Unforgettable Bay of Islands: 3-Day Coastal Dream from Auckland

Excellent content. Varied, full experience - cruise, bus tour to Cape Reinga and guided tour of Waitangi Treaty Ground

Bay of Islands is beautiful. Russell is such a pretty town. The bus up was 30 mins late and there is no time factored in for lunch after leaving Auckland at such an early hour. It was not in the itinerary that we would spend over 2 hrs on the beach which was very disappointing as I had not brought swimwear. On the return to Auckland the bus again was 30 mins late and there was no pickup taxi waiting. This wasn't too much of a problem for me because my hotel was nearby but I would be an issue if your hotel was further away. While the scenery was beautiful if I was to do this trip again I would organise it myself.

The GOR drive was spectacular. So many different landscapes,, rock formations , coastlines & forests. Our guide, Simon H, was superb: just the right balance between information -local & indigenous knowledge shared, humour & being sharp eyed! He spotted a Koala, don’t know how but despite his best efforts no kangaroos appeared. I rate the trip & Simon 5/5.

Easy to follow the program . You experience all the highlights of The Bay Of Islands Very good spot to go see The hotel was excellent with a nice view

I totally enjoyed the whole experience. The hotel I stayed in was excellent and the people were very kind.. I was very lucky the weather was so good the day tour around the Bay of Islands. X

Busy trip, but a good trip. They organized it well.Everything went according to plan. Really enjoyed the Hole in Rock cruise and saw pod of dolphins putting on a show for us.

A series of tours put together. Instructions easy to follow from point to point. It worked like clockwork.

Our guide Tina (Tiana?) to Point Reigna and 90 mile Beach was excellent. She is such a hard worker, driving the bus, providing commentary, serving lunch, and keeping track of everyone. Our guide in Russell was excellent also. They both made the tour a lot of fun. We loved Urupukapuka Island on the Hole in the Rock cruise- we could have spent an entire day there. The tour of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds was beautiful and educational. Since our hotel was so close to the bus station, the taxi was unnecessary - in fact, upon return, we did not see the cab and walked back. To the driver’s credit, she followed up and attempted to locate us. In the future, maybe make taxi pickups optional. The motel choice was excellent - next to the water and outstanding room design and layout plus it was immaculately clean.

We visited the quaint town of Paihia. The bus trip to Cape Reinga was very interesting. We had lunch early because of the tide. After lunch we went onto Reinga to see the lighthouse and the meeting of the pacific ocean and tasman sea. We then went to the dunes and the 90 miles beach ride. We then went back to Paihia. On the Wednesday we went on a boat trip to the hole in the rock. We could not go through it as the weather was not good. We saw some dolphins on the way back. Landed at Russell and went on a mini trip to see Russell. Very interesting. Left Paihia to get back to Auckland

We had a great day today on the trip up to the top of New Zealand. Particularly fascinated by the drive on the beach