Exploring Auckland with your car rental
When you arrive in a foreign city, excitement can be quickly overcome by confusion. You may not recognise any landmarks, and you may have no idea where anything is! And how do you decide where to go first? So when you arrive at Auckland airport, you're probably very eager to discover everything this vast city has to offer, but you may be unsure of where to start.
Auckland has some top tourist attractions which you will likely become aware of before your arrival. It's important to note however that this is a large city and not all of the attractions are in one central area, so it's important to allow yourself time for travel.
One great, economical option to letting you explore this great city at your own free will is to arrange a car rental from Auckland airport. Simply fly in, and as soon as you've made a quick trip through customs, you can get picked up and taken to the rental vehicle office to pick up the keys to your very own rental car. Auckland is well sign-posted, so even if you're a little unsure, you'll always find your destination, no problem.
In many cases you can also arrange to have a GPS as part of your rental or at the very least some brochures and such like provided to you for your journey.
After you leave with your rental car you might like to make the half hour drive into the central city. The shortest route in terms of kilometres is via the South-Western Motorway, which will take you over the Mangere Bridge and on through the suburbs of Onehunga and Epsom and on the outskirts of a few others before you reach the city centre.
Once you get to the city centre you can park in one of the parking buildings or on the street (just make sure you check the rates or parking meter to avoid any parking fines!) and take a stroll around. From just about anywhere within the central city you will see the Sky Tower protruding high above any other building. At the Sky Tower you can take the lift up to the viewing platform and see the breathtaking views or for those that are a little more adventurous you can do the SkyWalk or SkyJump.
After all that adrenalin and excitement you can head back down to the street and take a stroll to the Viaduct Harbour, where there are many top restaurants and bars, the National Maritime Museum and the ferry terminal to catch the ferry to Great Barrier Island.
On your journeys you might like to ask cafe/bar or shop owners what they recommend to do in Auckland. Aucklanders are a pretty friendly bunch of people and are sure to let you know of some top spots. Alternatively call into the Information Centre for brochures and such like.
Once you have finished doing as much sightseeing as you want to in the central city you can head out to the suburbs such as Ponsonby and Parnell or perhaps Sylvia Park or the factory shops in Onehunga for some shopping. Alternatively if you are travelling with children the Auckland Zoo is sure to be a hit. The Zoo is around 10 minutes from the city centre along the North-Western Motorway and offers free on-site parking, cafes and a gift shop along with a great range of animals to visit.
No matter what you choose to do, with a rental car, you'll be in the drivers seat when it comes to discovering the beautiful City of Sails!
