North Island Insider Guide (2026 Edition)

The North Island, region by region.

The Essentials guide gets you through the airport. The Insider Guide is about everything after: where to point the car, where to sleep, and how to spend your days so the trip feels like yours.

Every place in this guide is somewhere we have been, walked, swum or got lost in. The photography is ours. Where something is worth the money, we say so. Where it is a trap, we say that too.

What’s inside (48 pages):
– 10 and 14 day route suggestions
– Nine regions: Auckland and Devonport, Northland, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Waitomo, Taupō, Tongariro, Hawke’s Bay and the Coromandel
– For each region: how long to stay, the best areas to stay by budget, what to do, where to eat, and hidden gems vs tourist traps
– An honest guide to the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
– Sample daily budgets, a month-by-month seasonal calendar, and packing lists for every season
– Tappable links to live accommodation maps and our full blog guides

Instant PDF download. Read it on your phone, tablet or laptop, on the plane or on the road.

New to New Zealand? Start with North Island Essentials, then use this guide to plan the trip itself.