NEW ZEALAND · MUSEUMS
Distances here run longer than the map suggests, so a day out has to be worth the petrol. Below: 15 museum visits, what each costs and how long it takes door to door.
Explore Auckland Museum’s Māori, Pacific, natural history, and war galleries, with practical tips on timing, transport, parking, and value.
“I almost enjoyed the walk through the winter Gardens more, to be honest. The museum was well laid out and the kid's area in the Science museum is just breathtaking!”
Review of Sculptureum near Auckland: explore three gardens, six galleries, 800 artworks, and enjoy wine, coffee, or a meal.
“The artwork and glass art inside the building is fabulous. The gardens and the sculptures are beautiful. The driftwood sculptures of the horses and the whale are amazing. The bronze sculptures were just lovely. I loved the boy pushing the girl on the swing. The sculpture of the boy holding the dolphin is apparently an early work by Leonardo Da Vinci and is quite stunning.”
Explore Auckland Museum’s Māori, Pacific, natural history, and wartime exhibits with flexible general admission and skip-the-line access.
“We are not normally museum people, but we were so fascinated by all the exhibits of the Mauri and many Polynesian peoples, natural history displays and New Zealand’s part in several world wars that we spent four hours here. I highly recRead more”
Review of Te Papa museum entry in Wellington, with 48-hour access to Māori, Pacific, natural history, art, and New Zealand culture.
“It was easy to enter and plenty f staff in hand to answer queries. Very friendly.”
Review of Te Papa’s Gallipoli guided tour in Wellington, covering early entry, giant figures, ANZAC stories, price, timing, and who should book.
“We were the first into the exhibit. So thankful to beat the crowds. This exhibit and the entire museum are fantastic and require many hours to do justice. Being able to access this 1/2 hour before the opening of the rest of the museum gave us more time.”
Review of Te Papa’s one-hour guided introduction in Wellington, with Māori culture, art, history, value, timing, and practical tips.
“The 1 hour tour is well worth the price. It gives a great overview of what the museum has, and provides deeper insight into many of the exhibits.”
Review the Auckland Museum Māori Cultural Experience, including haka, waiata, poi, museum admission, value, timing, and practical tips.
“Very informative presentation. Learned so much about the meaning of the music, actions and implements used.”
Review of Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre’s WWI and WWII combo ticket, with aircraft, film-made displays, pricing, timing, and booking advice.
“Very good displays with a lot of information on the panels. Really good for aviation/war enthusiasts.”
Get your bearings at Te Papa with a one-hour guided tour, Māori treasures, New Zealand history, and 48-hour museum entry.
“Great tour...very knowledgeable guide and a huge amount to see and take in...one visit not enough!!”
Experience Māori song, poi, storytelling, haka, and Auckland Museum exhibits with a flexible one day ticket in Auckland.
“The Maori cultural event was very interesting, and we like the friendly performers. The museum requires more than a few hours to see everything.”
Explore Auckland’s Maritime Museum for Pacific migration, Māori traditions, shipping, and America’s Cup stories in a family-friendly visit.
“Great museum and beautifully designed. We were lucky to be there while the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix was underway ~ so it was exciting and great location to watch the race.”
Explore WWI aircraft, lifelike scenes, and rare Red Baron memorabilia at Omaka’s Knights of the Sky exhibition in Blenheim.
“We drove from Christchurch to Blenheim just to visit Omaka and we were not disappointed. The exhibits are brilliant and it is easy to see how passionate the museum is about their pieces. The design of the displays are first class and it was wonderful talking to the volunteers. Stay a while, see both WWI and WWII.”
Explore Omaka’s Dangerous Skies exhibition, restored WWII aircraft, the Night Witches, and Stalingrad displays in Blenheim.
“Excellent presentation and guide knowledge! I was impressed with the quality of restorative workmanship!”
Explore Auckland Museum with a one-hour highlights tour covering Māori culture, Polynesian navigation, geology, natural history, and wartime exhibits.
“Large Museum where you can learn a lot about New Zealand history the Maori culture and the Polynesian culture in general.”
See Auckland after dark on a private tour with Devonport, the Harbour Bridge, Westhaven Marina, SkyBar, and Auckland Museum.
“Great personalised experience, Carlos remained flexible and we went and viewed some boats , as we discovered interests in chatting!”
Sorted by what you actually want to do that morning.
