Things to do in  North Island

If you want to see a lot of the north island, and have a day to spend, but don't want to drive this train is for you! Fabulous pictures, good food and drink.

This was an enjoyable afternoon 4.5 hours tour that took us to see a beautiful part of Auckland and the north island. Piha beach was wonderful and the hike in the Waitekere Rain Forest was so beautiful and informative. Our guide, Wayne, was constantly giving information or telling jokes which kept us all entertained. Well done !!!

Well worth a visit, the thermal springs are fantastic and so unique to other sightseeing in the North island. Highly enjoyable day.

This was an awesome tour provided by the awesome folks at FlexiTours! We got to see a huge part of the North Island, all in one day! If you want to see the greatness of New Zealand's North Island and the famous sites all in one tour and day with good value, sign up on this tour! I would do it again! Thanks FlexiTours!

Fran and a Rick were amazing guides and very entertaining! If you are in Auckland, you will want to see a lot of the country side. The drive showed us the beauty of the North island and we were able to hear about the history and culture along the way. Thank you for an amazing tour!!! A must do!!!!!

We had a great time. Everything worked exactly as it was supposed to. The itinerary was challenging but very enjoyable. We were able to see a lot of the best of the North Island over a limited duration. EXCELLENT EXPERIENCE.

Great Package. I could not have coordinated a better trip for a two day period. Everyone was nice and the connections between attractions and vehicles were well organized. I would highly recommend this tour package to anyone who love to enjoy the North Island of New Zealand.

A very informative and well organised tour that fitted in what we wanted to do. All elements of the tour were excellent value for money and I would highly recommend this tour as a way to see all of the northern part of North Island.

A long trip but with a great variety of things to do on the programme and at the right timing. Would certainly recommend it to people like us who want to stay based in Auckland but still see things in the North Island.

For a lone traveller was a safe, easy way to see many things the north island has to offer. Very enjoyable, informative, packed day trip.

Our trip to Hobbiton exceeded my expectations! Having only ever seen one of the LOTR movies, I expected to be underwhelmed by this tour, but I was so wrong. Hobbiton was a magical experience and there was so much to see. We were the first tour of the day in Hobbiton which made for the best pictures. Our driver for the day, David, was so funny, knowledgeable, and kind.. He looked out for our safety all day and left no questions unanswered, even pointing out specific attractions along the drive that he thought we would each enjoy based on our interests. The glowworm caves were also spectacular. I was so happy to have found a combined tour since these were the two things I wanted to do while we were in the North Island. It was one of our best days in NZ! The van was comfortable and spacious too which isn't always the case for these types of tours. Thank you!!

First, great and accommodating tour company Bush and Beach. Informative guides. Waterfall was great. Beach views are stunning though we were not on the beach for the sunset picture as seen on the tour pic. A great compliment to seeing the western side of the North island and still so close to Auckland. Felt a tiny bit of time underutilized at park center, but otherwise all great good. Trees are indeed magical.

Excellent guide, well informed, it's great to see the other side of the north island

This is a semi-independent tour. The travel agency arranges for hotel, buses between cities, transfers to and from hotel and excursions. You will not be traveling with the same people nor on the same bus all the time. We were very impressed with the logistics! Seriously, considering that we took different buses with different drivers each way between cities, excursions and multiple transfers, we were surprised that everything went without a single issue. All the buses and transfers were on-time except the last bus from Mata Mata to Auckland which the Agency reps mentioned that regularly 15 min late. They offered to pick us up at the hotel in downtown Auckland but because our hotel coming back was by the airport, they weren’t unable to accommodate that transfer and we ended up taking a taxi. The communication with the agency was good. I had called before the trip to let them know that I wanted to see the itinerary a bit before the 1 week mark and they complied by sending it two weeks prior. Please ensure to check your emails sent from Viator as they do not send the itinerary directly to your email. We read everything on the itinerary and made hard copies of it. During the trip I only called them to make a reservation to the Tamaki Maori Village dinner and cultural experience and on our last day as we were waiting for the bus to Auckland and were concerned because it was a few minutes late. I guess we had been spoiled with getting every single driver on time. The hotel in Paihia was ok, well situated in town’s center, close to everything. We absolutely loved our hotel in Rotorua, the Sudima hotel by the lake. This tour covers a lot of attractions in a very short time, therefore there will be a couple of days where everything will be jam-packed and there will be a lot of driving, but to be fair, unless you plan to drive yourself and stay on each location you visit, I don’t see how you can cover all these attractions in such a short time. This tour is perfect for people like us, that do not like driving abroad and have little vacation time. The third day, it is mostly spent on two intercity buses from Paihia to Auckland and Auckland to Rotorua. They do make a few stops where you can go to the restroom and a 45 min transfer at Auckland. We were worried about this mainly to reading other people’s review but we were pleasantly surprised as it wasn’t as bad as depicted. All you have to do is make sure is to take advantage of the scheduled stops and bring some snacks for the road. You can always buy lunch at the bus station in Auckland. We arrived Rotorua a bit early in the evening, the bar tender at the Sudima recommended to visit the Town’s center and check out the market(on Thursdays only) then we headed to the Polynesian Spa next door to unwind in their hot baths. Most drivers were very knowledgeable and extremely personable, only a couple were a bit weird. Most of them seem to be local therefore they provide good information while going sight seeing. The only thing I would recommend to the agency is to ensure to specify on the itinerary that there are any bus changes for certain excursions or if the lunches will be provided by a different bus driver than the one that you leave for during the excursions. On our way to Waitomo cave, the driver began by saying that the bus was going to Auckland instead of specifying that some people will be returning to Rotorua on a different bus. We got a nervous and began asking questions, and then he let us know that some of us will be returning on a different bus and that lunch was going to be served on that other bus. Overall an Excellent experience, this is a good way to see the main sights of the North Island is a very short time. Grey Sights and Gray line did a fantastic job coordinating this tour, we really enjoyed it.

