Are there nice beaches on NZ-Australia cruise?

[cruise14]

We are planning a cruise on the Diamond Princess next January~Sydney to Auckland. My husband is looking forward to it very much, I, however, have my doubts. I am very much a beach/tropical person. From what I have read so far, it doesn't look like I should plan on a lot of beach time. Is this true? I know that if we were going to Northern Australia, it would be different, but unfortunately there aren't any big cruises going there in January. We love to cruise (in fact, this will be our 15th), so would like to stick with this cruise if we can. Will I disappointed? We did the Tahiti cruise this January, and I'm afraid it spoiled me forever!!!! If anybody out there can offer me any insight or tips, please do so!

Thanks!

[MMDown Under]

If you are a beach/tropical person, Australia is a paradise. Australia has beautiful beaches, with most of the population living on the coast close to a beach.

 

January is our peak summer season, so there will be volunteer lifesavers patrolling the beaches.

 

The beaches you could visit on your cruise, depends on your ports of call and how long you will be in port.

 

Sydney has the best city local beaches, on the ocean and the harbour, and beautiful walks along the oceanfront and harbour between beaches.

 

The most famous beaches are Bondi and Manly, which can be reached by public transport.

 

There is no swimming in Northern Australia beaches in the summer, because of the stingers, and many beaches have no surf, because of the Great Barrier Reef.

[cruise14]

Thank you so much for the info! Our cruise goes to Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart in Australia; and Fjordland National Park (scenic cruising), Dundedin, Christchurch (Lyttleton), Tauranga, and Auckland in New Zealand. Do you know anything about the in beaches in the NZ ports as well? YOur last post helped get me psyched for the cruise!

[cands]

Mt Maunganui Beach, 10 minutes walk from port at Tauranga.

 

 

Port Melbourne Beach.

 

[MMDown Under]

In NZ, our favourite beach is Hot Water Beach in the Coromandels (such fun with 2 engineering graduates) and Bay of Islands, north of Auckland, is our favourite region, but you may have to save them for another land visit.

 

http://www.tourism.net.nz

 

We don't visit NZ, Melbourne, or Hobart for their beaches, as we live at the beach and they all have so much more to offer.

 

However, we always visit the beaches in Sydney, as you can visit a different beach every day of the week.

 

Two favourites are:

 

Manly

You can catch a ferry from Circular Quay, where the ship usually berths, to Manly. Grab some tourist information from the Tourist Information on the right as you get off the ferry, walk through the Mall and grab some fish and chips to eat on the beach. When you hit the beach, walk to the right along the beachfront. You can swim in a delightful rock pool or in the ocean. Manly has great shopping.

 

Bondi

Catch the bus to North Bondi, have coffee in a little cafe overlooking the rock pool, swim in either the rock pool or beach, walk along Bondi Beach, have another coffee at restaurant overlooking Iceberger baths, do the magnificient walk from Bondi Beach to Bronte Beach, swimming at beaches en route. Catch a bus from Bronte Beach back to the city. Bondi/Bronte have great restaurants. (You can also go to Bondi by train/bus.)

[bobsydney]

Your cruise itinerary is not really a beach/tropical one, but there are a few potential beach day opportunities for you.

 

Sydney is your best chance for a real beach (ie with waves) and there are so many choices ... as mentioned by others, Manly and Bondi are both very easy to get to from the city and are highly recommended.

 

Melbourne is located within a big bay and has some nice beaches along the foreshore (eg St Kilda, Brighton) that are in fairly easy reach from the dock ... as cands' photo shows, there are no waves but they are pretty good for a sun bake and paddle.

 

Hobart, Dunedin and Christchurch ... forget it ... what beaches they have too far away.

 

Tauranga has some nice beach areas at Mount Manganui, (which is really its holiday/resort/tourist suburb) but without waves ... as cands' photo shows. If the ship docks at Mt Manganui (as Sun Princess did), it is only a 5-10 minute walk to the beach.

 

Auckland has lots of beaches but none are really close to the downtown area where the ship docks. Hire a car though and you could go to Piha, one of the most highly regarded surfing locations in the world, or one of the others on Auckland's west coast, about an hour from downtown.

