Auckland, New Zealand

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Auckland - City of Sails 

The City

Imagine a city where most the population live within half an hour of beautiful beaches, hiking trails and holiday islands. Sailing is in their blood and Auckland Harbour is huge. 

Location of the Ship

Joining & departure times: 1000hrs at Princes Wharf West, Quay St, Auckland
Adjacent to National Maritime Museum

Accommodation

Plenty in Auckland from very good value back packer hostels to top end luxury hotels.

Things to Do in Auckland

more soon.

Travelling Between Auckland & Russell 

There is a regular coach service between Auckland and Russell, Bay of Islands which takes approx 4 hours and is quite a scenic drive.

 Trip advice for New Zealand

If you are planning a trip to New Zealand there is a wealth of information on adventure activities, cultural experiences and independant travel options to chose from. Almost too much choice. The nice thing about adding a 4-5 day voyage on Soren Larsen to your New Zealand itinerary, is that you can indulge in relatively slow travel, with the winds dictating your daily itinerary. You also have a chance to offset all that carbon created to fly you to New Zealand by exploring a significant part of the North Island powered by the wind.

The ships crew are well travelled and enthusiastic about much more than just square rig sailing, so they make great ambassadors to introduce you to New Zealand. If you are flying into Auckland a voyage on Soren Larsen could make the perfect start to your holiday. You can chill out after a long flight; exert a bit of physical energy, learn about the wildlife and culture without feeling like a tourist, make some potential travel friends, and get some tips on where to go next. The age range on board is really mixed.

Classic Sailing skippers have been to New Zealand via stop over in Cook Islands and experienced many things from climbing upto the highest mountain pass accross the Southern Alps, to canyonning by jumping down waterfalls in the rainforest around Auckland. Over the next few weeks we will be adding some of our favourite New Zealand experiences and some of the quality outdoor activities we think our sailing customers might also like.

We think a voyage on Soren Larsen should be a 'must do' for anyone exploring North Island. National Geographic Adventure Magazine goes further and nominated the voyages as 25 best trips in the world.

Flight Advice

Classic Sailing are not flight brokers. If you are planning a world trip or multiple stop offs in Austrailia and New Zealand we recommend you speak to a specialist flight broker. Always allow a bit of leeway for possible delays in both long haul flights and adventure activities.

Main airlines serving New Zealand and Australia from UK. You can avoid the hassle of flying via USA by going via Far or Middle East.

Air New Zealand

Departures from London Heathrow to Auckland, Christchurch & Wellington

Stop Overs Los Angeles, Hong Kong & Pacific Islands

Emirates

Departures from Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, to Auckland, Christchurch, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Stop overs Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok

Widest seats in economy at 34"

Singapore Airlines

Departures from Heathrow & Manchester to Auckland, Christchurch, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Stop overs Singapore

Qantas

Departures from Heathrow to Auckland, Christchurch, and heaps of Australian airports.

Stopovers - Bangkok, Hong Kong, Bali, Singapore, Bali, Fiji, New York, Los angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu.

Good for round the world tickets. Ask about Qantas Walkabout Fares

Cathay Pacific

Departures from Heathrow to Auckland, Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne Perth, Sydney.

Stop over Hong Kong

Etihad Airways

Departure from London Heathrow, Manchester to Auckland and main Australian cities

Stop Overs Abu Dhabi, Dubai

National airline of United Arab Emirates. Worlds fastest growing airline with very new planes

Virgin Blue & Pacific Blue