New Zealand’s North Island has enough variety to occupy two weeks without strain: thermal landscapes, dense native bush, dramatic volcanoes, Pacific coastline, sophisticated cities, and some of the most significant Māori cultural sites in the country. The circuit below connects the main destinations into a loop, (or figure of eight) starting and ending in Auckland.
We took three weeks to complete this itinerary. We decided squeezing both North and South Islands in to the three weeks had available involved just too much travelling. We planned to fly into and out of Auckland. We were prepared to do some travelling to see highlights of North Island – to move on every other day to a new location – but we also wanted some time to stay put, enjoy a location and do local things for a while rather than spend hours on the road.
So we booked a place for a week in the beautiful bay of islands for the last part of the trip and then built an itinerary that would take us South of Auckland in a loop, – East to the Coromandel Peninsular, South to Rotorua, West through Taipo and New Plymouth then North along the West Coast to Hamilton – and then in another loop North of Auckland by travelling up the West coast, moving East to the Bay of Islands and finishing the trip by returning to South to Auckland down the West coast.
There’s already a lot to see and occupy three weeks with an itinerary like this. We could have extended the travelling down to Napier and then to Wellington but this would have extended travelling time and reduced the time on the beach up in the bay of islands area. For us, this was just right. But each of these destinations has its own depth and if this itinerary interests you, be flexible, slow down and stay longer in some places; skip others.
The Itinerary
Day 1 and 2: Auckland is the inevitable starting point and deserves at least two days. The city has genuine interest — the volcanic cones (particularly Mount Eden/Maungawhau), the Viaduct Harbour, Waiheke Island as a day trip, the Auckland Museum, and decent restaurants. If you’ve just come off a long flight, recover; look around.
Day 3: Coromandel Peninsular. Heading South and East accessing the Coromandel Peninsula through the town of Thames and then drive round the coast to Whitianga (3 hour drive from Auckland). The coastal drive is spectacular. Stop for pictures on the way. Stay one night at Whitianga.
Day 4: Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach. These are South of Whitianga. Stop at Cathedral Cove (2 hours) and Hot Water beach (1 hour) on the way. Get lucky with the timing at Hot Water Beach as you can only dig yourself a jacuzzi on the beach at low tide! After lunch drive South and finish the day in Rotorua.
Day 5: Rotorua. There’s lots to do here. We rented bikes, cycled on trails in the Redwoods forest and then in the evening joined the Te Pã Tū experience. We could have done more such as visiting the geothermal sites. There’s a lot to cater for different interests.
Day 6: New Plymouth. Drive South West to Taupo and have coffee there by the lake. Then continue round the South side of the lake turning onto Highway 41 to Manunui (Steaming Cliffs on the way) and Highway 4 to Taumarunui. Turn on to Highway 43 (lost World Highway) and drive the twisting road all the way to Strathmore and Stratford passing through the Moki Tunnel and stopping to take photos of Mount Taranaki as you near Stratford. Then head North West from Stratford to New Plymouth.
Day 7: New Plymouth. We rented bikes and cycled the coastal walkway but could have spent time in the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, the Pukeiti gardens or taken a closer look at Mount Taranaki.
Day 8 and 9: Hamilton. The drive North to Hamilton takes a morning leaving you time to see something of the city in the afternoon. Alternatively, you could stop at the Waitomo caves on the way. On Day 9, if you have reservations you can visit Hobbiton. We couldn’t get tickets (booked out weeks in advance) but spent the morning cycling the river paths and in the afternoon visiting Hamilton Gardens.
Day 10: Matakohe. Drive back to Auckland, keep on highway 1 North through the city and head up to Brynderwyn where you turn West on Highway 12 to Matakohe. It’s a small place but it has accommodation next to the interesting Kauri museum.
Day 11: Opua. Continue West and then North on Highway 12 through Dargaville to the Waipoua Forest. Visit the magnificent tree Tāne Mahuta (and Te Matua Ngahere if you have time). You need to comply with the kauri dieback biosecurity arrangements to help protect these trees. Continue North to have lunch by Hokianga harbour (Ōmāpere is a good spot) and head East on Highway 12 to Paihia and then Opua.
Day 12 to 17: Opua. We had accommodation next to the Opua – Russell ferry. We enjoyed the local walks, the visit to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, Keri Keri (Stone House), a coast to coast cycle ride, Kawakawa, and fishing locally. There’s a lot of water based activities at Paihia that we didn’t make time for.
Day 18 and 19: Whangārei. Heading South from Opua (Day 18), Mangawhai is around 2 hours drive. There’s some nice beaches to stop at on the coastal road from Whangārei to Mangawhai. We spent a full day visiting Mangawhai Heads beach, having coffee in the chocolate factory shop in the town and looking around the local market next to Mangawhai Tavern.
Day 20 and 21: Auckland. Less than 2 hours will get you back to the city with time to spare to look round. We spent the second day collecting souvenirs and exploring the city centre.
Practical notes
Self-driving is the only realistic way to do this itinerary as there are little or no public transport connections between these destinations. We borrowed a friend’s vehicle but Auckland airport has many car rental companies.
All the accommodation was booked ahead thorough Booking.com. The only problem we had was closure of accommodation we had reserved in Rotorua a week before we were due to arrive. Booking.com were quite helpful is guiding us towards alternatives.
Be aware that roads in this part of New Zealand can be narrow and are subject to slips. We encountered quite a few roadworks and these extended journey times.