The Best Areas to Stay in Auckland for Any Budget

Auckland CBD – 20 kilometres north of Auckland International Airport and with a central bus and train terminus at Britomart and 200 metres away a central ferry terminus on Quay Street, the CDB is the most popular area to stay in Auckland. Within walking distance are the Maritime Museum, Viaduct Harbour and the Wyndham Quarter, Spark Arena (indoor music venue and sports arena), Auckland War Memorial Museum and the Auckland Domain, Queen Street and Albert Park.

Buses and trains to all the suburbs leave from Britomart and ferries travel back and forth across the harbour to Devonport (12 minutes) on the North Shore, to Waiheke Island (40 minutes) and to the birdwatchers paradise of Tiritiri Matangi Island (75 minutes). A short bus-ride away are Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium in Orakei (6km), Auckland Zoo and MOTAT (Museum of Transport & Technology) in Western Springs (7km), Eden Park (5km), ASB Showgrounds in Epsom (8km)

Attractions in Auckland CBD

• St Patrick's Cathedral
• Auckland Art Gallery
• Civic Theatre
• Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum
• Skycity Auckland

23 minutes from the CBD by bus (8 km) are the city beaches of Mission Bay, St Helliers and Kohimarama with views across the sea to the Rangitoti volcano 7km out in the middle of the gulf. All three suburbs have a selection of cafes and bars and are very popular with Aucklanders.

The wild west coast black beaches of Piha, Karekare, Bethell’s and Muriwai are a paradise for surfers but extremely dangerous – so much so that Piha Rescue, a reality TV show about the Piha Surf Life Saving Club, was filmed there from 2001 to 2017. There’s a famous gannet colony at Muriwai and the Oscar-nominated The Piano was filmed at Karekare in 1993. These west coast beaches are about 40km west of the city centre and are not served by public transport. The nearest city suburb is Henderson.

The city beaches of Cheltenham in Devonport, Takapuna, Brown’s Bay and Mairangi Bay all lie on Auckland’s North Shore. Buses from Britomart cross the Harbour Bridge and serve the communities along the east coast up to Orewa and the Whangaparoa Peninsula, home of the famous Gulf Harbour Golf Course. Ferries from the CBD also sail to Gulf Harbour.

Attractions in North Shore

• Torpedo Bay Navy Museum

Just 2km west of the CBD, Ponsonby is home to trendy eateries, stylish boutique shops and several independent bookshops. There are some upmarket gastropubs, seafood bistros, small galleries and exclusive nightclubs.

4km from the CBD (17 minutes by bus/train), Newmarket is an up-market shopping district with fashion boutiques, shoe stores, mid- and high-end restaurants, tapas bars and bistros along with one or two small galleries.

Attractions in Newmarket

• Westfield Newmarket

Home of the tallest dormant volcano in mainland Auckland with great views over the city to Rangitoto out in the gulf, Mt Eden Village is 5km south of the CBD (20 minutes by bus). It has several good bars and restaurants, excellent coffee, the Dominion Road ‘Chinatown’ and the Auckland home of the New Zealand All Blacks, Eden Park. The Powerstation is a small music venue.

7km from the CBD, is the Greenlane area, known for the trotting course at Alexandra Park, the ASB Showgrounds, Cornwall Park and Ellerslie Racecourse. And probably the closest commercial suburb to Mt Smart for Rugby League and outdoor music shows.

Manukau is close to the airport and is home to the amusement park Rainbow’s End

Pukekohe has the Pukekohe Park Raceway for V8 and other motorsports

Waiheke Island is home to several boutique vineyards and wineries [In November 2015, Waiheke Island was rated the fifth-best region in the world to visit in 2016 by Lonely Planet].