How to get around Waiheke Island
All your transport options for exploring the island of wine
The eastern reaches of the island are beautiful, but you’ll need private transport to get there
Waiheke Island is both big and small at the same time.
The island is big enough that it can take 45 minutes to drive from the Matiatia Ferry Terminal to Man O War vineyard on the opposite side of the island, but it’s still small enough that you can easily catch public transport or even walk between attractions.
How you get around Waiheke really depends on what you want to see — whether you want to get well off the well trodden paths, or if you don’t mind sticking to the main bus routes.
My favourite Waiheke experience was taking the car ferry over with a couple of friends, so we had our own wheels for a weekend. The ferry is pretty pricey, though (about $300 return with a vehicle), so it’s only something I’ve done once.
My second favourite way to get around was on a tour with Kiwi Connect — but I’ll lay out all the transport options below.
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Getting around Waiheke: At a glance
the gravel road looping around the east of the island
If you’re on a budget, the public buses are great. You can tap on/off with a credit card and they leave from right outside the ferry terminal. Several excellent vineyards are on the bus routes, and others are within easy walking distance. The main beaches of Oneroa and Onetangi are also on the bus routes. This is typically how I get around when I visit solo, and I always find it easy and convenient.
If you’re staying for more than a day and want to explore, rent a car — you can check prices on Discover Cars. A rental car will let you visit the eastern part of the island, where you can find cool things like the Waiheke Distilling Co and Stony Batter tunnels. I highly recommend a rental car if you’re a curious explorer.
If you’re only visiting for a day, take a tour. This is the easiest, fastest way to see the highlights without having to worry about drinking and driving. I loved getting shown around by Kiwi Connect on their Far End tour. You can always ask to be dropped off in Oneroa after the tour, so you can combine the vineyard visits with a little potter around the village and beaches under your own steam. The great thing about the Kiwi Connect tours is they cover scenic spots as well as vineyards — they also have a shorter scenic tour available.
You can also rent bicycles to get around, but I have never been tempted to do this. Waiheke is a hilly island, with constant up and downs. On the main roads, tour buses are often roaring up and down, and once you’re away from the main part of the island, a lot of the roads are gravel.
I have also never tried the Hop On Hop Off bus and I don’t think I ever will — I don’t really like the idea of arriving at each vineyard in a wave of people, and I have been told that at busy times you can’t always get on. Plus, this bus only goes to two vineyards that the public bus doesn’t reach (Mudbrick and Batch), which I don’t think justifies the price (but I am stubborn enough to walk to Mudbrick from Oneroa, which is about 20 minutes).
Another option is to cut straight to the chase and get a ferry from Auckland straight to Man O’War vineyard, on the eastern edge of the island.
How to get to Waiheke Island
The Island Direct ferry
Catching the ferry to Waiheke Island is easy, fast, and convenient. There are two passenger ferries that depart from the downtown Auckland ferry terminal:
Island Direct ($59 return) is a small, local ferry which you can book online in advance. I recommend this option as it’s far less busy onboard and you’re guaranteed to get on at your chosen time.
The Fullers passenger ferry ($59 return) also leaves from Britomart in central Auckland, but the regular ticket is walk up only (you have to pay more for a reserved time) which means queuing up at the terminal. It’s pretty busy and in peak times you might not get on the sailing you want, unless you arrive 20 minutes in advance. Ferries leave frequently, though.
Another option to save money is to travel off peak. A ticket is only $44 return when departing from downtown Auckland to Waiheke Island after 1pm onwards, and return from Waiheke Island to downtown Auckland after 7pm.
If you’d like to get around Waiheke in your own car, there is also the option of taking the Sealink car ferry across to the island.
Most people arrive on Waiheke Island at the Matiatia Ferry Terminal.
At the terminal you’ll find some useful information on getting around the island, and you can also pick up a map from here to help you navigate.
As the main transport hub of the island, you can also catch the bus, rent bicycles, cars, or walk directly from the terminal to where you want to go.
On the island — make life easy and book a wine tour
valhalla chardonnay at man o’war, the only beachfront vineyard in new zealand — you’ll need a tour or a car to get there
If you’re not on a tight budget, and you want to make life easy, I recommend booking a wine tour. I went on a great tour with Kiwi Connect that covered some great vineyards and scenic spots.
I would happily recommend their tours for a few reasons:
They use electric vans, for a more sustainable way of seeing the island.
The tours are small groups only, which is vastly different to some of the larger tour operators on the island, which shuffle large groups on and off big diesel guzzling buses.
The small group means you get a friendly and personal service — I loved getting to hear stories of Waiheke.
The advantage of a tour like this is going to some of the lesser visited vineyards, like Kennedy Point.
Car rental on Waiheke
Hiring a car on Waiheke can be worth it if you’re staying for a few days. Some of the more remote accommodation options vineyards and restaurants, like Man O’War and Poderi Crisci, are hard to get to without a car.
The cost of taking a taxi to Poderi Crisci is around $100, so the cost of getting there and back in a taxi is likely higher than renting a car for a couple of days.
This depends on the availability of rental cars on the island though — during peak times there is limited supply and prices can surge.
If you’re only going for one night though, I’d say car rental isn’t worth it.
Catching taxis between locations or booking a shuttle can be more cost effective, especially if you’re in a group, and if gives everyone in your group freedom to do wine tastings.
Plus you get the benefit of a friendly local driver.
If you do want a car, check out Waiheke Rental Cars or Waiheke Car Rental.
