Not sure where to go for your Round the World trip? We have put together comprehensive guides to our most popular destinations including information on specific areas, tips on how to get around, sightseeing options and even climate and weather details. Be inspired by fellow travellers stories in our Travel Journals section, or for more information on a particular destination, please contact our Round the World Experts on 0870 499 0120.
Australasia
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Plan a Round the World Journey
Areas of Auckland
City Centre: The heart of Auckland is a stone's throw from the ocean, around the busy shopping strip of Queen Street, running from Queen Elizabeth II Square near the waterfront uphill to cosmopolitan Karangahape Rd, passing Aotea Square. You'll find the majority of accommodation as well as numerous restaurants and bars.
Parnell: To the east is this laid back, sophisticated suburb, with its numerous art galleries and restaurants, a fashionable area of renovated wooden villas crammed with restaurants and boutiques.
Ponsonby: To the west of the city centre is full of stylish and original shops along with cutting-edge cafes and bars.
North Shore City: Including the suburbs of Devonport, with a pretty, villagey feel. Takapuna beachfront attracts a youthful surf crowd, while Mount Victoria, once the site of a Maori Pa, and North Head, is a former artillery battery, built in the late 1800s to defend the city from invasion.
Mission Bay: For a little beachside action with your cafe culture, travel past Parnell, along Tameki Drive passing the swimming beaches at Okahu Bay on to picturesque Mission Bay.
Getting there and around
Auckland International Airport is located 21km south of the city. The journey to/from the city centre takes around 35 minutes.
Good public transport system including: rail, buses and ferries.
Sightseeing Ideas
Waiheke Island Vinyard Explorer: Enjoy a 25 minute cruise passing Rangitoto Island Auckland's youngest dormant volcano, en route to beautiful Waiheke Island. Visit three of Waiheke's superb vineyards.
Waitomo and Rotorua: A 2 centre day tour visiting the renowned Waitomo Glow worm Caves, then on to the thermal city of Rotorua. Visit Rainbow Springs with its farm show before viewing the geysers and bubbling mud pools of the Whakarewarewa Reserve.
Discover Auckland-With Antarctic Encounter: See the major sights of Auckland including a great panoramic view of the city from Mount Eden, followed by the Antarctic Encounter and the Underwater World.
Top tips
If you like exploring, pop down some of the side streets and alleyways like Vulcan Lane. You'll find some interesting stores tucked away, including bookshops and art galleries.
Khuja Lounge - music lounge located in the top floor of a beautiful art deco building. Design is opulent North Africa in style with rum-rich Brazilian cocktails and music is an eclectic funky range of jazz, soul and hip-hop.
Climate
