World renowned wines and charismatic architecture
The North Island’s wine country is one of New Zealand’s warmest, driest regions with golden colours stretching across arid plains. The scene here is made up of vineyards and orchards laden with fruit, fertile farmlands that sweep to the perfect waves on the coast and laidback seaside settlements.
Charismatic, seaside Napier is the region’s biggest city and one of the best-preserved concentrations of 1930s art-deco architecture, after a deadly earthquake in 1931 saw the total rebuild of the settlement. A fascinating city to explore by foot, with its terracotta thoroughfare lined with palm trees leading down to the main beach. The city is the perfect base to discover the nearby wineries and sample their world-famous drops, as well as visiting Cape Kidnappers where a massive colony of gannets nest between November and February.
While most notable for its award-winning wine, the region has also long been dubbed the fruit bowl of New Zealand with a lot of the country’s fresh produce grown here.
Highlights
Spending the day sampling some of the region’s world-renowned wines
Explore Napier, taking in its unique architecture
Visit Cape Kidnappers where a massive colony of gannets nest
Charlie Morris
Travel Designer
Luxury accommodation in Hawke's Bay
Why book with Jacada?
Personalised design
We’ll plan your trip around your specific interests, tastes and preferences, providing helpful tips and honest advice based on first-hand knowledge of the destination.
Authentic experiences
Our expert guides and brilliant travel concierges are hand-picked to provide a genuine experience, bringing your destination to life with care and passion.
Responsible travel
Our luxury trips are designed with responsible travel principles that prioritise travel experiences that are both good for you and good for the planet.
Trip Inspiration
Whatever you want from your New Zealand tour, our team of expert travel designers are ready to help.
Where else to go in New Zealand
Auckland
New Zealand’s largest cosmopolitan centre is a lively mix of culture, cuisine, music and art with ample green spaces and easily accessible beaches.
Discover moreBay of Islands
Equally beautiful and historically significant, the bay is peppered with 144 vastly untouched islands that are renowned for their inviting clear waters, subtropical climate and diverse marine life.
Discover moreCoromandel
A classic Kiwi beach holiday destination made up of petite coastal towns, velvety white-sand beaches and native rainforests teeming with birdlife.
Discover moreChristchurch
Curious travellers will relish all the new eclectic hubs to discover in a city and region that is full of surprises, friendly locals and an inspirational community spirit.
Discover moreDunedin and Coastal Otago
Dunedin is a university town and there is a good selection of lively restaurants and bars. It is also a great base from which to explore the Otago Peninsula with its rugged landscape, beautiful beaches and wildlife.
Discover moreKaikoura
With the swelling Pacific Ocean on one side and the snowcapped Kaikoura Range on the other – Kaikoura is a quaint peninsula village that is a base for discovering some of New Zealand’s best wildlife.
Discover moreLake Tekapo and Aoraki Mount Cook
New Zealand’s highest peak, Aroaki Mount Cook, is an arresting sight dominating the skyline of the national park which surrounds it.
Discover moreMarlborough Sounds and Wine Region
Hop from vineyard to vineyard on the wine trail in this diverse, sun-drenched plateau and sample some of the country’s finest wines, most notably the internationally renowned Sauvignon Blanc.
Discover moreMilford Sound and Fiordland National Park
With the snowy-peaked Southern Alps sloping down into deep blue waters and lushly forested shores bursting with wildlife, the spectacular Fiordland National Park area in the south-western corner of the South Island is known for its stunning vistas.
Discover moreNelson and Abel Tasman
New Zealand’s sunniest region has a diverse geography ripe for exploring from golden sand beaches to dense forests, the clearest fresh water lake in the world and secluded, enticing rivers.
Discover moreQueenstown and Wanaka
Queenstown is one of New Zealand’s most picturesque towns, sitting on the tip of the crystal clear Lake Wakatipu. It’s a bustling hub of international and local visitors come to seek out one of the endless thrills on offer here from skiing, white water rafting, canyon swinging, jet boating, mountain biking and bungy jumping.
Discover moreRotorua and Taupo
Steaming mud pools, erupting geysers and Maori traditions all make Rotorua and Taupo a special area to visit – one that is distinctively unique to the rest of New Zealand.
Discover moreWellington
Nestled on rolling green hills that spill down to a charming harbour, New Zealand’s capital is an epicentre of culture and creativity – renowned for its arts, gastronomy, heritage and bohemian character.
Discover moreWest Coast and the Glaciers
The narrow strip of coastline squeezed between the Southern Alps and Tasman Sea plays host to some of New Zealand’s most dramatic landscape, which is quite some claim.
Discover moreMeet your Australasia team
When to visit
Hawke’s Bay has a Mediterranean climate with long, pleasantly hot summers and mild winters.
Hot Climate
Summer
Milder Climate
Winter
New Zealand Travel Guides
Plan your trip to New Zealand
Whatever you want from your adventure in New Zealand, our team of expert travel designers are ready to help.
Excellent itinerary. Excellent followup-prior to the trip and during a weather interruption on our trip. Excellent guides and drivers. Beautiful hotels. First class service all around.
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