EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Moving on from Auckland is a straightforward business, with frequent buses following the main routes north and south to most major destinations, and trains (Tranzrail tel 0800/802 802, www.tranzrail.co.nz ) leaving daily for Hamilton, Wellington, Rotorua and Tauranga. With your own transport you have a couple of alternatives if you're heading north. You can take SH1 directly over the harbour bridge and make for Orewa, or go west around the head of the Waitemata Harbour past the wineries, West Coast Beaches and Waitakere Ranges to meet up with SH1 at Wellsford. Cyclists must use the Devonport Ferry rather than the harbour bridge if heading directly north but will do well to take the western route, possibly riding a suburban train to Waitakere (bikes carried free outside peak hours). Southbound cyclists are better off following the Seabird Coast avoiding the Southern Motorway, the main route south out of the city for motorists.

The network of ferries and flights linking the islands in the Hauraki Gulf presents more interesting ways to get out of the city. By linking them together you can visit a few islands and continue on to Whitianga on the Coromandel Peninsula or Whangarei without returning to Auckland. The most useful combination is to take a ferry to Great Barrier Island and catch a flight from there, possibly adding Waiheke Island to your itinerary; contact Fullers (tel 09/367 9111) and Great Barrier Airlines (tel 09/275 9120 & 0800/275 912) for schedules and fares. If you are heading directly to the Coromandel Peninsula, consider Pakatoa Ferries ($32 each way; tel 09/379 0066) which run from Pier 4, near the Ferry Building, to Hannaford's Point Wharf, 10km south of Coromandel, where a bus awaits to run you into town.

Finally, if you're on your way out of New Zealand, we've listed airline and travel agents - and remember to keep $20 aside for your airport tax .