Auckland Harbour 90-Minute Scenic Sightseeing Cruise

Downtown Ferry Terminal and the Auckland waterfront

Your Auckland harbour cruise begins at the Downtown Ferry Terminal on Quay Street, directly behind the Ferry Building and opposite the Britomart Transport Centre. The Ferry Building, completed in 1912 in warm sandstone and brick, has been the gateway to the harbour for more than a century and is one of the best-loved landmarks on the Auckland waterfront. How to get to the Auckland ferry terminal could not be simpler: it is a five-minute walk from Queen Street and most downtown hotels, and Britomart station and the bus stops are across the road.

Arrive at least 15 minutes before departure, find the pier number shown on your confirmation and look for the cruise crew on the wharf. From the deck you immediately see the Viaduct Harbour marina, the cruise-ship berths and the Wynyard Quarter, which gives a great first impression of why Auckland is called the City of Sails.

Waitematā Harbour and the Auckland skyline

Waitematā means sparkling waters in Māori, and on a clear day the harbour lives up to its name. As the boat leaves the wharves the whole of downtown Auckland lines up behind you: glass towers, the historic waterfront buildings and, above them all, the Sky Tower, which rises 328 metres and is the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. The best photos of the Auckland skyline from the water are taken in the first and last quarter of an hour of the cruise, so keep your camera ready.

Live commentary explains how the harbour shaped the city, from the early Māori settlements and the arrival of European ships to the port that still handles much of New Zealand's trade. Yachts, ferries and container ships share the water, and the commentary points out each landmark as it comes into view, so this scenic cruise works as a relaxed introduction on your first day in Auckland.

Auckland Harbour Bridge

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is the city's great steel landmark. Opened in 1959 to link the city centre with the North Shore, it stretches just over a kilometre across the harbour and its central arch leaves more than 40 metres of clearance, which is why even large yachts pass underneath with ease. The extra lanes bolted onto each side in 1969 gave the bridge its unusual wide profile and doubled its capacity.

Seeing the Harbour Bridge from the water is a different experience from driving over it: the boat approaches close enough to appreciate the scale of the trusses and the traffic rumbling overhead, and the view back towards the city from beneath the span is one of the best of the trip. The bridge is also where the harbour opens out, so the water can be slightly livelier here; take a seat on the covered deck if you prefer a sheltered spot.

Devonport Naval Base and the North Shore

Across the harbour from the city lies Devonport, a heritage suburb of Victorian villas, cafes and two volcanic cones, Mount Victoria and North Head, which once guarded the harbour entrance. Beside it is the Devonport Naval Base, the main base of the Royal New Zealand Navy since the 1840s. From the cruise you see the grey ships at their berths, the dockyard cranes and the historic Calliope Dock, once the largest dry dock in the Southern Hemisphere.

The commentary covers the naval history of the harbour and how the base grew with the city. Devonport itself is worth a separate visit if you have more time in Auckland: the public ferry takes about 12 minutes from the same terminal, and the walk up Mount Victoria gives a classic panorama of the harbour and the city. On this cruise you enjoy that same view from sea level without leaving the boat.

Rangitoto Island

Rangitoto Island is the youngest and largest volcano of the Auckland volcanic field. It rose from the sea in a series of eruptions roughly 600 years ago, and its perfectly symmetrical cone, about 260 metres high, is visible from almost every beach in the city. The black lava fields are now covered by the largest pohutukawa forest in the world, which turns bright red with flowers in December.

The cruise sails past the island's rugged shoreline and the commentary tells the story of its birth and of the early bach communities that once lived on its shore. Please note that this is a 90-minute return cruise with no landing: if you would like to walk to the summit of Rangitoto, that is a separate ferry trip and a two-hour return hike. From the deck you get the best wide view of the cone, especially in the soft light of a late-autumn or winter afternoon.