
- Orchards, cafés, the market and the airport — Kerikeri.
The Bay of Islands is the northern end of our North Island itinerary, and our guide to the Bay of Islands covers what to do while you are here.
How this page was madeWe stayed at Ōpua for a week in March 2026, walked the coastal path to Paihia, spent a day at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and drove to Kerikeri for the Stone Store, and we say so where it helps. We did not get to Russell. Everything else — the other areas, the hotels and the prices — is researched, from the official visitor site, the places’ own websites and our own sample of prices, and we name only places we could confirm are trading.
Areas and places to stay reviewed 28 September 2026.
How the areas compare
| Area | First visit | Evenings out | Families | Without a car | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paihia | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | $$ |
| Waitangi & Haruru | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | $ to $$$ |
| Russell | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | $$$ |
| Ōpua & Ōkiato | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | Not sampled |
| Kerikeri | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | $$ |
The stars are a quick read across the qualities most travellers weigh up — more stars means a stronger fit for that quality, not “better” overall. Price is shown as a band rather than stars, since cheaper isn’t a virtue in itself. Without a car means how much of the bay you can reach on foot and by ferry.
Price positions are relative to the other areas in this table, not market rates. They come from our own sample of 49 places on one weekday night in late November 2026, two adults, read on 28 September 2026. Paihia and Kerikeri came out in the middle, and Russell about a quarter higher. Waitangi & Haruru gave us only three places, from a holiday park to a motel, and not the resort hotel, so its band is a wide one; Ōpua & Ōkiato gave us none.
Where the areas are
Paihia faces the bay on its western shore, with Waitangi across the river bridge just to the north and Haruru a few minutes up the river. Russell is directly across the water, fifteen minutes by passenger ferry or half an hour by road with the car ferry. Ōpua is ten minutes south of Paihia, and Kerikeri is inland, twenty-three minutes north-west by road.
A guide to each area
Paihia
$$ · the easy baseWhy stay here?
Paihia is where the bay is run from. The boat trips, the dolphin cruises and the passenger ferry to Russell all leave from its wharf, and most of the region’s beds are along Marsden Road and the streets behind it, facing a sheltered beach. It has the most restaurants in the bay and a small, busy evening. It is not pretty in the way Russell is, and the waterfront road carries traffic, but for a first visit nothing else puts as much within a walk. Families get a calm beach and short trips out on the water.
Good for
- Boat trips and the Russell ferry on foot
- The widest choice of rooms at middle prices
- A calm beach for a family
Watch for
- The waterfront road is busy by day
- Fills early in summer and at Waitangi Day
- Lively rather than pretty
Waitangi & Haruru
$ to $$$ · the Treaty sideWhy stay here?
Across the bridge from Paihia, Waitangi is the estate around the Treaty Grounds, with one large resort hotel inside it and a golf course on the hill. Haruru, a few minutes inland up the river, has the falls, a cluster of motels and a holiday park. It is quieter than Paihia and good for families: the Treaty Grounds, the falls walk and the holiday park are all here. Waitangi is a flat walk of about two kilometres into Paihia; from Haruru you will want the car in the evening.
Good for
- The Treaty Grounds on the doorstep
- Quieter nights than Paihia
- The holiday park and the falls for a family
Watch for
- Few places to eat after dark
- Haruru needs a car to reach Paihia
- Our price sample here was very small
Russell
$$$ · quiet and historicWhy stay here?
Russell was Kororāreka, the whaling port that became the first European town in the country, and it is now the prettiest and quietest place in the bay: a waterfront called the Strand, verandahed buildings, Christ Church of 1836, and a small museum. It is fifteen minutes across the water from Paihia by passenger ferry, so it works as a base without a car as long as you are home by the last sailing. It was the dearest area in our sample, and the evenings are slow. Choose it for the history and the quiet.
Good for
- The prettiest waterfront in the bay
- History on foot: the church, the museum, the Strand
- Quiet nights
Watch for
- The dearest area in our sample
- The last ferry back from Paihia is 9.30pm
- A small choice of places to eat
Take the passenger ferry across to Russell in the late afternoon and walk the Strand to the far end, where the beach curves round towards Flagstaff Hill. In December 1835 Charles Darwin came ashore here from the Beagle, and he did not like what he found: he called it “the very stronghold of vice”. Stand on the beach and listen to what it sounds like now: halyards knocking against masts, a dinghy outboard, the ferry’s engine changing note as it comes in to the wharf. Then look across the water to Paihia and see how small the gap is that divides the two towns.
