About Island

Island is an independent guide to island holidays from New Zealand: the Pacific, Bali, Hawaiʻi and our own islands, from Waiheke to Rakiura Stewart Island.

It’s for New Zealanders deciding where to go, when to go and which part of the island to stay in, who want the downside named before they book. Island is an independent publication made in Aotearoa New Zealand.

New Zealand’s islandsTongaFijiVanuatuNiueSamoaCook IslandsFrenchPolynesiaBaliHawaiʻiHauraki GulfKāpitiChatham IslandsRakiuraTongaFijiVanuatuNiueSamoaCook IslandsFrenchPolynesiaBaliHawaiʻiHauraki GulfKāpitiChatham IslandsRakiuraTongaFijiVanuatuNiueSamoaCookIslandsFrenchPolynesiaBaliHawaiʻiHauraki GulfKāpitiChatham IslandsRakiuraTongatapuViti LevuMamanuca IslandsYasawa IslandsTaveuniEfateVavaʻuNiueSavaiʻiUpoluRarotongaAitutakiBora BoraMoʻoreaTahitiBaliOʻahuMauiRangitoto25 kmWaiheke35 kmTiritiri Matangi46 kmKawau65 kmAotea Great Barrier106 kmKāpitiChatham IslandsRakiuraTongatapuViti LevuMamanucaIslandsYasawa IslandsEfateTaveuniVavaʻuNiueSavaiʻiUpoluRarotongaAitutakiBora BoraMoʻoreaTahitiBaliOʻahuMaui
Rings show straight-line distance from Auckland; flight times are approximate. Map data: Natural Earth
All 26 islands by distance
  1. Rangitoto Island25 kmFerry · about 30 min
  2. Waiheke Island35 kmFerry · about 45 min
  3. Tiritiri Matangi46 kmFerry · about 1 h 15 min
  4. Kawau Island65 kmDrive and ferry · about 1 h 45 min
  5. Aotea Great Barrier Island106 kmDirect flight · about 30 min
  6. Kāpiti Island427 kmFly to Wellington, then drive and ferry · about 2 h 30 min
  7. Chatham Islands1,060 kmDirect flight, Dec–Feb · about 2 h 15 min
  8. Rakiura Stewart Island1,250 kmVia Invercargill · about 3 h 15 min
  9. Tongatapu2,010 kmDirect flight · about 3 h
  10. Viti Levu2,160 kmDirect flight · about 3 h
  11. Mamanuca Islands2,160 kmFly to Nadi, then ferry · about 4 h 45 min
  12. Yasawa Islands2,240 kmFly to Nadi, then ferry · about 6 h 45 min
  13. Efate2,240 kmDirect flight · about 3 h 15 min
  14. Taveuni2,300 kmVia Nadi · about 5 h 15 min
  15. Vavaʻu2,320 kmVia Tongatapu · about 5 h
  16. Niue2,490 kmDirect flight · about 3 h 30 min
  17. Savaiʻi2,890 kmFly to Apia, then ferry · about 6 h 15 min
  18. Upolu2,890 kmDirect flight · about 4 h
  19. Rarotonga3,010 kmDirect flight · about 4 h
  20. Aitutaki3,190 kmVia Rarotonga · about 5 h 45 min
  21. Bora Bora4,000 kmVia Papeʻete · about 6 h 45 min
  22. Moʻorea4,080 kmFly to Papeʻete, then ferry · about 6 h 45 min
  23. Tahiti4,100 kmDirect flight · about 5 h
  24. Bali6,760 kmDirect flight, seasonal · about 9 h 30 min
  25. Oʻahu7,100 kmDirect flight · about 8 h 30 min
  26. Maui7,110 kmVia Honolulu · about 10 h 30 min

Which island, which month, which side, and the catch.

Every destination page answers those four questions, with the data and its sources beside each answer.

What makes Island different

  • Our own data

    We build datasets from public sources: climate normals from weather stations and NASA, sea temperatures from NOAA, 30 years of cyclone tracks, exchange rates from the European Central Bank and Auckland Transport’s ferry timetables. The ones that change, like exchange rates and timetables, refresh automatically.

    So “Is it good in July?” gets an answer from the numbers, not from a brochure.

  • Sources on every page

    Every destination page lists its sources and the date we last checked them. Rules that change, like entry requirements, link straight to the authority that sets them.

  • The catch, named

    Every island has a downside: the price, the rain, a long flight, Sunday closures, school-holiday crowds. We say what it is, in the same size type as the good news.

  • Built for New Zealand

    Flight times from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, costs in New Zealand dollars, and our school holidays marked on the month-by-month charts.

How Island makes money

Some links on Island go to partners: hotel search, tours, car hire, eSIMs and travel packages. If you book through one, the partner may pay us a commission. You pay the same price.

Commissions never buy a place in our rankings, the finder or a verdict. Those come from published methods and data. Nobody pays us for coverage, and every partner link is labelled where it appears.

Read our disclosure

How Island is made

Island is researched and written with the help of AI tools, which gather sources, process data and draft text. Every page is then checked against primary sources, such as government agencies, tourism boards and operators’ own websites, and carries the date it was last checked.

The numbers come straight from the datasets, not from an AI model’s memory. We don’t claim to have stayed anywhere we write about: Island is a researched guide, not a travel diary. When something’s wrong, we fix it and update the date.

How we research

Get in touch

Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email hello@island.nz with the page and, if you can, a source. Corrections are always welcome.

Contact Island