Luxury Bay of Islands Guide: Where to Stay and What to Do
Three exceptional private retreats, historic places, wild coastlines and unforgettable days on the water in New Zealand’s far north.
The Bay of Islands sits at the top of New Zealand’s North Island, three and a half hours north of Auckland by road—or a short hop by helicopter if you prefer to arrive above the treeline.
It is 144 islands scattered across a turquoise bay, home to some of New Zealand’s most important history and one of those rare destinations where the story runs as deep as the water. It is also, quite simply, one of the most beautiful stretches of coast in the country.
Why the Bay of Islands Rewards a Longer Stay
Many visitors treat the Bay of Islands as a day trip: a fast loop of a boat cruise and a coffee in Paihia before the drive back south. That is a way to see it. It is not a way to know it.
The far north rewards the traveller who stays. Who wakes to the bay rather than passing it, who has time for a long lunch among the vines, a morning on the water and an afternoon doing very little at all.
Three nights is a beginning. A week is better. The pace here is slow by nature, and the pleasure is in matching it.
Where to Stay in the Bay of Islands
Three private retreats anchor the region. Each is a different idea of what a stay in the far north can be, and the choice shapes everything that follows.
Eagles Nest, Russell
Perched on its own private ridgeline above the Bay of Islands, Eagles Nest is a 75-acre estate of five individually designed luxury villas. Each has sweeping views over the water and the kind of privacy that makes the rest of the world feel very far away.
Four of the five villas have their own heated infinity pool and jacuzzi. All have gourmet kitchens, home cinema systems and expansive decks looking across the bay and its islands.
What makes Eagles Nest work equally well for couples and families is its flexibility. A private chef can prepare breakfast and dinner daily using regional produce and New Zealand wines, or you can have provisions delivered and cook at your own pace.
There is no central lodge, shared dining room or schedule. The retreat is yours to use however you wish, whether that means a romantic evening on your private deck with champagne—a bottle of Louis Roederer greets you on arrival—or a week with the family, the children in the pool while dinner is prepared in the villa.
Eagles Nest sits just a few minutes’ drive from Russell. The team can arrange helicopter transfers, scenic flights, deep-sea fishing charters, guided nature walks and in-villa spa treatments. After dark, with minimal light pollution and the bay stretching out below, the stargazing alone is worth the trip.
The Landing, Purerua Peninsula
If Eagles Nest is about clifftop seclusion, The Landing is about space and story. Set across 1,000 acres on the Purerua Peninsula, this is a heritage, conservation and vineyard property with four architecturally designed residences, six private beaches, an award-winning vineyard and winery, and walking tracks winding through native bush and past registered Māori archaeological sites.
The four residences each have their own character. The Cooper Residence sits atop a headland with 360-degree views and a collection of Māori taonga, accommodating up to ten guests with a private chef included. The Gabriel Residence takes the form of a contemporary New Zealand lodge with a fire-lit courtyard for evenings under the stars. The Vineyard Villa sits among the vines with views down to Wairoa Bay. The Boathouse, right at the water’s edge, is for those who want to fall asleep to the sound of the ocean.
Stays include a vineyard tour and tasting, a guided heritage walk through the property and a half-day cruise aboard Iti Rangi, The Landing’s own vessel, which takes you among the islands and past gannet and seal colonies.
Kayaks and paddleboards are there for the taking. The property’s predator-control programme has encouraged one of the densest kiwi populations in the country, so guided walks after dark often reward guests with a sighting of New Zealand’s most elusive bird.
For families, the combination of beaches, boats, bikes to borrow and space to roam makes everything easy. For couples, there is the wine, the chef’s table and the kind of quiet that only comes from having a thousand acres between you and the rest of the world.
The Landing is around thirty minutes’ drive from Kerikeri Airport, or fifty-five minutes by helicopter directly from Auckland.
Somewhere, Kerikeri
For families looking for something more active, Somewhere is a magnificent waterfront villa on a gated private island near Kerikeri, connected to the mainland by bridge and causeway.
