Top Things to do in North Shore
Top Restaurants in North Shore
What to do and see in North Shore, North Island: The Best Free Things to do
Discover the best top things to do in North Shore, New Zealand including Key Summit Track, Mount Victoria Reserve, Smiths Bush Reserve, Torpedo Bay Navy Museum, Takapuna Markets, Auckland Night Market, Browns Bay Beach, Little Shoal Bay Reserve, Takapuna Beach Playground, Devonport Chocolates.
Restaurants in North Shore
1. Key Summit Track
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 45 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip. See website for the price of accommodation on this track.
Reviewed By mcmoscato - Annandale, United States
Key Summit is an outstanding easy excursion from the Milford Road or a quick side-trip from the Routeburn Track. The climb to Key Summit begins at The Divide trailhead, and starts on the Routeburn Track heading toward the Lake Howden and Lake Mackenzie Huts. The track is well graded and passes through pleasant forest with limited views. After a gradual climb a signed intersection points the way to the Key Summit Track, which veers above the Routeburn. The smooth track heads uphill via a series of moderate switchbacks. As the trail emerges from the forest, there are outstanding views down the Hollyford Valley as a taste of the more expansive views to come. Near the top of the climb the trail forks as part of a worthwhile nature loop. The route meanders on the high summit ridge, past beautiful tarns and with many outstanding viewpoints. The turnaround point is the Lake Marian Viewpoint, where you can just see Lake Marian perched in a high hanging valley in the Darran Mountains across the Hollyford Valley. After completing the summit nature loop, head back down the way you came. It's about 4-5 miles in total ~ 2 hours and while steep in some places not a hard hike and rewarding with magnificent views
2. Mount Victoria Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 467 reviews
Reviewed By chetasm2018
Just a short ferry from Auckland to the town of Davenport, mount Victoria is a short 10-15 min climb up the hill. The views from up there are worth the climb as you get almost 360 degree view of the city, harbor and also the volcanic mountain the other size.
3. Smiths Bush Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 13 reviews
Reviewed By BridgetF626 - Auckland, New Zealand
Smith's Bush is an ecologically sensitive area so the whole walk is on a boardwalk. It is an extremely pleasant walk of about 15-20 minutes to do the circuit. Unlike alot of other bush walks where you spend so much time looking at your feet so that you don't trip, this walk enables you to look up and enjoy the amazing canopy. It has a wonderful collection of epiphytes. If you don't know what these are, you will soon realise. As you first walk into the area you will notice the incredible amount of bird songs. As you get closer to the motorway these stop but pick up again as you loop around the track. It is suitable for prams and wheelchairs. If you have a wheel chair, park at the far end of the carpark, closest to the batting cages of the cricket ground. From there it is a short paved path to the entrance of the bush. The bush entrance has a gate and within it there is a stand with a brochure. If you are interested, pick one up and read about what you are looking at. However if you don't, you will still be impressed.
4. Torpedo Bay Navy Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 306 reviews
Reviewed By NancyT232 - Gig Harbor, United States
This museum highlights the history of the New Zealand Navy. They use personal stories of individuals to describe historic battles, complete with artifacts and photographs of the individuals, making the stories more personal. There were photographs of contemporary naval personnel as well as wall-size photographs of the crews from historic vessels. Many exhibits were interactive enough to draw you in but not so much as to distract from the story. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. There's a small shop as well as a cafe right on the waterfront. Great way to spend a day in town, and very accessible from the ferry dock. Ferries run every half hour to the main terminal in Auckland. Great place to get away from the cruise ship for a peaceful day.
5. Takapuna Markets
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 96 reviews
Reviewed By blueshark_m4ko - Warrnambool, Australia
Awesome Sunday market on an awesome day is brilliant. Every stall was friendly and polite, not all have eftpos available so bring cash, those that do or don’t accept cards are clearly signed as such either way. Plenty to eat and drink, a lot of buskers but they are strategically placed and volume controlled so they don’t interfere with each other. From old stuff to new stuff, there is something for everyone. Apparently the council is planning to concrete jungle the car park where this institute is located thus ending this iconic thing to do, that would be a shame.
