Auckland/Central

Central Auckland is the central business district and central suburbs of Auckland, located on the Auckland isthmus between the Waitemata and Manukau harbours. With its range of accommodation, attractions, restaurants, bars and transport links, it’s the part of Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, where most visitors base themselves and spend the most time.

Understand
The Auckland isthmus was settled by Māori around 1350. The central business district (CBD) on the shore of the Waitemata Harbour is where the first European settlement of Auckland began in 1840. It was the capital of New Zealand from 1841 to 1865, when Wellington became the capital, and the Old Government House still stands, now part of the University of Auckland. Central Auckland is the part of wider Auckland that was known as "Auckland City" and governed by the Auckland City Council until 2010, when the region-wide Auckland Council replaced it.

Get in
The Britomart Transport Centre on the corner of Queen St and Customs St near the waterfront in the CBD is the final arrival/departure point for the Auckland Transport (AT) train network that links Central Auckland with South Auckland and West Auckland. It is the main information centre for public transport, where you will find free bus, train and ferry schedules. Timetables can also be downloaded from the AT website.

The ferry terminal is across Quay St from Britomart. Ferries run to several places on the North Shore, West Auckland (upper Waitematā Harbour) and East Auckland.

From the airport, there are several options. Many taxi companies operate directly from Auckland Airport - which lists available services here. Super Shuttle operates a ride sharing-like service, which can be considerably more cost-effective than a taxi. Trips can take longer if there are other passengers and must be booked in advance but are a very good option for the budget conscious. Ridesharing services such as Uber are also available near the airport, see here. It requires a short walk from the domestic terminal with your luggage to get to the ridesharing zone, but they are generally cheaper than official taxi services and are widely regarded as safe and reliable. However, prices are subject to fluctuation so shopping around is advised.

By car, driving around Auckland is very accessible, with the vast majority of transport in the city being private vehicles. Navigating to the city is relatively straightforward, and in the suburbs parking is usually plentiful and free. In the CBD, parking is often available but can be very expensive. Council operated car parks, and street parking are usually less expensive than privately operated parking buildings and will often be free after 6pm and on weekends. It is, however, worth reading signage carefully no matter where you park. It also pays to be especially mindful of parking spots that become clearways during peak traffic hours, as you will find that if you are even a minute late your car has been whisked away to the nearest lot - where it might get very expensive to have it returned to you.

Get around
Uber is available throughout central Auckland and most of the rest of Auckland.

Electric scooters are available from 5AM to 11PM, and can be used with their respective apps: Flamingo, Beam, and Neuron. Neuron scooters are larger, faster (up to 25 km/h) and more stable, and usually have a helmet attached, which the app urges the user to wear. Flamingo has the easiest app onboarding process.

Auckland Transport runs all public transport across the region. The central suburbs are reasonably well serviced and should be navigable easily if somewhat slowly by bus and train. The journey planner provided by AT can assist with transport plans, as well as google maps.

Walking is almost certainly the easiest way to navigate the CBD and as well as further afield for the more adventurous. Footpaths are wide and fairly flat and the city is moving towards favouring pedestrians especially in the inner city - this is a work in progress and you should be mindful of traffic wherever you are. Further out in the central suburbs public transport or taxis/ridesharing may be preferred for time's sake.

Historic homes
All these homes have at least some gardens that the public can wander through.

Do

 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.
 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.
 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.
 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.
 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.
 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.
 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.
 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.
 * Rent skates in Okahu Bay and take a scenic skate along Tamaki Drive.



Beaches
There are a number of sometimes-crowded family beaches with a good range of shops lining the shore along Tamaki Drive in the upmarket suburbs of Mission Bay and St Heliers. Swimming is safe, although after heavy rainfall it is a good idea to check SafeSwim before swimming. is Auckland's equivalent of Los Angeles' Venice Beach or Santa Monica, and is extremely popular on a hot summer's day. To its east, and  beaches are usually less crowded. , to the east of St Heliers, is a nudist-friendly beach, but is frequented by regular beachgoers too, and is accessible by a 5 min walk down from the cliff-top road.

Eat
Britomart Precinct on the waterfront in the city centre is home to an array of popular and diverse bars and eateries: Agents + Merchants, Cafe Hanoi, Tyler St Garage, Ebisu, Britomart Country Club, Mexico to name a few. Viaduct Harbour provides upmarket dining, starting at $30 for mains. Some of the establishments there have a reputation for sub-par food and service for the high price. For kosher food, the Auckland Jewish Community Centre, which includes the Auckland Hebrew Congregation, has a kosher shop located on Greys Ave in the CBD (next to the Duxton Hotel) and is open every day except Mondays, Saturdays and Jewish festivals. It stocks a large range of kosher products.

There are some good cheap food courts offering a variety of usually Asian foods. For downtown food halls, try next to the Queens' Arcade at the bottom of Queen St (slightly hidden entrance), or the Metro award-winning one at the bottom of Albert St. The Ponsonby International food court has the cheapest eats in this somewhat pricey neighbourhood with the Mexican stall a standout among the Asian stalls.

Splurge

 * SkyCity entertainment complex, corner Federal & Victoria St, has a dozen restaurants for all tastes and budgets, including the authentic Spanish Tapas bar Bellota, the fine dining dine by Peter Gordon and the revolving restaurant Orbit.
 * SkyCity entertainment complex, corner Federal & Victoria St, has a dozen restaurants for all tastes and budgets, including the authentic Spanish Tapas bar Bellota, the fine dining dine by Peter Gordon and the revolving restaurant Orbit.

Drink
There's a concentration of bars in the Viaduct area near the waterfront. For craft beer enthusiasts there are several breweries in the Kingsland/Morningside area, often referred to as the Beer Mile, not far from the city.



Splurge






Stay safe
Auckland is generally a fairly safe place. Be careful in these areas:

Karangahape Road (K Rd): There are a lot of pubs and clubs here, and care should be taken late at night.

Queen Street: During the day, this is a respectable shopping area, and after dark, there are usually still a large number of pedestrians and traffic until the early hours of the morning so the area it is relatively safe. On Friday and Saturday nights, there are typically many heavily intoxicated people wandering up and down the street. Some may seem intimidating, but they are usually more interested in getting to their next drinking destination than anything else. An increasing number of homeless people sleep around this area, but they are unlikely to bother you except a plea for loose change.

Fort Street: Once the centre of Auckland's red light district. Fort Street is now considered backpackers street with 3 major backpackers' hostels calling it home. During the day you can drink at one of Fort Streets many cafes and dance the night away in one of Fort Streets many bars.

High Street/Vulcan Lane: During the day, this is an elegant and upmarket shopping area. At night, it gets quieter, but on weekends, there will be a large young crowd at the various bars and clubs along the street, and is usually quite safe. Police regularly patrol this street on weekends for disorderly drunk youths.

Viaduct Harbour: Many bars are located here, and care should be taken late at night as intoxication levels rise.

Connect
Free internet is available from the public library (limited 100MB per IP address per day). There is also free Wi-Fi in the Skycity food courts. There are 40 HotSpots that offer Wi-Fi connectivity, most notably Esquires cafe (inside Skycity Queen St, Middle Queen St, Lower Queen St, Nelson St), Starbucks (Victoria St, K' Rd, Lower Queen St) and other cafes around Auckland.