It is privacy and space on a different scale: three beaches, a swimming pool, a private jetty and a dedicated helicopter landing pad for those arriving directly from Auckland.
Somewhere is built for the water. An on-site activities manager can arrange wakeboarding, water skiing, kayaking, e-foil boarding, stand-up paddleboarding and Hobie Cat sailing, all from your own doorstep.
For children and teenagers, this is the kind of place where days disappear into the sea and the only argument is about who gets the next turn on the sea biscuit. For parents, it is the rare luxury of watching your family have the time of their lives while you sit with a glass of wine on the terrace, the Bay of Islands stretching out in every direction.
The property sits about twenty minutes’ drive from Kerikeri and its domestic airport, making it easy to reach from Auckland without a long road trip. The surrounding 800 kilometres of shoreline, 144 islands and world-class fishing grounds mean there is always something to do when you feel like venturing beyond the gate.
Waitangi Treaty Grounds and Historic Russell
The Bay of Islands is not only beautiful. It is where the story of modern New Zealand begins.
Just across the harbour from Russell, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds mark the site where Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed in 1840, the founding document of the nation. The grounds are immersive and moving, with guided cultural experiences, a carved meeting house and the world’s largest ceremonial war canoe. For any visitor to New Zealand, this is essential.
Russell, originally known as Kororāreka, was the country’s first permanent European settlement and briefly its first capital. In its early days it earned the nickname “Hell Hole of the Pacific” for its boisterous whaling-era reputation, a history you can still trace through the musket-ball holes in the walls of Christ Church, the country’s oldest surviving church, built in 1836.
Today, Russell is a quiet waterfront village of cafés, galleries and weatherboard cottages, and a lovely place to spend an afternoon.
Walks and Wild Places Worth the Effort
The Bay of Islands rewards those who go looking, and some of the best experiences are the ones the guidebooks mention only in passing.
The Cape Brett Track is a demanding 16.3-kilometre hike from Oke Bay to the Cape Brett Lighthouse, with a swim at Deep Water Cove and the option to spend the night in the restored DOC lighthouse keeper’s cottage at the end. It is a full day’s effort, but the views over the open Pacific are extraordinary.
Closer to Kerikeri, Charlie’s Rock is a local favourite: a natural horseshoe waterfall pouring into a deep, clear swimming hole surrounded by native bush, perfect for cooling off on a warm afternoon.
Further inland, a forty-five-minute drive towards Kaikohe brings you to Ngāwhā Springs, a collection of sixteen distinct geothermal hot pools rich in minerals and steeped in local Māori tradition. It is nothing like a commercial spa and all the more special for it.
For a quieter forest experience, the Manginangina Kauri Walk in Puketī Forest near Kerikeri is a gentle boardwalk loop through a stand of ancient, towering kauri trees. It is accessible and peaceful—the kind of place where light filters through the canopy and the scale of the trees makes you fall silent.
Dolphins, Kiwi and the Bay’s Wildlife
And then there is the wildlife. The Bay of Islands is one of the best places in New Zealand to spot dolphins in the wild, with pods of bottlenose and common dolphins regularly seen from boats and even from shore.
At Eagles Nest, native kiwi can be heard calling across the property after dark, and guided walks with a local expert offer the chance to spot one of these treasured birds in its own habitat.
Getting to the Bay of Islands from Auckland
Most visitors drive north from Auckland, a scenic three-and-a-half-hour journey through the green, rolling countryside of Northland.
For those short on time or long on style, a helicopter flight of around half an hour from Auckland can land you directly at your accommodation and turn the journey itself into one of the highlights of the trip.
Three nights is a beginning. A week is better. The pace here is slow by nature, and the pleasure is in matching it.
Step off the map and stay awhile
However you arrive, the Bay of Islands has a way of making you feel you have stepped off the map. The water is impossibly clear, the pace is slow and the sense of place runs deeper than almost anywhere else in the country. Stay long enough, and you will understand why this quiet corner of the far north was the place where everything began.
By Stay Luxe