 

Cheers

Bob

[cruise14]

Wow! What great information! Cands, love, love, love the pics! Mt. Maunganui looks like my kind of beach! If you think of anything more, let me know! Any great hotel suggestions for pre-cruise in Sydney or post-cruise in Auckland?

[bobsydney]

Here is another view of Mount Maunganui beach ... it really is a lovely area.

 

The downside of spending the day here though is that you would miss out on Rotorua and its famous geothermal attractions ... hot mud pools, geysers and the like. Rotorua really is unique place to visit.

 

Rotorua and the Fjordlands were the highlights of our NZ cruise and both are places IMHO that a first time (perhaps even a one-time) visitor to New Zealand should not miss.

 

Cheers

Bob

[cruise14]

That's amazing. That picture makes me wish we were staying longer than a day. Is it possible to split the day in half...sight see in the morning and laze on the beach in the afternoon?

[bobsydney]

That's amazing. That picture makes me wish we were staying longer than a day. Is it possible to split the day in half...sight see in the morning and laze on the beach in the afternoon?

 

Rotorua is a good hour's drive each way from Tauranga but if you hire a car (but make sure you get one that you can pick up and drop off at the dock) and do your homework in advance so that you know exactly which places you want to go, it is certainly very doable. There have been other posts on this board from people who did it and were back in Tauranga for a look round soon after lunch.

[lizzy77]

We are just back from a cruise to NZ on the Sapphire Princess. All the beaches the others have mentioned are great (Mt Manganui especially) but you could be lucky enough to get some hot sea days as you are going in January. We hired a car from Pegasus car rental (they drop off at the dock) in Mt Manganui and drove to Rotarua and went to Wau-O-Tapo Thermal Park in the morning. (Its about a 1 hr drive.) Drove back and had lots of time to explore the gorgeous beach area. The pool and deck areas were full on some of our sea days especially cruising the Fiords, but we were really lucky to get such a good day there.

In Auckland we got the ferry to Waikiki island and it was stunning. Lots of gorgeous bays with golden sands and there Is accomodation there. The Northern Beaches of Auckland are pretty good too. I am sure you will not be disappointed with your itinerary, especially if you add days before and after.

[MMDown Under]

Websites for:

 

Manly

 

http://www.manlyaustralia.com.au

 

Bondi

 

http://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/council/beaches/bondi.asp

[Aussie Cruisers]

I couldn't resist! ;)

 

Is there fast food in America?

 

Can I buy wine in France?

 

ARE THERE BEACHES IN AUSTRALIA? :eek:

 

Mark. ;)

[Globaliser]

We are planning a cruise on the Diamond Princess next January~Sydney to Auckland.

One simple thing to do: Spend three to seven days pre-cruise in Sydney. That will give you plenty of good beach time - in fact, enough time to get to some good Sydney beaches that are further away from the city - as well as some time to dip your toes into the city of Sydney.

[TenerifeSharon]

In Auckland we got the ferry to Waikiki island and it was stunning. Lots of gorgeous bays with golden sands and there Is accomodation there. The Northern Beaches of Auckland are pretty good too. I am sure you will not be disappointed with your itinerary, especially if you add days before and after.

Hi Liz,

Did you really mean Waikiki (as in Hawaii) or Waiheke Island?? Whichever, it (Waiheke) really was a wonderful excursion for us also -- to take the ferry across from Auckland and then the hop-on hop-off bus with an excellent Maori driver and guide.

 

And, BTW, we found Melbourne to be one of the best stops on our NZ/AUS cruise. We loved the city, and it was very much enhanced by the wonderful Melbourne Greeters offering that we were able to reserve through the tourist office.

[lizzy77]

Sorry Sharon, wrong spelling !! Yes it was Waiheke Island and it was the most gorgeous place. Imagine being able to live on such an island!:) :)

[cruise14]

Thank you everybody! I am now much more excited about the cruise! You all gave me great information, including the websites! The ferry sounds great.

[tomcruiser1234]

We will be in this neck of the woods On April the 10th.

 

Mannly or Bondi??

 

Is the water warm even if Temp. is cool?

 

We have got to swim in Australia:cool:

 

Fish and Chip's sounds great!!!