Great trip! Covered a range of activities on the North Island, all appealing to different tastes and interests. Tour guide was excellent and we were kept safe and confortable throughout the day. Timely return after a big, worthwhile day.

If you're a fan of the LoTR films, and you find yourself on the North Island, it would be regrettable to not visit The Shire! The only down point was the weather, but we did go in their winter, so while it was wet and rainy it wasn't cold, and didn't detract from the joy of just being there! The Green Dragon was the highlight - being able to see so much film memorabilia and to enjoy a drink from the bar was fab. And then there was the shop - full of wonderful Hobbit related mementos to bring home. The glowworm caves were beautiful - a perfect end to a day of must-do sightseeing! The tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly, and took us through some of the most amazing scenery on our way to Hobbiton.

Worth Every penny! We went on a drive through the beautiful landscape of New Zealand's North Island, with our bus driver as our tour guide. He was so funny and informative. Hobbiton was absolutely a sight to see. The lunch buffet was alright, I'm a bit of a food snob so I'm not the best person to talk about that. And the Waitomo caves were indescribable, something you have to see in your life time! 100 worth it, Don't do Hobbiton without going to see the Waitomo Caves!

Great for those with limited time in the North Island, packs a lot of activities in a short amount of time. However, I felt a little rushed - not much time to buy souvenirs. Couldn't fully enjoy some of the activities as much as if I'd driven myself and organised my own similar trip over an extra day. Stay an extra day in Rotorua if possible to enjoy more. Nice to not have to worry about getting lost or driving in a foreign country. They don't pick up at the hotel we stayed in prior to tour Ascotia off Queen, Auckland, but picked us up in the next street instead at 6:45am so make sure you organise brekky by then. Itinerary is delivered to hotel the night prior email, and each day you have the same bus for about 6 hours of activities/travel, toilet onboard tiny but functional then local transfers by each attraction. Transfers were well organised, friendly drivers, tours ran smoothly and on time, except for the last bus from Matamata to Auckland about 1/2 hour later. They forgot to put us on the list for transfer from auckland bus depot to near our hotel, but driver took us anyway. The bus boxed lunch was filling - chicken/cheese/jam/lettuce roll, apple, small juice box, blueberry muffin and a cheesecake tub. After the caves and arriving in Rotorua, the free time to explore Rotorua described was only an hour and a half to check in, and not enough time to do anything else but walk to the water and have a snack/photos, seeing as you have to be prepared to be picked up for your next activities 15 minutes before the stated pick up time. All activities are quality attractions. Liked the Mitai Maori Village concert/dinner better than I thought I would, nice dinner. Hobbiton tour lasts only 1.5 hours for a group of 30 to all have pics and a free drink in the green dragon, no time to appreciate the detail. Couldn't see the geyser erupt as we had only an hour at Te Puia, just missed it. Ibis hotel stay average, view of carpark, clean and tidy, hot brekky included.

It’s a beautiful spring day! All are excited for the long day trip covering three important landmarks of the North Island, New Zealand as well seeing the rolling hills and amazing natural sceneries are worth of a day’s travel. They will bring and cherish these memories of a lifetime. Thank you Viator for all the assistance and our return trip from home/city/home are highly appreciated. It made easy for us to plan and execute. Our driver Edson is highly recommended as helpful, friendly, easy to talk to and shared his travel experiences and outlook in life.

great tours but long day. we flew from Blenheim to Auckland to avoid a long bus ride up the north island to Rotorua, and having to spend two nights there. in retrospect we should have flown into Rotorua, spent the night , then done this tour from Rotorua and had the bus taken us to Auckland. This tour operates as a either round trip from Auckland what we did or one way from Auck to Rotorua or Rotorua to Auck same bus with pick ups and drop offs at hotels in Rotorua and Auckland. Bus also picks up in Rotorua for travel to Auckland. Great Sights, the tour company and InterIsland bus are the same company and our Great Sights driver Rachel was great and made a long drive out better with her commentary and life stories. Food on bus was good- fruit breakfast, good sandwich for lunch and another half sandwich for snack on ride home. we had a little extra time between the caves and rotorua and Rachel took us on a tour of lake front at Rotorua- was so nice to see, beautiful and made me wish we had spent one night here but only one as Rotorua is lined with tourist motels bus drops you to glow worm caves and you go right in with local guide who was also good, tour of cave-interesting and fun, then onto boat for glow worms, very cool. then off to rotorua-local guide carol? was awesome. cultural show is too long and didn't need touristy bring the men on stage and dance thing. it was hot inside so i went out and geyser was starting, everyone inside missed that and it was awesome to see it start instead of the tourist participation dance. then carol took us on short cut to geyser which was beautiful and amazing. good amount of time to enjoy it, then saw mud pools--nice and then kiwi house. unfortunately the 2 kiwis were mostly in their box but some did see one run across, i saw them on the screen but still was happy. it is a beautiful park and enjoyed it. we enjoyed the day and would recommend going even from Auck as Auck needs only half a day to see