Northern Explorer Train Journey from Auckland to Wellington
Auckland, New Zealand
- 11 hours (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Leave the planning and driving to a train conductor while you travel on the Northern Explorer, a long-distance scenic train service running from Auckland to Wellington. Experience the beauty and variety of New Zealand—from the farmlands of Waikato to the volcanic peaks of the Central Plateau and the sparkling Kapiti Coast—while riding a comfortable train. A great way to trade the grind of vacation travel for a bit of romance.
- Skip bus tours and driving for the romance of train travel
- Journey in trains with award-winning carriages and specially designed seats
- Take advantage of open-air viewing decks and GPS-triggered audio commentary
- Journey through Tongariro National Park and the Raurimu Spiral
What's Included
- One Way Rail Journey
- GPS triggered audio commentary
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Food and Drinks (available to purchase)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Excess luggage charges (where applicable)
Meeting and Pickup
Start time.7:45 am
What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- 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
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Great experience for the family. Service was lovely and friendly. Would definitely recommend it for anyone.
Reviews
4.2
based on 226 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
The views were fabulous, especially on the left if heading south. Don't expect to take a lot of pictures, there is a great deal of reflection on the windows so just look and enjoy. It did get quite warm in the carriage even though we were travelling in August so do layer your clothing. I wonder how hot it may be in the summer, even with the air conditioning. The food was fabulous, drinks were good quality and limitless. My Viator ticket gave me a massive discount on the Premium fare which made it more worthwhile than purchasing direct from the Trainline. Luggage is ticketed and goes in the hold. The Viator ticket seems to indicate no food for the Premium fare but there was so much individually served, silver service. Most people could not eat everything because by the end of the day it was a bit too much food but the taste and presentation was excellent. I highly recommend this trip on the Viator price which is much lower than buying direct.
There are no headphones so you have to bring your own
Service in dining carriage is very slow
App needs updating of information
Wonderful viewing
Due to northern explorer and general north island outage of all trains we were held up around fifteen minutes mid travel
The courteous service made up for it
The staff are friendly, food is amazing and the views spectacular, would highly recommend and family
Wonderful way to see New Zealand’s north island countryside. Made it a full day adventure round trip Auckland to Wellington and back with a flight back on Air New Zealand. Long day though we enjoyed the experience.
Long but scenic. The crew are very helpful and the process to board was streamlined.
The food covered a lot of tastes and well priced.
A must do trip for anyone. Just try to go on a clear day to enjoy the scenery.
Highly recommended.
The view was good, but the journey was very long (over 12 hours in this case). The train stopped long time due to someone stole the copper from the signal box. Once is enough.
Comfortable seats and great visibility from the train, but a long ride became longer with over 90 minutes worth of delays.
The food was excellent and just kept coming.
Along with all the beverages they had to offer.
Scenery was spectacular.
The staff was incredibly attentive and made the 11 hours fly by. I would do it again tomorrow.
S lovely way to see the country . A very comfortable train and very clean. Easy to move around and very good facilities.
Lovely scenery. Very friendly staff. A great way to view the central part of the North Island.
Comfortable seats.
From Auckland to Hamilton we rode buses then boarded the train in Hamilton. No notice that this was happening. This was not caused by weather but by a known maintenance on the Auckland line. We heard from other tourists that the entire route has been replaced with a bus and no partial refund which is inexcusable because the bus is much cheaper. The train part was lovely but not worth the uncertainty of not knowing what you will get until you arrive that morning.
Check in was chaotic at Auckland station due to the train not leaving from there but from Hamilton. No communication to tell us this until we arrived at station. On board catering was understaffed, food was ok.
Really beautiful scenery, but a very long ride. The section through the national park is stunning, but I wish the trip was about half as long.
Beautiful scenery. Train ride was nice. Biggest issue was we were supposed to arrive around 6:25 and didn’t get to Wellington until almost 7:15pm. 12 hours was just too long for me as we boarded at 7:15 (train leaves at 7:45).
My husband and I really enjoyed our train ride from Auckland to Wellington. The seats were comfortable, the views were beautiful, and the service was friendly and attentive. A relaxing and memorable trip highly recommended!
It’s a long day but nice way to see the countryside in New Zealand. The service and food was great. Met nice people along the way.
It was an excellent trip although it was a long journey it turned out a really great trip, with lots of foods and varieties of meals all the way through the end of our journey. It was worth it! Tia was an excellent staff.
Lack of communication from viator regarding cancellation of train.
Lack of refund on canceled train journey.
We could not enjoy the experience as the train was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. There was flooding from bad weather.
When I booked this i knew it was more expensive,booking with the restaurant.$300 more...I ate at the snack bar which was ok.especially for the price difference.the scenery was just beautiful.the train ride was confortable,but I was ready to get there.the people working on the train were very nice.
Lovely smooth trip, beautiful scenery and great service. Easy hassle free boarding. Great seating with lots of leg room. Super helpful staff.
The team on board where amazing great vibes always there to help great selection in the Cafe cart the quiz was fun
Scenic relaxing ride through the new Zealand countryside. Staff was professional and courteous. I had a chance to converse with many different people with various backgrounds and cultures
You go through a lot of cities. So, it’s not all sight seeing. The food is good but not enough employees, so be patient. Picture opportunities are frequent but you need to outside in that open wagon a very long time. All worth once in your life.
Long journey.. uncomfortable if you get put into a four, especially if facing backwards... we had poor visibility for 1st half. It is pretty but a little monotomous
Comfortable ride, thank goodness , as it’s a long journey. Excellent service. Friendly staff. Good food. On time. Lovely scenery. Good commentary, when points of interest are coming up. Handy viewing car.
The ride was a nice relaxing way to travel from Auckland to Wellington. Thanks to our concierge Harry to make sure our hotel in Wellington met our needs as well. The crew on the train were friendly and the food costs reasonable. You can bring your own snacks with you too ❤️. Highly recommend
The WiFi does not work as promised and there are no printed alternatives. Ticketing at departure took 35 mins. One person reduced to writing our seat numbers on a scrap of paper. The ride itself was pleasant especially through national park. The cafe food was average, take a picnic.
It was an 11 hour trip but it didn’t feel that long as there was so much to see.
The train has an open viewing deck which was fantastic. Highlights were seeing the Waikato plains, the rolling hills, the snow capped Mount Ruapehiu and going over 3 viaducts.
The train also followed the Raurimu Spiral.
It was very comfortable with large glass windows and leg room. The food and coffee were good and the staff were friendly and helpful.
From $148.92
per person-You will not receive a refund if you cancel.
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Northern Explorer Train Journey from Auckland to Wellington
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Free Cancellation
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$148.92
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