Half a day in Auckland.... suggestions pls!

[Lara Croft]

Me again...

We will have half a day, and an evening in Auckland. Where would you say is a Must-See for the 2 of us, and little-un (aged 8)? And somewhere nice (but not too pricey) for the 3 of us to eat?

Thanks folks,
Jane

[Moorf]

What about the museum? Really enjoyed it there.

[LesleyS]

I think the Sky Tower is a 'must see' - and if you go around lunchtime you can have a very reasonably priced buffet - with views!!

[JandM]

Yes, the museum is great. We liked Crystal Mountain, which isn't far if you've got a car available? Fabulous views from the various volcanoes, e.g. Mount Victoria in Devonport. For eating, what about one of the food halls? - the Ponsonby one is good, as is Queen Street. They are SO reasonable, and each of you can have food from a different kitchen if that's what you like.

[Familyofmonkeys]

If you don't want to spend too much time travelling how about starting at the Auckland Museum in the Auckland Domain. The maori section is good for an hour or so (my kids love the oogley boogley faces on the carvings), they perform the haka several times a day and there is a very nice cafe in the mezzanine for a snack/cuppa. The I would get the circular bus that stops from the back of the museum to the CBD waterfront. Get a ferry acoss to Devonport (cheap, fun for kids and very frequent) and enjoy view while your 8 year old enjoys the playground or an ice cream. Get ferry back and go up Sky tower. You can get tickets so you could go up twice...once in daylight and once at night so you get to see the view and then see the city all lit up at night. Or you could even have dinner there (might work out better value than just paying to go up tower and if you time it right you could watch the sunset). There are a ton of really good reasonably cheap eateries around Queen St aswell. Depending on what day of the week you go, there is late night shopping until 9pm (thursday and friday) if you wanted to get some souveneirs/postcards etc and generally have a wander around so your child doesn't get too bored.

[Jo Jo]

Excellent post, FoM - my sister is coming to stay soon and I'm going to follow all of your suggestions, I think!

[benandclare]

Sky tower and Museum is our vote

[kanatakiwi]

Kids love Kelly Tarltons Undersea Adventure on Tamaki Drive (sharks and fish swim over your head in a glass circular aquarium) there is a free shuttle bus there from downtown (phone to find out where or when) Its not cheap but then neither is the sky tower..we took 2 adults and 2 kids and that was $40. I also vote for the museum.

enjoy your day

[KerryS]

The museum is great - you can take the Link bus ($1.60 no matter how many stops you travel), and it has a commentary which tells you where to get off.

There are usually vouchers for discounts on the Sky Tower admission in the tourist leaflets, so it's worth picking them up and checking them.

There are loads of good places to eat around the city too - I love Raw Power on Vulcan Lane for lunch, vegetarian, but the most amazing selection of salads and the best tofu burger I've ever had!

[Derv]

The penguins at Kelly Tarleton's are very cute and they do seem to like having people visiting them. When we went there, the penguins stood up straight and watched the visitors with great interest!! But it is expensive so look out for vouchers at Info Centres, hotels, car rental places etc.