Wanderyn
Matakana Island
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
city · NZ

Matakana Island

Recommended stay: 1 day
Getting around: Matakana Island (not to be confused with the Matakana wine village north of Auckland) sits across the harbour from Tauranga and is reached only by a short vehicle or passenger ferry crossing, since there's no bridge. There is no public transport on the island itself; most of it is unsealed farm and forestry road, so a suitable vehicle (or bicycle for the fitter and more adventurous) is needed if you're bringing your own transport across on the vehicle ferry, otherwise walking from the passenger ferry landing covers only the immediate area.
Hours: Ferry crossing times are limited and run on a fixed timetable set by the operator, generally a handful of sailings a day, so plan around the schedule rather than around any on-island opening hours, since there are essentially no commercial visitor facilities on the island.

Matakana Island is a long, narrow, largely undeveloped sand-spit island forming the outer barrier of Tauranga Harbour, covered mostly in pine forestry and a small number of farms and beachfront baches (holiday homes), with a small permanent population, many of them Māori landowners with long-standing ties to the island. Unlike the mainland tourist circuit around Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, Matakana Island has essentially no visitor infrastructure: no shops, no cafes, no formal attractions, just a long ocean beach on its seaward side and quiet farm roads.

The appeal here is precisely that undeveloped quality: a genuinely quiet, uncommercialised beach and rural landscape a short ferry ride from a busy tourist city, popular mainly with surfers seeking uncrowded breaks and with people visiting family or holiday homes on the island rather than casual sightseers. It suits a specific kind of low-key day trip rather than general tourism, and visitors should bring their own food, water, and any equipment, since almost nothing is available to buy on the island.

Matakana Island FAQs

How do you get to Matakana Island?

By a short ferry crossing from near Tauranga; there's a vehicle ferry for those bringing a car and typically a smaller passenger option, both running on a limited fixed timetable rather than continuously.

Are there shops or cafes on Matakana Island?

No, there's essentially no commercial infrastructure; bring your own food, water, and supplies, since nothing is available to buy on the island.

Is Matakana Island good for surfing?

Yes, its ocean-facing beach has uncrowded breaks that draw surfers looking to avoid the busier spots around Mount Maunganui, though it requires your own transport and gear.

Is this the same Matakana as the wine village near Auckland?

No, they are entirely different places that happen to share a name; this Matakana Island sits in Tauranga Harbour in the Bay of Plenty, unrelated to the Matakana village north of Auckland.

What is there to actually do on the island?

Walking the beach, surfing, and experiencing a quiet, undeveloped rural landscape; it's not set up for typical sightseeing or activities beyond that.

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