Tickets to Auckland

Auckland is the biggest Polynesian city in the globe. As a city, Auckland is booming, with all the shops, bars, clubs and restaurants you'd expect from a city on the world's stage, with the unique culture of New Zealand always shining through. Expect a friendly welcome and a relaxed atmosphere from a vibrant, multicultural metropolis. Popular attractions include the Auckland Sky Tower - the tallest freestanding building in the Southern Hemisphere, with awe-inspiring far ranging views. It's also a great place to try high octane activity sports, as well as fusion food and beautiful New Zealand wines that will leave you hankering for more. Auckland is absolutely worth the long haul flights - and flights from the UK are getting cheaper.

New Zealand's biggest and Australasia's fourth busiest international airport, Auckland airport handles around 16 million passengers a year. Located 13 miles south of Auckland city centre in the suburb of Mangere, it also serves as New Zealand hub for Virgin Australia and Jetstar. Capable of handling up to 45 flight movements an hour, it's also a huge contributor to the local economy of the Auckland region. A huge number of airlines carrying passengers from UK airports fly to Auckland, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, Emirates, Qantas, Lufthansa and Virgin.

Because of the flight times, no airline provides direct flights to Auckland from the UK yet, but there are signs that a direct route could be set up in the next few years. Flights depart from numerous big UK airports to Auckland, including Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, London Heathrow and London Gatwick, all with stopovers in Doha, Qatar, Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore.

Auckland is a major world city so there is no shortage of accommodation options to suit all styles and budgets. From home stays and guesthouses, to hostels and boutique hotels, there's a wealth of choice on offer. Auckland is also home to some of the world's biggest hotel chains.

Auckland is an all season, all weather destination. Summer is from November to April, with a peak time for tourists between October and March (which is also due to the local school holidays). Easter weekend and late October are also local holiday dates, when ticket prices to Auckland are also at a peak so if you need to travel during these times it's advisable to book flights as far ahead as possible. If you're looking for the sun, January and February are at the height of summer, although October and May are also warm and slightly more off peak. Flights from London to Auckland in mid January 2018 were just £664.77 return at the time of writing.

Auckland also has a packed all year round events calendar, with Auckland's popular night markets between March and May, and film festivals, farmers' markets and a huge range of laid back events spanning each year. Flights to Auckland on Travel Trolley to catch the night markets in mid April are around £839.46 (at the time of writing).