On a budget — taking the public bus and walking around the island
A bus stop on the island
Public buses on Waiheke
The easiest and cheapest way to get to most places on Waiheke is by the AT public bus system. Buses on Waiheke are pretty efficient and make getting around without a car straightforward.
You can catch the bus as soon as you get off the ferry at Matiatia — they depart from right outside the terminal.
Just don’t hang around the terminal for too long, the buses leave quite soon after the ferry arrives and they aren’t very frequent, so miss it and you might have to wait a while for the next one.
The great thing about buses on Waiheke is that the whole island is classed as a single zone, so any one bus trip will only cost $2.80 for an adult (there are concessions for people 24 years and younger and tertiary students).
If you take a series of buses — with no more than 30 minutes between trips — it still counts as one trip. So you can catch multiple connecting buses around the island for the single fare of $2.80
Another awesome thing is that the buses are fully electric.
The buses will get you to most key points on the island, like Oneroa, Ostend, and Onetangi. They even go right past some of the most famous vineyards, such as Wild on Waiheke and Tantalus Estate.
When I went to Waiheke with a large group — around 13 people from memory — we used public buses. It’s a bit slower, but if you have no fixed schedule and a bit of patience, it’s easier than trying to coordinate shuttles big enough for the whole group.
Check the AT website for timetables and destinations, or plug your trip into the AT Journey Planner.
Map of the Waiheke Island bus network
How to get around Waiheke Island without a car
There are many options to explore Waiheke Island without a car. Public buses meet the ferry from Auckland and connect Matiatia Ferry Terminal with Oneroa Village, Onetangi Beach, and Palm Beach.
It’s also easy to walk from the ferry to Oneroa (20 minutes), or between some of the vineyards and around the coast of the island. Taxi and shuttle services, or the Waiheke Explorer hop-on-hop-off bus, can also help you get around Waiheke if you have a more flexible budget.
Some of the things you can do on Waiheke without a car include:
Heading to the beach at Oneroa or Onetangi
Enjoying coastal walks — follow Te Ara Hura trails
Checking out the shops and restaurants in Oneroa, the main village
Go wine tasting at vineyards on the public bus routes
Hop-on Hop-off bus on Waiheke
Fullers offers a Hop-On Hop-Off Explorer Bus option. It costs $89 if you add this to the ferry ticket (so you get your return ferry trip and island transport in the one ticket).
The bus stops at 17 points around the island so it can be a good way to explore. However, the route isn’t vastly different from the public bus network (it basically loops from the ferry terminal to Onetangi and back).
The main advantage of the Hop-On Hop-Off bus is getting to some of the more remote vineyards, such as Mudbrick and Batch Winery, so it’s worth it if you want to get a little further off the beaten track (Mudbrick is a 30 minute walk up a hill from the nearest public bus stop).
You can still reach these vineyards via a combination of public bus and walking if you’re on a budget, but you’ll need to be willing walk from the public bus stop to the wineries.
Here is the Hop-on Hop off bus route map:
Taxis and shuttles on Waiheke
There is no Uber, Ola, or other rideshare service on Waiheke. Taxis and shuttles are a convenient alternative.
In between buses, taxis are a convenient way of getting around Waiheke when travelling in a group.
On one occasion when I visited Waiheke with a small group of friends, we stayed in a bach in Ostend and hopped between wineries using taxis. Split between six, the cost was very reasonable.
However, taking multiple taxis can get expensive. For example, getting from Matiatia Ferry Terminal to Onetangi Beach is approximately $60, Batch Winery $65 and Poderi Crisci $95.
Waicabs — Waicabs have friendly, knowledgeable drivers and offer a discounted reliable service to Poderi Crisci from anywhere on Waiheke Island.
Walking around Waiheke
Walking tracks start from outside the Matiatia Ferry Terminal
It’s surprisingly easy to walk around Waiheke.
From the ferry terminal, you can walk to Oneroa in about 25 minutes. There is a lovely track through regenerating native bush, or you can follow the road.
You can walk through the village or down to Oneroa beach, which is one of my favourite beaches in Auckland.
A lot of the vineyards are within walking distance of each other, like Tantalus, Wild on Waiheke, and Te Motu. There are little shortcuts between Tantalus, Stonyridge, and Te Motu, which makes walking between them even easier.
If you’re staying in Onetangi, you can walk to Casita Miro or Obsidian Wines, which are linked with a shortcut around the vines in summer.
When we stayed in Ostend, we were only a 30-minute walk from Palm Beach.
You could actually walk around the whole island, if you wanted to.
The Te Ara Hura trial network traces a loop around the coast and sections of it make excellent Auckland day walks. Start from the ferry terminal and head to your left, and you’ll end up in Oneroa via a scenic coastal walk.
Bicycle hire on Waiheke
Cycling around Waiheke is a great way of getting around. You can take your bike on the ferry free of charge, so one option can be to take your own two wheels!
The island isn’t too hilly and there isn’t a lot of traffic, so you can cycle around Waiheke.
You can also hire e-bikes from E-Ride Waiheke.
They have a convenient location right at the ferry terminal in Matiatia, so you can stop by and talk to them or pick up your bicycle from there.
However, it’s worth noting that this is the most expensive spot to rent e-bikes on Waiheke. Last time I checked, it was $99 for e-bike hire at the ferry terminal.
AUTHOR BIO
I’m a freelance travel writer from New Zealand with bylines in National Geographic Travel, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and more.
I’ve travelled up and down beautiful Aotearoa and I love sharing my recommendations for the best places to visit in New Zealand.
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