Visiting Waiheke Island – The Low Down, Oneroa, New Zealand

Waiheke Island is definitely a feast for the senses upon taking a 35 minute ferry from down town Auckland you arrive on to an idyllic island that is so far away from the hectic culture of Auckland. If you can only visit one place in Auckland this should be it, you can get a real sense of what the rest of New Zealand is really like! Here are our tips on how to explore Waiheke and where to visit, but trust me you will be spoilt for choice!

Waiheke is in the Hauraki Gulf and is the second largest island, it has a population of nearly 8,000 people its popularity is mainly due to its ease and proximity to Auckland city centre. Fullers offer a ferry service on a daily basis every hour as well as Explore Waiheke Ferry. However, to take the 35 minute ferry ride here is not necessarily cheap, but if you check out Book Me you will often find ferry return tickets on certain days for just $1! So definitely worth planning your trip around these deals!

Upon arrival you can be collected by one of the many bus tours or hire a car (near the car park) or an even better idea rent an electric Bike from our friends at eCycles NZ, they are also situated in the main car park. We have had the delight of visiting twice, once on foot and took the public bus around the island and most recently we decided to take our bikes over. However they are not E-Bikes and we were naïve in thinking we would be able to explore a lot of the island in the time that we had! E-bikes are almost a necessity, lots of locals have them and you soon realise why! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).