East, Auckland
East Auckland — Pakuranga, Botany, Howick and the Pohutukawa Coast — has some of the city's best parks, calm beaches and rainy-day play centres. These are our favourite family outings on this side of town.
Covering Pakuranga, Botany, Howick, Cockle Bay, Half Moon Bay, Flat Bush, Maraetai and nearby. 7 of the spots in this area cost nothing to visit.
What East is like with kids
East Auckland has the gentlest beaches in the city. Maraetai, Beachlands, Cockle Bay and Eastern Beach all face the sheltered inner gulf, so there is no surf to speak of — the water is shallow a long way out and the sand is firm enough to push a pram along. Every one of them has grass, a playground and a picnic spot behind the sand. If you have a baby or a toddler and want a beach day that does not involve vigilance, this is the side of town to choose.
The trade-off is that the east has fewer wet-weather options than the rest of Auckland. Lloyd Elsmore covers indoor swimming, and Howick Historical Village is the one proper rainy-day outing — a reconstructed colonial settlement with costumed villagers, which lands better with school-age children than with preschoolers.
If you only go to three places
The highest-rated spots in this area, whatever the age of your kids.
- 1Howick Historical Village
3–17 · $9/child · about 120 min · Pram-friendly
- 2Half Moon Bay Marina
0–17 · Free · about 120 min · Pram-friendly
- 3Duder Regional Park
3–17 · Free · about 180 min
4.7Cosy up by colonial fires and discover pioneer life on chilly days.
4.6Rug up for a quick playground run and watch boats head out to sea.
4.6Rug up for a windswept clifftop walk and explore rock pools at low tide.
4.6Rug up for a fresh-air shore walk and watch the winter tide roll in.
4.5Wrap up warm for a peaceful coastal walk and seabird spotting.
4.5Rug up for a rugged forest walk and quiet trails in the winter calm.
4.4Rug up to walk the shore and poke around rock pools at low tide.
4.3Cosy indoor pool for rainy days, with a park stroll when it clears.
4.3Bundle up for a shore stroll and let kids run on the reserve.
Age, in practice
Easy with a baby or toddler
Pram access, open from birth, and short enough to finish before a nap.
Places with a minimum age
Everything else in this area is open to all ages.
If it rains
Indoor options in this area, so a bad forecast does not cancel the day.
Family restaurants in East9
Places nearby where taking the kids is easy — highchairs, changing tables and room to move.
The Tearooms at Shamrock Cottage
Cafe / High Tea · $$
High tea in a historic cottage at Cockle Bay, walkable to the beach and Howick village — a proper pot, not a bag
Howick Village Cafe
Cafe · $$
Howick village all-day cafe, loud and reliable — weekends book out, and the menu has stayed the same for years
Hawthorn Dene Historic Country Cafe
Cafe / Brunch · $$
Down a long driveway in Botany, a vintage country house with room outside — locals pair it with the plant barn nearby
Beachlands Cafe
Cafe · $
Beachlands local near the water with a wide cabinet and honest prices — a stop on the way out to Maraetai
Hello Sailor Restaurant & Bar
Kiwi · $$
Half Moon Bay dining room facing the marina — masts out the window, and a menu that reaches past the usual
Luna Tea
Chinese / Malaysian · $$
Chinese-Malaysian plates and bubble tea at Highland Park — big portions at a price that suits a family order
Daruma Sushi Botany
Japanese / Sushi · $$
Sushi-go-round in Botany that keeps small children watching — pricier than it looks, so check before ordering platters
HIPPO Cafe
Cafe / Play Centre
One of Auckland's better indoor playgrounds with a cafe attached in Golflands — well kept, and priced accordingly
Maraetai Beach Cafe
Cafe / Brunch · $$
Straight across from Maraetai Beach with a terrace — an unassuming room where staff greet the locals by name
Getting there and parking
The east is a straightforward drive from the city, and the beaches out toward Maraetai and Beachlands are a further twenty minutes past Howick on a road that stays coastal most of the way. Parking at all four beaches is free and rarely a problem outside the hottest summer weekends. Half Moon Bay is worth knowing about for a different reason: the ferry to Waiheke leaves from there, which turns a beach morning into the start of an island day if you want it to.
Worth knowing before you go
- These beaches are tidal and the water goes a long way out. Low tide is best for shell hunting and rock pools; high tide is what you want for actual swimming. Check which one you are getting.
- Cockle Bay is named for what is under the sand. Kids can dig and look, but shellfish gathering is subject to daily limits and seasonal closures — check before you take anything home.
- Every east-side beach here is stroller-friendly right down to the sand, which is unusual in Auckland and the main reason to choose this side with a baby.
- The east has the fewest indoor options of any Auckland region. If the forecast is bad, plan around Lloyd Elsmore or Howick Historical Village rather than driving out and hoping.
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