Overview
Take a Trip to Bay of Islands on your New Zealand Vacation
The Bay of Islands region is located on the east coast of the North Island, 60 kilometres/36 miles north of Whangarei and is a very popular tourist region catering to those interested in sailing, fishing or just enjoying the scenery on a New Zealand vacation. There is an abundance of natural beauty and marine life with 150 islands in total.
Most visitors on New Zealand Tours use Paihia as a starting point as it has a range of accommodations, restaurants and other facilities. Its other assets are safe waters and superb beaches.
Nearby, within walking distance is Waitangi where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by Maoris and Europeans in 1840. This historic site located on a vast peaceful estate offers conducted tours of the site as well as the Treaty House.
Opua has sandy beaches ideal for swimming and is also a sailboat centre. The island resort of Russell can be reached by car ferry.
Russell, also easily reached by ferry from Paihia, is possibly the most attractive of all the Bay of Islands destinations. It is a historic centre and offers great panoramic views from the top of the hills behind the town.
For the active visitor, on a New Zealand vacation, skydiving, parasailing, scuba diving and kayaking are readily available in the Bay of Islands.
Russell, also easily reached by ferry from Paihia, is possibly the most attractive of all the Bay of Islands destinations. It is a historic centre and offers great panoramic views from the top of the hills behind the town.
For the active visitor, on a New Zealand vacation, skydiving, parasailing, scuba diving and kayaking are readily available in the Bay of Islands.
At a Glance
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New Zealand Dollar (NZD)What do the experts say?
The food in New Zealand is incredible, and New Zealanders are rightly proud of their paddock to plate cuisine. Almost everything is sustainably grown and processed, from lamb and seafood to vegetables and fruit.
About 20 percent of New Zealand is made up of National Parks, Forests, and Nature Reserves. And they’re all free to enter!
The Māori cultural experiences and performances offered throughout the North and South Islands are well worth seeking out. If the opportunity presents itself, definitely take part in a hāngī
Looking for a great restaurant in New Zealand? Try The Bunker in Queenstown, Plato in Dunedin, Manu in Christchurch, and Oppies Fish & Chips in Rotorua
All Blacks rugby is huge in New Zealand. If you’re a sports fan, be sure to check out a home game. The All Blacks typically play their home test matches during the months of July, August, September and sometimes October
Urapukapuka Island
The seaside town of Russell is one of the most ...
Sunset in the beautiful Bay of Islands is a gre...
Urupukapuka Island is the largest island in the...
More than 140 islands make up the The Bay of Is...
Maori culture is very prevalent in the Bay of I...
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ExcellentBased on 5,185 ReviewsHello and Happy Travels.
I have been working with Isabella Luu for
two separate trips, one has traveled. They absolutely loved everything put together by Isabella.
She has been knowledgeable and helpful answering all questions I and clients have had. The work she put into these trips has shown by the ease of the clients travel.
Nothing says more than a Happy Client with smiles and a desire to rebook. THANK YOU Isabella. 04Dawn White Dream VacationsGreat Support throughout the process. Booking travel is a team sport these days and Allan was a supportive teammate in arranging a wonderful holiday for my clients!DellaAllan from Goway is fantastic to work with. He is always quick to respond, highly professional, and very friendly. I know I can count on him for excellent service every time.
He has helped us with multiple Europe travel trips for our clients, and every one of them has gone smoothly. I truly appreciate the reliability, communication, and care Allan provides, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.AphroditeExcellent service! Farnaz did a wonderful job of coordinating detail. She had spot on recommendations and applied our wants and desires into a fantastic tripTommy ThompsonMichael did a great job arranging all our transfers, hotels, trains and tours for our trip to Iceland and Andalucia, Spain. No blips or missed connections and accommodations were easy walking to central cities. Would use Goway again and recommend to our friends.David StoneI found this agency when trying to find a trip to New Zealand and Australia. I never heard of them before, so I had to do some research to make sure they were legit. This trip was going to be seemingly more in cost, so I needed to feel everything was going to go as planned and I was not going to be scammed. I had Natasa Jaric as my Specialist. Her and I worked on an itinerary that suited my needs. She is very friendly and knowledgeable.
I had back to back tours for three weeks straight, as well as transfers and hopper flights. This was what I wanted, as this was my " One and Done" for this region. My transportation, hotels, tours and flights went as planned. Of course, Mother Nature dictates some plans and one activity was cancelled. I am getting a refund through the agency. Please book with confidence! This company is reputable and delivers on the itinerary. I had the opportunity to review each part of my itinerary with Natasa prior to leaving to make sure all looked correct. My trip was unforgettable!!! Thank you Goway Travel for making this trip so effortless and smooth.ConsumerGoway gave us a magical holiday in Southeast Asia. From the organization of the transportation, guides and drivers, hotels and tours, everything ran like clockwork with quality accommodations, experienced guides and drivers and amazing excursions. We had a wedding in Bali Indonesia that was the stimulus for visiting 7 countries Cebu Philippines, Hanoi, Hue and Hoi An Vietnam, Siem Reap Cambodia, Bangkok Thailand, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Bali, Indonesia and Taipei, Taiwan.
We had marvelous tour guides and drivers. All of them spoke excellent English, had years of experience, were very knowledgeable and passionate about their country and its heritage, very friendly, funny, patient , flexible and accommodating. In Bali we were able to add another tour when we changed hotels and the guide was able to accommodate our friends from Canada to go with us. The drivers were excellent considering the traffic volumes and what we would consider complex driving movements by cars, trucks, bicycles, vespas, tuk tuks and motorcycles.
The hotels we were placed in were five stars, with exceptional breakfast which showcased the country's food. We were always able to find ethnic food from that area that we could try. I would highly recommend the Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi. The hotel even has a bunker from the Vietnam War that you can tour if you are staying there. Also the Komaneka at Bisma in Ubud Indonesia was a beautiful property and we were treated like royalty by being placed in a villa with our own swimming pool. All the hotels except one had universal outlets.
For any of the Temples whether Buddha or Hindu, churches or Mosques, you need covered shoulders, covered knees and covered toes. Some like Indonesia provide sarongs as part of the entrance fee.
For tours the I highly recommend the following:
The overnight Ginger Cruise of Halong Bay. The suites were like what you see in the movies of Chinese junket's. You visit a secluded fishing village, the scenery is amazing, the food was excellent and we were taught how to make spring rolls and went squid fishing.
The half day cooking class in Cambodia was an amazing experience. We were taken out to a village farm with a multi-generational Cambodian family. The farm had power but no running water. Water was gathered from the river or rainfall. We went to other farms around the village to look at the crops of herbs and vegetables, including rice that were used in the dinner. Also visited the village market for fruits, meats and fish. You were taught how to prepare the foods with the women of the farm while the men set up tables, chairs and lighting for the evening meal. The whole family plus our guide and driver ate the prepared meal under the stars. It was totally awesome.
Also don't miss the cooking class at the Blue Elephant in Bangkok. This was a class of 12 students, again with a market tour to select ingredients for what we would be cooking. We prepared four courses which were first demonstrated then we went into a kitchen with stations where each of us prepared that course. Afterwards we sat down to eat the meal that we had prepared.
For a different authentic experience The Dark Foodie Tour in Siem Reap by Vespa was one of the highlights of the tour. This tour you spend time with the Cambodian people in the night market, bars and restaurants and even a local fair. You are driven around the city like the locals on Vespa's.
You will see lots of temples but two you don't want to miss is Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Wat Suthat in Thailand. Both are astounding and if you get a chance circle back to view the Wat Suthat at night where the lights on the temple show off its beauty.
Chris LawsonThe tour was very well planned out and provided many incredible experiences! Alice Teramoto was very helpful while we were planning this trip.Sheryl RadetskyWe recently enjoyed a tour around Australia arranged by Natasa Jarik at Goway Travel. The trip lasted 10 days, too short to do justice to all of Australia, but enough to give us a taste of a fascinating country.
The trip was excellent, exactly what we were looking for. The complicated logistics all worked out smoothly and perfectly. Everything was on time and as advertised. The individual tours were excellent, the guides were absolutely first rate, the accommodations all worked out well (especially the central location of Swissotel in Sydney), and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip. One of the really enjoyable days was day 1, when we arrived early in the morning after a long plane flight from the US and spent the day walking through the parks and gardens and around the harbor in Sydney, visiting a couple of museums, and having a wonderful dinner at a little restaurant around the corner from our hotel. Sydney is a beautiful city! We missed spotting a cassowary in the rain forest, but we saw lots of roos and koalas and emus and dingoes and wombats and crocodiles and wallabies at Kangaroo Island and the Daintree rain forest, snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef, and enjoyed a very interesting tour around Sydney. The arrangements were handled efficiently and easily. Thank you, Natasa, for arranging a perfect tour for us!Mike CherryGoway Travels makes planning easy!! Every detail is included and they will taper your tour as you like!maureen von minden
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