6 Days in Auckland and Beyond, NZ
Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.
Six days is the 5-day plan plus one full extra day: a Coromandel run out to Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach on top of the city, Waiheke, Hobbiton, and a Rotorua overnight. If you’ve got a seventh day to spare, the 7-day itinerary adds a relaxed wine-country finish; if six is a stretch, drop back to 5 days or 3 .
Book these before you go
- Rotorua accommodation for 1 night
- Hobbiton day tour (guided-only, sells out summer weekends)
- Waiheke ferry and a wine tour shuttle
- Rental car for Days 4-6, since Rotorua and Coromandel both need one
Day 1: Auckland CBD
Mt Eden/Maungawhau for the free 360-degree view (walk-only summit since 2016), then the Auckland War Memorial Museum (international adult $32; Māori/Pacific galleries closed since May 2025, cultural performance still runs twice daily). Afternoon in Viaduct Harbour and Wynyard Quarter; dinner in the Britomart precinct. Check CBD hotel rates - $220-350 for a 4-star outside peak summer.
Day 2: Waiheke Island
Ferry from downtown (~40 min, Fullers360, not on AT HOP - book at fullers.co.nz ). Pre-book a wine tour shuttle for the 30+ vineyards, or spend the day at Onetangi or Palm Beach instead. Check the return timetable before planning a late dinner on the island.
Day 3: Hobbiton day trip
Hobbiton (Matamata) is ~165km, 2-2.5 hours each way, guided-only. Book a Hobbiton tour with return transport - most run 10-12 hours door to door. Back in Auckland late; early night ahead of the drive south.
Day 4: Auckland to Rotorua
Pick up a rental car and drive via Waitomo (~2.5-3 hrs) for the glowworm caves (about an hour underground), then continue to Rotorua (another 1.5-2 hrs). Evening at a geothermal park or a Māori cultural evening at Te Puia or Whakarewarewa - these are genuinely in Rotorua, not Auckland.
Day 5: Rotorua to Auckland
Morning: a second geothermal stop or the Redwoods forest walk. Afternoon: drive back to Auckland (~3-3.5 hrs direct). You’ll arrive in the evening after two driving days - keep dinner simple and close to your hotel.
Day 6: Coromandel day trip
All day
This is the longest single day of the trip, so start early. Drive to Cathedral Cove (~175-185km, 2.5-3 hrs each way) - check current status at doc.govt.nz before you leave, since the track auto-closes during orange or red weather warnings. Pair it with Hot Water Beach, which only works within about 2 hours either side of low tide, so check tide times and plan your route around them, not the other way round.
Evening
Drive back to Auckland (allow the full 2.5-3 hrs; don’t cut it close after a beach day). It’s a long day of driving for a short window on each beach, but Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach together are worth it if the weather and tides line up.
Getting around
Days 1-3 need no car. Days 4-6 need a rental car booked from the morning of Day 4 through the evening of Day 6 - Rotorua and Coromandel both have thin public transport, and a car lets you time Hot Water Beach around the tide rather than a bus schedule.
One honest tip
Day 6 is genuinely long - over 5 hours of driving for maybe 3-4 hours on the beaches. If that sounds like too much after two other driving days, swap it for a relaxed Kumeu wine-country morning instead; the 7-day itinerary shows how that day looks.