Two quite different boats leave the end of Ara Tai in Half Moon Bay. This page is about the passenger ferry to the city: an Auckland Transport route run by Fullers360 to Pier 5 at the Downtown Ferry Terminal, paid with AT HOP or a tap of a bank card, no booking, about 38 minutes on the water. The vehicle ferry to Waiheke next door is SeaLink's, needs a booking and has fares of its own.
Auckland Transport's schedule data for 30 September 2026 to 24 January 2027; checked 9 October 2026 Auckland Transport – Half Moon Bay ferry timetable · 2026-10-09
Compare the two boats and the difference is obvious. The city ferry is public transport: Fullers360 runs it for AT, you tag on with a card, and on a weekday there are 14 departures from Half Moon Bay between 06:50 and 20:55. The Waiheke boat is a drive-on vehicle ferry: SeaLink sells you a space for a car, a time and a price, and it goes to Kennedy Point, not to the city.
If you are heading into town, this is the boat you want. The weekday timetable is built around the office day: boats every 40 to 60 minutes through the morning and evening, and only every two hours around lunchtime. Fridays add a 22:25 and a 00:30 from Half Moon Bay; Saturdays have six boats each way, Sundays five.
AT describes the trip as a 35-minute ride; the timetable allows 38 for every sailing, in both directions.
Half Moon Bay is priced in AT's mid-harbour band, alongside West Harbour, Beach Haven and Hobsonville Point. Each fare covers a single trip to or from the city. Card or phone payments are discounted; cash means a paper ticket bought before boarding at a much higher price. AT's fare caps do not cover this ferry, which is why commuters tend to look at the Mid Harbour monthly pass.
Kids aged 5 to 15 whose junior card is registered travel at no charge at the weekend or on a public holiday. Seniors carrying the SuperGold concession pay no fare on any boat leaving at 9am or later from Monday to Friday, and none at all on weekends; earlier weekday departures charge them as adults.
| Adult (AT HOP or contactless) | $ 10.40 |
| Child 5–15, secondary or tertiary student (AT HOP) | $ 6.24 |
| Accessible concession (AT HOP) | $ 6.24 |
| Community Connect (AT HOP) | $ 5.20 |
| Adult, tertiary student or Community Connect | $ 15 |
| Child 5–15, secondary student or accessible | $ 8.50 |
| Mid Harbour pass, registered AT HOP | $ 310 |
Auckland Transport mid-harbour ferry fares in force since 1 February 2026, read 9 October 2026 Auckland Transport – Ferry fares, Half Moon Bay · 2026-10-09
The ferry runs west from Half Moon Bay to the Downtown Ferry Terminal without calling anywhere on the way. Further east along the same coast, the Pine Harbour ferry is AT's other commuter boat from this side of the city, run by SeaLink to Pier 3 on a separate timetable.
Half Moon Bay sailings use Pier 5 in the main Downtown Ferry Terminal; AT's timetable shows the city stop as 96001. Without a card, buy a single-trip paper ticket from an AT ticket machine or the customer service centre before you board.
Follow Pigeon Mountain Road until it becomes Ara Tai and carry on to the end. AT lists 292 park-and-ride spaces here. Buses 734 (via Highland Park and Prince Regent Drive) and 735 (via Cockle Bay, Howick and Macleans Road) run to Botany and meet most sailings, but not the last boats from the city on Friday and Saturday nights. SeaLink's vehicle terminal, at 37 Ara Tai, is a separate building with its own ticket office.
The AT ferry to the city and SeaLink's Waiheke car ferry share the end of Ara Tai but not a ticket office. A SeaLink booking will not get you on the city boat, and AT HOP does not buy a car space.
Buses 734 and 735 meet most sailings, except the last ones from the city on Friday and Saturday nights. Plan another way home after those.
Tag on and off with one card at both piers, taking it out of your wallet so the reader doesn't pick up another.
AT counts 292 parking spaces at Half Moon Bay for ferry users.
AT's timetable page shows planned sailings only. Before leaving home, look at the live ferry status on AT's website or in AT Mobile.
Which boat for Waiheke, then? Not this one. From Half Moon Bay the only way across to the island is SeaLink's car ferry to Kennedy Point, which also takes foot passengers but works on bookings and its own fares. SeaLink also sends an occasional freight and vehicle sailing from here to Rākino; for people, the Rākino Island ferry runs from the city on set dates.
We could not read Fullers360's own pages for this page: its website answered our requests with an anti-bot check. The times here are Auckland Transport's, which AT publishes for every route it funds. On AT's timetable page the departures from Half Moon Bay for Friday 9 and Monday 12 October matched AT's schedule data exactly.
The timetable allows 38 minutes each way; AT describes it as a 35-minute ride.
20:10 from Pier 5 Monday to Thursday, 23:45 on Friday, 23:00 on Saturday and 18:10 on Sunday.
Adults: $10.40 by card, $15 cash. Kids from 5 to 15 on AT HOP: $6.24.
No. It only goes to Downtown Auckland. For Waiheke from Half Moon Bay, use SeaLink's vehicle ferry to Kennedy Point, which needs a booking.
No bookings are taken. Tap your card at the pier, or get a paper ticket from a machine first.
Yes, AT lists 292 car parks for park-and-ride users.
Fullers360, under contract to Auckland Transport.