Ōpua & Ōkiato
Not sampled · the marina, very quietWhy stay here?
Ōpua is the port and marina south of Paihia, where the car ferry crosses to Ōkiato and the road on to Russell. It is very quiet: a general store, a marina café, yachts on moorings, and the start of the coastal walkway to Paihia. We stayed here for a week in March 2026, in an apartment over the water beside the wharf, and we liked the calm of it. We also found how far it is from everything else without a car, and a family would find little to do beyond the water and the walkway. The walkway to Paihia is 8.9 kilometres and hillier than it looks from the start; we walked it and took a taxi back. Kawakawa, a short drive inland, has the Hundertwasser toilets, which we stopped to see.
Good for
- Calm water and a working marina
- The coastal walkway from the door
- The car ferry to Russell close by
Watch for
- Very little in the evening
- Little for children beyond the walkway
- You need a car for almost everything
- Few places to stay, and none in our sample
Kerikeri
$$ · orchards and foodWhy stay here?
Kerikeri is a country town twenty-three minutes’ drive inland, among citrus and kiwifruit orchards, with Kemp House and the Stone Store, the country’s oldest surviving wooden and stone buildings, on the river basin below it; we drove over for a day to see the Stone Store. It has the regional airport, a weekend market, vineyards and more good cafés than its size suggests. It is not on the water, and every boat trip means a drive to Paihia. Choose it if you are flying in, if food is the point, or if you want the bay as a day out rather than a view.
Good for
- The airport, for a short trip
- Cafés, the weekend market and the vineyards
- Middle prices and good motels
Watch for
- Not on the water
- A 23-minute drive to the boats
- Quiet evenings
Before you book
Our guide to accommodation in New Zealand covers what applies everywhere: motels, holiday parks, how prices are shown and what to expect at check-in. What follows is what is particular to the Bay of Islands.
What kind of place you will find
The bay is a place of motels, self-contained apartments and lodges, with holiday parks and backpacker lodges at one end and a few larger hotels at the other. Two-thirds of the places in our sample were in Paihia. Prices shown to you in New Zealand must include GST, the 15% sales tax, unless they say otherwise.
When it fills up
The New Zealand summer holidays, from Christmas to the end of January, fill the bay, and 6 February — Waitangi Day, the national day, marked at the Treaty Grounds — fills it again. Book early for either; some places ask for a minimum stay over the holidays.
If you are staying across the water
Russell has two ways across. The passenger ferry from Paihia wharf takes about fifteen minutes and runs through the day; the last sailing leaves Paihia at 9.30pm and Russell at 9pm. With a car, you take the car ferry from Ōpua to Ōkiato, a crossing of about ten minutes that runs roughly every ten minutes from early morning until about 10pm, and drive on to Russell. Check both timetables with Northland Ferries before a late dinner on the wrong side.
Getting between the areas
| To | How | Distance | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waitangi Treaty Grounds | Walk over the bridge, or drive | 2 km | About 3 minutes by car |
| Haruru | Drive | 4 km | About 5 minutes |
| Russell | Passenger ferry | Across the bay | About 15 minutes |
| Russell by car | Drive via the Ōpua car ferry | 15 km | About 30 minutes, plus the wait |
| Ōpua | Drive, or the 8.9 km coastal walkway | 6 km | About 10 minutes by car |
| Kerikeri | Drive | 24 km | About 23 minutes |
Driving times are TomTom estimates with typical traffic, read on 28 September 2026, and exclude any wait for the car ferry. Ferry times are from Northland Ferries, checked the same day. Roads in Northland close for slips after heavy rain; we met several on our own trip.
Our guide to getting around New Zealand covers car hire and the roads.
A final word on staying in the Bay of Islands
Stay in Paihia for a first visit and let the boats come to you. Cross to Russell if you want the bay at its oldest and quietest, and are happy to watch the ferry clock. Waitangi suits a family, Kerikeri suits a cook, and Ōpua suits someone who wants nothing to happen for a few days — which, after a long drive north, is not the worst thing to want.
Andrew + Margaret
- Bay of Islands Overview
- Where to eat in the Bay of Islands Practical
- North Island itinerary Journeys
- Accommodation in New Zealand Practical
- Getting around New Zealand Practical
- Northland NZ — the Bay of Islands Official
- Northland Ferries — Russell and Ōkiato timetables Practical
- Herenga ā Nuku — Paihia to Ōpua Coastal Walkway Practical
- Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle (1839), the New Zealand chapter, December 1835 Reading
- Zane Grey, Tales of the Angler’s Eldorado, New Zealand (1926) Reading