[Flipper133]

Hi Tomcruiser

 

Both Manly and Bondi are very touristy - ok if you like that sort of thing.

( I was born and bred in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and lived for a number of yeras in the Manly area.)

 

As an alternative you might consider some of the less publicised beaches

 

Coogee - is a very safe surf beach (protected by Wedding Cake Island). Good public transport from city and the Beer Garden at the Coogee Bay Hotel is excellent. (apart from aussie beer they sell great food including Fish and Chips):D

 

Bronte is also good, but the surf can be a bit rough. There is a good surf side pool and plenty of parkland.

 

You can combine a ferry ride with your ambition to swim in OZ, by going over to Manly. There is a safe harbour swimming area, and if you stroll down the Corso you reach the surf beach.

 

Weather in April can be Iffy, but water temp should be ok. If surfing is not your go, try one of the many harbour side beaches. These are usually protected against Noahs Arks (Sharks) and water temp should be higher.

 

cheers

[tomcruiser1234]

Hi Tomcruiser

 

Both Manly and Bondi are very touristy - ok if you like that sort of thing.

( I was born and bred in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and lived for a number of yeras in the Manly area.)

 

As an alternative you might consider some of the less publicised beaches

 

Coogee - is a very safe surf beach (protected by Wedding Cake Island). Good public transport from city and the Beer Garden at the Coogee Bay Hotel is excellent. (apart from aussie beer they sell great food including Fish and Chips):D

 

Bronte is also good, but the surf can be a bit rough. There is a good surf side pool and plenty of parkland.

 

You can combine a ferry ride with your ambition to swim in OZ, by going over to Manly. There is a safe harbour swimming area, and if you stroll down the Corso you reach the surf beach.

 

Weather in April can be Iffy, but water temp should be ok. If surfing is not your go, try one of the many harbour side beaches. These are usually protected against Noahs Arks (Sharks) and water temp should be higher.

 

cheers

 

 

Thanks

 

Got to try your Fish and Chip's

 

Surfing???? not sure about that, but got to swim on the other side of the world. Manly and the ferry ride sound good.

 

Maybe Googee also...

 

Jackie in our office is from Australia.... If the folk's down under are anthing like her.... we are going to have lot's of fun.:)

 

Best

[charliegirlac]

I am from Melbourne and depending on what you want you could do many things. If you want to stay close to the city and where the ship docks (Station Pier in Port Melbourne) you could walk down the beach to the St.Kilda area where it has a nice area. This is the bay area so there are no waves and only a small beach area. If you are a bit more adventuous you could hire a car and take a drive down the coast to the surf beaches. It is about an hour and a half drive from the city and you will find a heap of lovely beaches. Places of interest could be:Torquay, Ocean Grove and Anglesea. You could also do a small portion of the Great Ocean Road.

[Scarlettlab]

Just had to skip through the responses to make one of my own! I am a born and bred kiwi (New Zealander) who has been living in Australia for 19 years (2.5 years in Sydney, and the rest in Melbourne).

 

You will love Mt Maunganui. I spent my first seven years of life there every christmas in a beach house on the sand dunes - absolutely gorgeous beach!

 

Auckland's north shore has fantastic surf beaches, or you can go to Mission Bay and the sounding beaches which are part of the bay in Auckland (20-30 minutes from pier). The pier area also has beautiful cafes and is a nice place to stroll.

 

I used to live on Bondi Beach and it is great - lots of action and interest. For a quieter, but still beautiful beaches, you can go around to Coogee which is about a 10 minute drive from Bondi. Manly beach is lovely and you get the added bonus of taking the ferry.

 

As for my beautiful home city, Melbourne, there are so many beautiful beaches both on the bay (no waves) or outside of Melbourne which you may not get to see. Bay beaches include the lovely photo of Port Melbourne, the famous St Kilda Beach and the Mornington Penninsula (approx 1 hour away) The famous Bells Beach (where all the international surfing comps happen) is about 1.5 hours from Melbourne.

 

If you love beaches and tropical weather, Australia is a destination in itself because I haven't even touched on Queensland!!!!

 

You will not have trouble finding a beach on your cruise! I hope you have a wonderful time.