6. Auckland Night Market
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 61 reviews
Held in seven locations across Auckland, the night markets have a great vibe, with buskers, magicians, and dance troupes plus delicious street food from around the globe.
Reviewed By IntoTheDeepBlue
The Glenfield Sunday Night Market is a must-do for a huge variety (with an emphasis on Asian) of cheap eats served fresh and hot. Malaysian, Thai, Chinese, Filipino, American, Korean, South African...the list of cuisines represented is long. At first glance, you could easily imagine that you were browsing street vendors in any of a dozen Asian cities. Most of the food is cooked right in front of you, so you get it piping hot. We’ve been coming to this market for years and it’s always good, always a fun experience for everyone in the family. Wander around, snack on delicious food from all over the world, top it off with your choice of sweet treat from any of a dozen dessert stalls and then take home a little bit of everything. Wow. The prices are rock-bottom. $10 for 4 large teriyaki chicken sticks, $11 for 33 pot-stickers, $2 pork buns, $10 for 7 pieces of prawn shiu-mai, and don’t leave without your healthy serving of Nutella cheesecake for $5. As the night goes on, the market gets crowded and parking fills up in the parking structure. Still, there are always spaces available, you just have to drive up higher in the structure to get them. We like to show up when things are just getting rolling at 5:30pm, and folks are starting to trickle in. Whenever you arrive, the Glenfield Sunday Night Market is a good time, with good food, at crazy-good prices. There are merchandise vendors here, also, and browsing their stalls is always interesting. iPhone paraphernalia, jewelry, hats, clothing, holistic health items, toys and more. Fresh fruit and vegetables round out the vendor stalls. The hours are 5:30pm to 11:00pm. We heartily recommend the Glenfield Sunday Night Market. It’s fun for the whole family. If you’re lucky, there will be live music and maybe even the human statue guy. Check out the pictures!
7. Browns Bay Beach
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 107 reviews
Reviewed By davidhW3923IF
Lovely beach, one of my favourites on the North Shore. Nice and long and always something going on there. They have a large kids playground too so fun for the younger ones as well as tables and seats for that takeaway on the beach.
8. Little Shoal Bay Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 11 reviews
Reviewed By yvonnew392 - Auckland, New Zealand
A lovely playground for the kids, or a romantic spot for a picnic, The beach is not suitable for long walks, by the reserve next door is.
9. Takapuna Beach Playground
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 51 reviews
Reviewed By TakingTheATrain - Wellington, New Zealand
This amazing playground is situated right by Takapuna beach, which means that you can have a play in the playground and then have a dip in the water. You could actually spend all day here, which is what we did with our family on a weekday in January 2021. It was very busy when we arrived. Car parking can be an issue if you're looking for street parking, so we parked at a paid parking lot right across the road from the playground. There are picnic tables and seating scattered around the playground. The playground equipment is suited to a number of ages. There is one massive climbing structure which was great for those who weren't afraid of heights! The beach is right there and has life guards which is great. Very tidy beach, and there is a tap for washing yourself / drinking water. The downside are the toilets / changing rooms which are not the most clean or tidy, and are very dark. The playground is just a block away from the shops, including a supermarket.
10. Devonport Chocolates
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 122 reviews
This shop sells handmade gourmet chocolates from the seaside village of Devonport. Its collection with wrappers decorated with pukeko and kiwi birds by local artist Fraser Williams makes a great gift.
Reviewed By X9477ZRkarenm - Sans Souci, Australia
We arrived by the ferry and grab a coffee and wondered around. A local told us about Devonport chocolates and it was a MUST visit. We received a warm welcome by a lovely young lady with a smile. Who proceeded to inform us of the local making and tasting was on offer. We tried a few chocolates AND DRUNK the HOT CHOCOLATE!! Omg the best ever.. We purchased a number of different types of chocolates DARK chocolate slices - MILK rugby balls DARK CHOCOLATE FROGS and a small bag of REJECTS ONE word to describe this experience DELICIOUS.
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