Should we stay on for an additional day and night in Auckland?
We have just signed up for the Dec. 2-21 Grand Australia and New Zealand. We did our international air flights today and we are not returning to the US until Dec. 24th from Sydney and am wondering if we should extend one additional night in Auckland or go directly when the tour ends in Auckland on Dec. 21 to Sydney, allowing us more time to explore and to relax in Sydney.
We know that we will have 4 days in Sydney as part of the tour,, but have been told that the city is so delightful that you won't mind spending more time there after the tour is completed.. We have not heard much about Auckland, however, and, the tour basically is only there for one full day and 2 nights.. Is it worth spending another day and night there after the tour is officially over or should we go back to Sydney as soon as the tour is completed? Even if we extend one additional night and day in Auckland, we will still go back to Sydney and have either 2 nights or 3 nights depending what we do about Auckland.
Since it is such a long distance , we may never get back to this part of the world, so we want to make sure we maximize our time, but at the same time, we want to spend a few days relaxing in the sun and Sydney looks like a perfect place to do that. We need to purchase our flight from Auckland to Sydney very soon, so we would appreciate any advice from those who have taken this trip or have been to Auckland and can tell us what else there is to do that is not included in the itinerary.
Thanks so much for your help.
We know that we will have 4 days in Sydney as part of the tour,, but have been told that the city is so delightful that you won't mind spending more time there after the tour is completed.. We have not heard much about Auckland, however, and, the tour basically is only there for one full day and 2 nights.. Is it worth spending another day and night there after the tour is officially over or should we go back to Sydney as soon as the tour is completed? Even if we extend one additional night and day in Auckland, we will still go back to Sydney and have either 2 nights or 3 nights depending what we do about Auckland.
Since it is such a long distance , we may never get back to this part of the world, so we want to make sure we maximize our time, but at the same time, we want to spend a few days relaxing in the sun and Sydney looks like a perfect place to do that. We need to purchase our flight from Auckland to Sydney very soon, so we would appreciate any advice from those who have taken this trip or have been to Auckland and can tell us what else there is to do that is not included in the itinerary.
Thanks so much for your help.
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We very much enjoyed Auckland. We visited the Auckland Museum which we enjoyed more than the Te Papa Museum you will visit in Wellington. Hower if pressed for time, you don't need to do both. We made two trips to the west side of the north island as day trips from Auckland. There are some very scenic beaches, waterfalls, and a gannet bird colony on the west side. We visited a sheep ranch where we saw a dog herd sheep and saw sheep being sheared. We took a tour of Auckland and visited some elevated viewpoints, lovely gardens, and Devonport which is a quaint town across the harbor from Auckland. We were in Auckland on a city holiday, and we spent the day cruising on a boat in the harbor watching boat races and an air show. There were also some festivals taking place at that time.
The weather in Auckand will most likely be slightly cooler than the weather in Sydney, so if you want to spend time on the beach in the sun you might prefer more time in Sydney where you could take the ferry to Manly Beach or the bus to Bondi Beach.
I suggest browsing the tours and activities on Trip Advisor before you finalize your decision.
We very much enjoyed our four days in Auckland and have no regrets, although we could have used another day or two in Sydney beyond the two included with our cruise.
As another correspondent has said, Auckland is a beautiful city. There are so many things to see and do there. Another suggestion to add to the others ... Auckland is very close to some lovely wine-growing areas and even if you are ot a wine buff, I have yet to see a vineyard that isn' situated in lovely countryside! The hotel concierge can make some suggestions. If you are interested, I can get some useful links to you, but in a day or two. I'm travelling at the moment but I will be able to dig out the info.
Also, A cruise on Auckland Harbour is well worthwhile, if it is not already included in your tour. You can choose from a variety of providers down at the harbour, or again, the hotel concierge will be able to help.
CHeers,
Jan
PS I hope you manage to find this thread again .... you've posted it in the Africa department, rather than the Australia & New Zealand one!!!!
This is an amazing trip! We had the opportunity of experiencing it during March, 2013. Auckland the "city of sails" is in a beautiful setting! We added 2 days in Auckland at the end of this tour. For part of one day we went to Rangitoto Island...a totally volcanic island...so different then other things we saw in New Zealand, we also relaxed some and enjoying walking around the area. Another suggestion would be going to Devonport...lots of outdoor cafes, good scenery. Both Devonport and Rangitoto are easy to get to by taking a ferry. The ferry we took is just a short walk down the hill to the waterfront.
After spending 2 extra days in Auckland we headed up to the northern part of the North Island. Incredible!! We flew into Kerikeri, rented a car (an experience driving on the left side of the road with the steering wheel on the right side of the car). We visited many peaceful, scenic coastal towns, saw huge Kauri trees, and also took a flightseeing tour up to to Cape Reigna. Amazing sights especially from the air!! We met so many friendly Kiwis...thoroughly enjoyed being in New Zealand. We spent 4 days in the Bay of Islands...wish we could have spent more time there!
Sydney is also an incredible city. Many things to do, see, and experience. On our "free" day we took a day long tour to the Blue Mountains. If you are interested in doing this, I can recommend an excellent guide. This was a private tour. Also you could spend time, if you haven't arranged this, to do the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb and go to the opera. We didn't do the Bridge Climb, but several people did this on their "free" day.
I guess it all depends on what you are interested in doing. We decided to stay busy and generally be active because we figured we could rest up on the plane flight home. (We flew home from Auckland, not Sydney.)
As Jan said I hope you also get this comment, as it was posted on an Africa forum site.
Enjoy your travels!
By the way the revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower was very good. Quite often revolving restaurants have mediocre food, but the one in Auckland gets good reviews and we were very pleased. We made the reservation for a time where we made one revolution before sunset and another revolution after sunset.
In Sydney we hired a private guide that we shared with one other couple. The six hour tour included the city as well as an opportunity to have lunch at restaurant with a view of Bondi Beach. We visited locations where big buses can't go. The guide was excellent, and the small tour company also provides tours to the Blue Mountains and the wine country. We took the ferry to Manly Beach on our own. We also toured the opera house on own, but your tour includes the opera house.
Cheers,
Jan
Cheers,
Jan
We flew into Auckland, connecting to Bay of Islands - pre tour- and then back to Auckland to begin our Tauck tour. Not one person on our tour had heard of Bay of Islands and were sorely disappointed, after hearing of our visit there, that they did not explore this incredibly beautiful area of New Zealand. Auckland is a nice city, but it doesn't compare to Bay of Islands. So, if you have time to spare, I urge you to explore Bay of Islands. You won't be sorry you did! Quite honestly, the time Tauck gives you in Auckland really, IMHO, is more than ample. It was a nice city, but was not remarkable. If you have additional time to spend in New Zealand, it would be well worth your time to explore Bay of Islands. We really made the most of our time in New Zealand and were so glad we did! I do hope you will be able to maximize your New Zealand experiences to the fullest! Enjoy your trip!