Museum & Gallery

New Zealand Maritime Museum

Perched on the Viaduct Harbour, the New Zealand Maritime Museum | Hui Te Ananui A Tangaroa draws families into Aotearoa's deep relationship with the ocean. Permanent and changing exhibitions trace the country's stories of the sea, from Polynesian voyaging traditions to more recent maritime history, giving children plenty to take in at their own pace.

How muchTe utu: Free
Ages: 4–89+
WhereKei hea: Auckland CBD
Rating: 4.6; 2,900 on Google

Get directions Their websitemaritimemuseum.co.nz

Perfect for

Museums & Galleries Free Things to Do Indoor Activities

LocationTe wāhi

Auckland CBD

Corner of Quay and Hobson Street

Directions Website

What it is

Beyond the galleries, the museum runs harbour sailings — a chance for kids to swap dry land for the water and see Auckland from a different angle entirely. A heritage boat shed adds another layer for those who like to get close to the vessels themselves.

Admission is free for Aucklanders, and the Viaduct Harbour setting means the day can stretch naturally into a waterfront wander afterwards. It suits families who like their outings to have real substance rather than just spectacle.

What other parents say

Lou O'Brien4 months ago

We could have spent all day here! We started with a boat cruise of the harbour which was just incredible and such a fun, unique way to see Auckland. The volunteers both in the boat and in the museum were friendly and enthusiastic and full of amazing information that made it visit do much better. I loved how interactive the whole experience was. I would highly recommend adding this to your visit to Auckland.

Fred Manuel6 months ago

Great place for all ages. There’s a lot of fascinating history and plenty of nostalgic displays that really bring New Zealand’s maritime story to life. We especially enjoyed learning about how tangata whenua first navigated and arrived in Aotearoa — that part was really well presented. Our favourite area was the America’s Cup section. Seeing the replica cup up close was awesome and a real highlight. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Auckland.

Read 3 more reviews ↓

Sagar Godbole8 months ago

A wonderful museum where you can learn a lot about NZ Maritime history but also about sailing and seafaring in general! There's also hundred of models of canoes, sail boats and ships to see. Located right at the viaduct harbour, I could enjoy amazing gusting wind on a summer day. You can also buy tickets which include a sail boat sailing but the sailing gets full pretty fast so go early if you want that! There's 2 sail times - 10:30am and 1:30pm and it gets cancelled if the weather is acting up 🌨️

Ros Frost5 months ago

The Maritime Museum is a great place to visit with beautiful displays, thoughtfully laid out. We enjoyed looking at the range of vessels from the earliest times to modern day. The America’s Cup section was most impressive. We were also very lucky to go sailing in the harbour on the Ted Ashby. The crew on board were extremely friendly and welcoming and we thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful experience.

Quinn Anderson5 months ago

Deceptively large museum! This place was a GREAT find on my visit to Auckland in March. I went two times (your ticket is good for 48 hours from time of purchase) and somehow still managed to not fully experience everything they had to offer. I strongly recommend making time for this place while in Auckland, it is absolutely worth it. You could easily spend a full day here (I think collectively I was there for about 5 hours?) and not think twice. The first floor has a couple of great exhibits on historical shipbuilding and nautical commerce in New Zealand, then there’s a massive exhibit on the history of competitive sailing and the pioneers of that field, followed by a seasonal exhibit, and then once you’re past that you enter a similarly large area filled with all sorts of nautical-related items and their history - from the history of outboard motors, to lighthouse construction, to various methods of navigating at sea. And to boot, a fantastic collection of scale model ships that were clearly made by passionate craftsmen. I loved my time here and would wholeheartedly recommend visiting it - whenever I find myself in Auckland again I will without a doubt be stopping by again!

Reviews from Google.