Best 6-Day Itinerary for the North Island in New Zealand

North Island:

Day 1: Auckland

We arrived around 3pm, dropped bags at the AirBnB, then hopped in an Uber and made our way to Mount Eden. 250 Mount Eden Road. From the bottom it takes about an hour to hike (1.24 miles). We loved getting to see the city from above and enjoyed having the chance to soak in some sunlight after 24 hours traveling. This helped reset our jetlag TREMENDOUSLY. We then walked through some neighborhoods on our way to Churley's for a quick beer to celebrate arriving in New Zealand. We weren't hungry quite yet, so we decided to grab a few more before dinner and ended up in Ponsonby area. We had a drink at Hideaway and then popped over to Hopper's Garden Bar. We ended the night grabbing dinner at Thirty One. The food and service were amazing after a long day of traveling. We ended the night with mango lassi cocktails, (What a TREAT!)

Day 2: Waiheke Island

The Ferry at Auckland Ferry Terminal 99 Quay Street leaves every 30 min starting at 9 AM from Auckland, I recommend catching the first ferry since Waiheke is bigger than you think and you'll want to enjoy as much time as you can there. Most wineries close down early anyway (between 4-6 pm) so the day goes fast. We started the morning with brunch at Wild on Waiheke (the wine wasn't our favorite there, but we ordered the Huntsman platter for the 4 of us and it was perfect). Then we walked next door to StoneyRidge. The servers were so kind and took the time to explain all the wines in detail that we ordered. The views were breathtaking. Next we hopped back on the bus and traveled to Onetangi Beach to take in the views. The water was warm, the sun was strong and then we grabbed lunch at Three Seven Two. Everything was fresh, beautifully plated, and delicious. Once we finished lunch we had a few minutes waiting for the buss and we got our first scoop of Hokey Pokey ice cream.... you CANNOT miss hokey pokey ice cream. Then we went over to Batch Winery they have the greatest views and delicious wine. As the time flew by we rushed off for two more wineries Mudbrick Vineyard and Restaurant for more amazing views and then Cable Bay Vineyards since it closes the latest and is closest to the ferry we can walk. We took a great 10 minute walk down the trail back to the ferry landing very easy to find and all downhill.

wine at StoneyBridge

Day 3: Hobbiton, Whitewater Rafting & Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest

We grabbed our rental car early from Auckland airport and took a 2 hour drive to Hobbiton.

We had the chance to be some of the first to experience the new opening of the INSIDE of the Hobbits Homes. (Hobbiton™ Movie Set Tours) Every detail of this attraction is so well thought out. I had never seen the Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movie before planning our trip to New Zealand and binged all of them knowing that we were going to see Hobbiton. It gave me a huge appreciation for the set. We arrived a little earlier than our selected tour at 9 am and they actually let us join the smaller group that was going on the 8:45 tour. (I highly recommend going early as there were SO many people when we returned to the starting point). We loved getting to enjoy a beer in the Dragon Inn out of the traditional mugs and ordered some meat pies that were delicious!

After Hobbiton we booked white water rafting on the Kaituna River through Viator. We don't normally plan so many adventures on one day so we can enjoy stopping at hikes or scenic stops along the way, but it was my friend's birthday so we went ALL OUT! You only turn 32 once right?!? Our group was amazing and the Kaituna river had great rapids, one we even got the chance to swim over! I never had that opportunity before, and it is one I'll never forget. After that we grabbed some craft beers at the shop next door (and the greatest homemade Snickers EVER!)

Then we headed to the Redwoods – Whakarewarewa Forest.  The redwoods are gorgeous and knowing they were only transplanted there 100 years ago is mind blowing. We enjoyed our experience so much during the day that we decided to go again at night when the canopy trail is illuminated. It ended up raining the whole night we were there, but it was such a neat experience. A definite must-see!

Something we missed that we wished we would have made it in time for was the performance of Te Pa Tu - The Gathering Place (Maori Village). We learned so much about Maori culture throughout the trip but would've loved to see the traditional music, food, dance and history told by the Maori people.

Day 4: