Amazing 5 days Road Trip Itinerary for Northland, New Zealand
Northland, New Zealand is one of the best places to visit whether you are Aucklanders that want to escape the city life, Kiwis that are sick of the cold/ freezing weather, or international travelers that have just landed in Auckland. While it can still get chilly in the winter, there are still a lot of outdoor activities you can do. Make sure you add this destination to your New Zealand Travel! This 5-day Northland Road Trip Itinerary will show you how to explore Northland as much as possible within a short time!
5-Day Itinerary in Northland, New Zealand
If you don’t have time to read the details of this 5-day Northland Road Trip Itinerary, here is a brief summary of what the 5 days in Northland would look like.
We based ourselves in Paihia as we were camping, and didn’t want to take it down and set it up repeatedly. But if you have a campervan or staying at hotels, it’ll be easier to move around and stay in different places. Either way, you’ll be able to enjoy this 5-day road trip itinerary on Northland, New Zealand 🙂
Day 1
Drive from Auckland- to Waipu Caves and onto Paihia (Bay of Islands)
Day 2
Explore the Bay of Islands- Island Hopping, sailing tours, Hole in a rock tour
Day 3
Drive to Cape Regina Lighthouse- The most accessible northernmost point of New Zealand
Have a thrill at the Te Paki Sand Dunes- Must do and very famous thing to do in Northland. Suitable for all ages seeking fun and adventure! Slide down the sand dunes with bodyboards!
Ninety Mile Beach- It is not literally 90 miles, but it’s still a very long strip of beach! And the road is amazing! Do drive on here if you have a suitable four-wheel drive or similar and come at the right time (3 hours before and after low tide) Click here for up-to-date tides information!
Day 4
Explore the Maori Culture and beauty of Paihia- Visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, The Haruru Falls and walk around Paihia
Day 5 (Last Day)
Drive to Tane Mahuta, Waipoua Forest- Largest living Kauri tree in New Zealand
Matakana- A little lovely town just an hour from Auckland, stop for a lovely brunch, lunch, or afternoon tea before heading back!
End of the trip and back to Auckland!
Now let’s jump right into the details of this 5-day Road trip itinerary for Northland, New Zealand
Day 1- Auckland- Waipu Caves- Pahia (Bay of Islands)
Depending on where you stay in Auckland, the driving time can vary. But it is around a 2-3 hours drive to Waipu Caves Track. The highlight of this track is the glowworms you will see, as seeing glowworms is one of the most unique things to do in New Zealand; and often you’d need to pay a good amount of money to join a tour to see them. But here it is totally FREE!!
Take your time to explore the Waipu Caves, and be careful when you’re exploring as it can be slippery and dark.
Head off the Paihia, Bay of Islands when you’re finished exploring the wonder of nature in the caves. Have a relaxing rest of the afternoon/night walking alongside the beach, the wharf of Paihia. Have a beer or two at one of the bars there, and explore the small township; there are quite a few boutique shops there 🙂
Day 2- Explore the Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands is made up of 144 small islands, it is an amazing place to explore. There are so many cruises, sailing tours, and island hopping options to choose from. Taking up one of the tours is the best way to explore a few islands within a day, and enjoy the secludedness of those islands!
I’ve personally taken the Vigilant sailing tour from Russell, and I LOVE IT!! It is a full-day sailing tour that takes you on a sail, and it’ll stop over at one of the islands (which island will be dependent on the weather, wind, etc.) and you can either do kayaking, snorkeling (they provide everything), swimming, small hike on the island or just simply sunbathe on the beach. This tour also includes lunch which is made freshly by the skipper and crew; the ingredients come from their own garden! (I’m not a big fan of salad wrap, but I ate the whole wrap; it is so fresh like it’s unbelievable!!!) Another good thing about this tour is it’s a maximum of 10 people, so you have plenty of space on board to relax and fully enjoy the sailing!
Other cruises that I haven’t taken but I know that they are very popular, and have gotten many good reviews are below:
Discover the Bay- Hole in the Rock cruise
Chance to view Marine wildlife throughout the cruise
Take you to the famous hole in the rock when the weather permits
Stop over at one of the most beautiful islands within the bay- Otahei Bay Urupukapuka Island
Hole in the rock is famous for its unique natural wonder; waves crashing into the rock make a big hole. It can be quite choppy out there, so you’d have to be quite lucky to actually go through the hole itself; otherwise, most people just hang around close by!
Otahei Bay Ferry to Urupukapuka Island
Take this quick ferry to the amazing, beautiful Urupukapuka Island. And discover the beauty of the island at your own pace; pack your own lunch and have a picnic there. Or enjoy some food at their fully licensed cafe! There are a few amazing hikes for you to choose from, enjoy a swim, or snorkel in the calm water there!
There are seriously so many options in the Bay of Islands! Remember to book ahead if you wanted to join a specific tour like the Vigilant Sailing tour, just to avoid any disappointment 🙂
Day 3- Cape Reinga/Ninety Mile Beach day trip
This day is going to be a very full-on day, and one of the busiest days out of this 5-day road trip itinerary in Northland, New Zealand. And it involves quite a bit of driving, but don’t worry there are so many stops in between, you won’t actually feel like you’ve been driving a lot!
Remember to bring food and water for lunch, as there aren’t many places around for food during this trip! There is a fish and chips shop which you need to try along the way, I will get to this later on. But it is recommended to go on your way back to Paihia 🙂
Drive straight to the Cape Reinga Lighthouse first thing, as if you get there earlier you’d have a better chance to avoid the crowd, as bus tours usually come here around midday. It is around a 3-hour drive up to Cape Reinga from Paihia. It’s a short, easy walk from the car park to the lighthouse (around 15 minutes). Once you’ve reached the lighthouse, you’re officially standing on the most accessible northernmost point of New Zealand; which you will witness the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea crashing into each other!!
After you’ve done the lighthouse, it’s time for some adrenaline-pumping activity! Head over to the Te Paki Giant Sand Dunes, and sandboard down the sand dunes. You can either bring your own you or can rent a board at Ahikaa Adventures which is located right at the parking lot for the Sand dunes. There are different heights and lengths of sand dunes for you to choose from; if you’re chicken like me you can do the shorter one haha. You’d still get the thrill and fun from it! But if you’re brave and bold, go up to the bigger ones for even more thrills! The climb on sand dunes isn’t easy at all, so be prepared for some exercise 🙂
Use your toes to reduce the speed if you feel like it’s too fast!! Wear shoes that you’re ok with them getting dirty or wet; as you might need to walk through a small stream. And bring spare clothes to change after!!
After the adrenaline-pumped activity, I’m sure you’d be ready to just relax and enjoy the scenic route. So now it’s time to drive to the Ninety Mile Beach, where you can drive on the beach (4-wheel drive is highly recommended, and note that rental companies usually don’t cover any damages that occur while driving here.) But even without driving on the beach, you can still enjoy the scenery by walking on it; of course, you won’t be able to cover the whole way; but it is still pretty amazing to explore!
Join the Cape Reinga/Ninety Mile Beach day tour from Paihia, if you don’t feel like driving long hours in a day! With a knowledgable guide onboard, it will surely make your trip more memorable and you can just relax and enjoy 🙂
Once you’ve explored all three locations, you’d be pretty tired and probably hungry. So stop over at the Mangonui Fish Shop on your way back to Paihia; they have a huge menu at a very reasonable price. Everyone who’s done this day trip would have either been or at least have heard of this fish shop, that’s how famous it is haha! After enjoying a good feast, it’s only an hour drive back to Paihia, where you can relax for the rest of the night as you’ve had quite an epic and tiring day 🙂
Day 4- Explore the Maori Culture, and beauty of Paihia
Visit the Waitangi Treaty Ground; explores the culture, and learn the history of Maori. Watch the cultural performance, where they perform waiata (songs), haka (traditional war dance), etc; that will for sure blow your mind! Join a guided tour around the treaty ground to learn more about how history shaped New Zealand. Everything is included in the admission fee!! You can easily spend a few hours here, take your time to really immerse yourself into this cultural experience!
Another amazing place to explore in Paihia is the Haruru Falls, which is a 2.5 hours return walking track. Especially if you go after a big rainfall, you’ll be rewarded with an extraordinary waterfall. I didn’t do the walk, as the campground, I stayed in; the Falls Motel and Waterfall Campground is located where I can see the Falls directly from a distance, so I didn’t do the track. Also, half of the time I was there it was pouring raining, so I skipped this 🙁 But if I go back again, I’ll definitely do the track to witness the waterfall close-up!
Walk around the Paihia Wharf at night, it is pretty relaxing. As it lights up at night at Paihia Wharf, you’d be able to see the reflections of lights in the water!! There are a few restaurants that are just waterfront which you should give it a try as well 🙂
Day 5- Explore the largest living Kauri Tree to end your trip
Before ending this 5-day road trip itinerary in Northland and heading back to Auckland, make a trip to Waipoua Forest to witness the largest living kauri tree in New Zealand, the Tane Mahuta. It is around a 2-hour drive from Paihia. Once you reach the parking, It is only a short walk leading to this magnificent sight, you will simply be amazed at the presence of it, there’s a reason it’s called “Lord of the Forest”. There are also other short walks in Waipoua Forest, which is a very family-friendly activity to do 🙂
Drive another 2.5-3 hours to Matakana, a small charming town near Auckland. Despite it being a small town, they have so much to do there. Many restaurants, amazing white sand beaches, Tawharanui Regional Park, a famous farmer’s market on Saturday, and very unique-looking public toilets. (It can be considered a tourist spot haha)
Once you’ve done exploring this lovely town, there’s only an hour’s drive left to go back to Auckland!
As I mentioned before we stay at Paihia for the 4 nights we were there, as we were camping and didn’t want to set up the tent repeatedly. And as Paihia is the middle point of all the destinations in this 5-day road trip itinerary in Northland, so it’s actually a perfect place to base yourself at 🙂 And I highly recommended the Falls Motel and Waterfall Campground, they have a campground for tents/RV/campervan, etc.. also studio/apartments!!
Booking.comUseful Guides to this 5-day Road Trip itinerary in Northland
Compare and book your cars on rentalcars.com or discover cars
Explore hotels in Paihia on Booking.com or budget stays on Hostel World
Explore some discounted activities on Bookme.com or Viator.com or compare on Tripadvisor with real-life reviews.
↓↓ Explore some other amazing activities in the Bay of Islands ↓↓
If it’s your first time traveling to New Zealand, and have chosen that North Island is where you’d want to explore. This itinerary is definitely for you, people often skip Northland when they’re traveling on North Island; as it is a bit out of the way of other tourist towns/cities. But you 100% there’s so much authentic and cultural stuff up in Northland, so you wouldn’t want to miss this!
I hope this 5-day Road Trip itinerary in Northland would help your plan better or inspire you to travel up to Northland 🙂 Let me know your thoughts, and what are your favorite things to do in Northland, New Zealand!
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