Since October 2023 the ten-minute ferry between Bayswater Marina and Downtown Auckland has been run by Explore Group, a tourism company that stepped in when the previous operator gave notice it would stop. Today it sails Monday to Friday only, 22 times a day out of Bayswater, and Auckland Transport has already signed the next operator: Belaire Ferries with Kelsian's SeaLink, from 1 July 2027.
Monday to Friday timetable in Auckland Transport's schedule data from 17 September to 31 December 2026; no timetable published yet for January 2027; checked 2 October 2026 Auckland Transport – Bayswater ferry timetable · 2026-10-02
Bayswater is one of Auckland Transport's inner-harbour ferry routes: a direct crossing from the marina on the North Shore to Pier 1 at the Downtown Ferry Terminal, timed at ten minutes each way. Explore Group has run it for AT since 1 October 2023, together with the Birkenhead and Te Onewa Northcote Point boats.
The timetable is built around office hours. From Bayswater the first boat leaves at 06:40 and they come every half hour until 09:10; then it is hourly at 25 past, half-hourly again from 16:25 to 19:25, and hourly to the last at 22:25. From the city the first is at 06:55 and the last at 22:10.
Explore took the route over at short notice in 2023, bringing a near-new vessel from its Australian business and borrowing Discovery IV from its Bay of Islands fleet in the meantime. Its contract ends when the new operators start in mid-2027.
Bayswater is priced as an inner-harbour trip, the same band as Devonport and Birkenhead, and each fare covers a single journey to or from the city. Paying cash costs noticeably more: an adult pays $12 in cash against $7.80 by AT HOP or contactless. Fare caps apply too, at $20 a day for contactless and $50 over seven days for AT HOP.
Children under five ride free with a paying passenger. SuperGold cardholders with the concession loaded on AT HOP travel free after 9am on weekdays and pay the adult fare before that. The weekend free-travel rule for children aged 5 to 15 makes no difference here, since Bayswater has no weekend boats.
| Adult (contactless or AT HOP) | $ 7.80 |
| Child 5–15, secondary or tertiary student (AT HOP) | $ 4.69 |
| Accessible fare (AT HOP) | $ 4.69 |
| Community Connect (AT HOP) | $ 3.90 |
| Adult, tertiary student or Community Connect | $ 12 |
| Child 5–15, secondary student or accessible fare | $ 7 |
| Inner Harbour monthly pass (registered AT HOP) | $ 195 |
| Seven-day cap, AT HOP | $ 50 |
| Daily cap, contactless | $ 20 |
Auckland Transport inner-harbour ferry fares in force since 1 February 2026, read 2 October 2026 Auckland Transport – ferry fares · 2026-10-02
The route is a direct run from Pier 1 in the city across the Waitematā Harbour to the marina at Bayswater, on the North Shore side, with no stops in between on the current timetable. On a handful of dates the Belaire boat to Rākino also starts or finishes at Bayswater; the Rākino Island ferry timetable lists those sailings.
Bayswater boats use Pier 1 at the Downtown Ferry Terminal, shown as stop 96001 in AT's timetable and on the live departure boards. Pay with an AT HOP card or a contactless bank card; cash is taken too, but at a much higher fare.
The terminal sits inside Bayswater Marina, reached from Sir Peter Blake Parade off Bayswater Avenue. AT counts 120 park-and-ride spaces here, free on weekdays as long as you validate your parking ticket before driving out. The separate marina car park now runs on the Inugo app instead of tickets, and the free weekday session is validated at the Downtown Ferry Terminal. Bus 801 links the wharf with Takapuna and Akoranga Station.
There is no Bayswater ferry on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays in the current timetable, so on those days you will need another way into town, such as the bus.
An adult pays $7.80 with AT HOP or a contactless card and $12 in cash, and the daily and weekly fare caps only count card journeys.
Weekday parking at the terminal is free only if you validate your ticket before driving out. In the marina car park, validate your Inugo session at the Downtown Ferry Terminal.
Seniors with the SuperGold concession on AT HOP travel free after 9am; on the early boats they pay the adult fare.
AT's timetable does not show live changes. Use AT's ferry status page or the AT Mobile app on the day.
How did it become a weekday-only service? AT's printed Bayswater timetable from 2024, which still appears in search results, shows weekend and public holiday boats running via Northcote Point on request and Birkenhead in about 35 minutes, plus a late Friday sailing. None of those are in AT's current timetable or schedule data, so treat that PDF as history. Explore also runs the Tiritiri Matangi island ferry, but from Viaduct Harbour, not from Bayswater.
What changes in 2027? AT's Western Package contract, announced on 2 July 2026, gives Bayswater, Birkenhead and Te Onewa, West Harbour and Rākino to Belaire Ferries and Kelsian Group's SeaLink for seven years from 1 July 2027. Five new 24-metre ferries are to arrive progressively from 2028. AT has not said whether weekend sailings will come back.
No. The current timetable has sailings on weekdays only, and none on public holidays either, Labour Day for one.
From Bayswater, 06:40 and 22:25. From Pier 1 in the city, 06:55 and 22:10.
$7.80 for an adult with AT HOP or contactless, or $12 in cash. Children aged 5 to 15 pay $4.69 with AT HOP or $7 in cash.
Ten minutes in either direction, with no stops on the way.
Explore Group, under contract to Auckland Transport. From 1 July 2027 Belaire Ferries and Kelsian's SeaLink take over.
Yes. AT has 120 park-and-ride spaces at the terminal, free on weekdays if you validate your ticket before leaving.
Weekday boats run up to 31 December except on Christmas Day and Monday 28 December. AT has not yet published anything for January 2027.
Yes: the Inner Harbour pass costs $195 a month on a registered AT HOP card and includes buses and trains in the same zone as either end of the ferry trip.