The City of Sails and Beyond | Auckland to Bay of Islands

Perched between Waitemata and Manukau harbors, Auckland offers a buzzing mix of culture, nightlife and restaurants. Spend your first day exploring the “City of Sails.” Take to the water and race in an America’s Cup yacht or bungee jump from Auckland’s Sky Tower.

Cruise from the harbor to the trendy island of Waiheke. Lying just off the mainland, the island is known as the “Hamptons” of Auckland. Step ashore to explore the island’s growing food and wine scene, stunning beaches and eclectic art galleries. Enjoy the island’s wineries where you will find unique New Zealand wines based on cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, cabernet franc and chardonnay grape varieties.

The Coromandel Peninsula is the perfect anchorage for all manner of watersports activities including kayaking, snorkeling, wakeboarding and water skiing.

Cruise to the furthermost reaches of the Hauraki Gulf to Great Barrier Island. Barrier is the largest island off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island and provides beautiful sheltered anchorages to the west. Visited by Captain Cook in 1769, the island was so named because it was believed to be sheltering the Hauraki Gulf from the storms of the Pacific.

Formed from a chain of volcanoes that eroded millions of years ago, the underwater caves, tunnels and arches of Poor Knights Islands are fed by a warm current. The subtropical reefs are home to sharks, coral fish, turtles and orca, and on occasion you might even spot migrating whales.

The Bay of Islands comprises 144 islands, the majority of which are home to some of the most stunning beaches in the world. It was here that Queen Victoria’s government and the indigenous Maori chiefs signed the document ceding the islands to the British Empire in 1840. Spend a few days exploring the archipelago before cruising overnight to Auckland to disembark.