Travel through rolling green farmland, past quaint country towns and along rocky coasts.
The journey through Tongariro National Park, with its three spectacular volcanic mountains, Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, is a highlight, a place of extremes and surprises, where snow-blanketed fields, ancient lava flows and dense beech forests can be seen side by side. Traverse stunning river gorges and wind through the Raurimu Spiral near National Park, an amazing feat of railway engineering.
While on board enjoy the journey in award winning world-class carriages with specially designed seats. Awaken your senses in the open air viewing decks or sit back and enjoy the GPS triggered audio commentary available through headphones at every seat. All trains have a licensed café carriage providing snacks and light meals (at own expense)
See Availability.
Wellington Station, Bunny Street, Pipitea, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
07:55 AM
11 hours(approx.)
Auckland Strand, Parnell, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
Infants must sit on laps
Wheelchair accessible
Wheelchair accessible, please advise at time of booking if travelling with a wheelchair.
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Stroller accessible
Please arrive at least 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure and check in at the station to receive your boarding pass. Please have your Viator Voucher ready for inspection.
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Posted By : steve_h
Great experience throughout. Comfortable way to see a lot of then Island. Staff were very attentive.
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Posted On : 2024-04-22
Posted By : L96KAgregp
Poor behaving and possibly drunk passengers were not managed by staff, ruining the trip for all other travellers. They serve boiling water drinks for passengers to carry through carriages on rickety rails past other customers. This is a recipe for disaster. I was scalded through this practice and the solution?I was handed a cold bottle of milk to put on a scald between my fingers! Hundreds of passengers, boiling water, rickety rails and no first aid kit?. Third world standards!
Intercity busses are luxury compared to this.
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Posted On : 2024-04-21
Posted By : AnnaCatharina_K
One of the best ways traveling through New Zealand! We loved the astonishing view and appreciated the nice staff.
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Posted On : 2024-04-16
Posted By : Paxton_H
Very scenic from Wellington until you get to Hamilton then there is nothing to see. Would rate 9/10 just prepare for the long 11 hr journey.
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Posted On : 2024-04-08
Posted By : cliveh817
We’d seen a programme and the trip looked great. Sadly the reality was different and with hindsight we would have flown. The scenery is nice for about 5 hours of the trip and the circular loop near the middle is an amazing engineering feat. The last 5 or 6 hours are very dull.
The trip was meant to be 11 hours but took 12.5 hours due to a defective train. So we didn’t arrive in Auckland until 2030.
We were lucky as we had a table of 4 but some of the air
One sears didn't have great views in my opinion.
The staff were very good.
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Posted On : 2024-04-04
Posted By : Daydream12488389307
Relaxed, Scenic, Informative - This was a wonderful way to get from Wellington to Auckland if you have a day. The day was full of wonderful sights and the trip was augmented with periodic audio narratives about the sights and history. Food on the train was good. Unlike traveling by plane or bus, I spent a lot of time standing in the viewing car which is open air and allowed me to get pictures without window smug and glare.
If you are planning to tour on your own in a rental car, read on.
We rented a car in Queenstown and toured the South Island. Then we took the ferry from Picton to Wellington. The car rental companies don't want you to ferry their cars between the 2 islands. In Wellington we enjoyed a day touring on electric bikes. Then we took the Northern Explorer train from Wellington to Auckland where we again rented a car to explore the northern half of the north island. This was a wonderful way to get some time off from being the driver.
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Posted On : 2024-03-28
Posted By : Gavriel_K
Great company, very pleasant staff always smiling, happy to serve.Excellent choice of food, easy to move around carriage, much better train than fifty years ago.
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Posted On : 2024-03-28
Posted By : Curtis_P
This is a great way to see the beautiful New Zealand countryside without the hassle of driving. The train was clean and comfortable with good service to boot!
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Posted On : 2024-03-27
Posted By : Marie_C
This was a wonderful way to travel from Wellington to Aukland. The people and service was excellent. The seats are comfortable and the viewing cars allowed you to enjoy the beauty of nature. I have to thank the wonderful lady who took our tickets, served us, removed our rubbish and after a 10 hour or more day of work took the time to make sure we had someone picking us up. Thank you for your kindness and hospitality! 💗
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Posted On : 2024-03-20
Posted By : TARA_R
The ride was smooth and comfortable .
Great scenery along the way. Food and Refreshments was great.
The staff members were very friendly and supportive and always ready to help. We were blessed with a beautiful weather from Wellington to Auckland.
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Posted On : 2024-03-15
