In 1854 the Crown paid £15 for an island it had hesitated to buy because it was all rock. By 1890 Rangitoto was a public domain and Aucklanders were coming over by boat for the day, a habit the Fullers360 ferry still serves: three sailings out from the Downtown Ferry Terminal, some calling at Devonport, and three back, the last at 15:30 on weekdays and 16:00 at weekends.
Weekday times from 5 October and weekend times from 10 October 2026, in Auckland Transport's schedule data to 24 January 2027, matching Fullers360's previous summer timetable; checked 9 October 2026 Auckland Transport – schedule data for the Rangitoto ferry (route RANG) · 2026-10-09
DOC's history of the island starts long before any ferry. Māori never lived on Rangitoto's dry rock but used the summit as a lookout over the Hauraki Gulf, and know it as Nga Rangi-i-totongia a Tamatekapua, recalling a battle at Islington Bay in which the Arawa chief Tamatekapua was wounded. After the 1854 sale and the 1890 public domain came the day-trippers, and between the wars prisoners hand-packed 19 kilometres of roads and tracks that walkers still use from Rangitoto Wharf.
The ferry today is a Fullers360 route that Auckland Transport lists in its schedule data but does not price. Three boats leave Downtown each day: 09:30, 10:30 and 12:15 on weekdays, and 09:15, 10:30 and 12:15 on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Coming back, the 12:45 and 14:30 run every day, and the last boat is the 15:30 on weekdays or the 16:00 at weekends.
The pattern is the summer one. Fullers' April 2026 timetable cut weekdays to a single return, the 09:30 out and the 15:30 back, and Auckland Transport's data shows the three-boat day back from 5 October on weekdays and 10 October at weekends.
Rangitoto tickets are a Fullers360 product, not an Auckland Transport fare. AT states plainly that HOP cards are not accepted on the Rangitoto boats, and that the SuperGold senior concession, free on most of Auckland's ferries, does not reach this one. AT also mentions a Fullers family ticket covering two grown-ups and two kids.
We have not printed NZD amounts. Fullers changes its visitor fares with the seasons, and this season's Rangitoto prices were not available to us in a form we could check against a second official source; price and buy the ticket on the Fullers360 website or app, or ring 09 367 9111.
Fare conditions from Auckland Transport, read 9 October 2026; amounts set by Fullers360 Auckland Transport – Ferry fares (Rangitoto Island) · 2026-10-09
From Quay Street the boat follows the channel between the city and the North Shore, the approach the summit's wartime post was built to watch. Two of the three sailings each way turn in to Devonport first, which Fullers says adds about ten minutes. The ferry lands on Rangitoto's south coast at Rangitoto Wharf. Kayakers make the same crossing from the North Shore, which DOC puts at around two hours of paddling and recommends only for experienced paddlers.
Fullers' timetable sends Rangitoto passengers to Pier 13 and 14 at the Downtown Ferry Terminal, 99 Quay Street; Auckland Transport's data lists the departures from Pier 14. North Shore walkers can board instead at the Devonport Ferry Terminal, but only on the sailings that call there: 09:40 and 12:25 on weekdays, 09:25 and 12:25 at weekends and on public holidays.
Every public ferry uses Rangitoto Wharf, on the side facing the city. DOC's map marks information, a shelter, toilets and a telephone there, and Bach 38 beside the wharf is the volunteer-run museum. The stone walls round the landing were built from lava by prison labour in the 1920s and 1930s. Islington Bay wharf, on the Motutapu side, is for private boats dropping off or picking up passengers; no timetabled ferry calls.
Rangitoto has no shops and no drinking water for visitors. Carry all your water and food, and pack every scrap of rubbish back onto the boat with you, because the island has nowhere to leave it.
The Summit Track climbs from the wharf through Kowhai Grove and Kidney Fern Glen to the lookout at 259 metres. Wear sturdy footwear, a hat and sunscreen, as heat bounces off the bare rock; wasps are about in the warmer months.
Rangitoto is pest-free. Clean footwear and gear of soil and seeds, keep bags zipped and food sealed. Overnight guests at the baches hand DOC's completed biosecurity checklist to the ranger.
Dogs are banned on the island, there is a total fire ban including portable barbecues, and drones need a permit. The WWII controlled mine base at Islington Bay is closed because of asbestos.
DOC warns that there is no overnight accommodation to fall back on and that any other way back to the mainland is expensive. The last boats leave at 15:30 on weekdays and 16:00 at weekends.
The Second World War left the most visible marks on the trip. From 1938 a fire command post was built on the summit to direct the coastal guns covering the harbour approaches, later joined by an observation post and a radar station; it was only operational for a short time in 1944 before the role moved to North Head, and military use of Rangitoto officially ended in 1957. Building it meant a causeway to Motutapu, and the budget of £2,000 ended at £37,529. Women of the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps crossed that causeway nightly by truck from their camp on Motutapu to staff the radar. The fire command post still stands at the top, while the mine base at Islington Bay is closed to visitors.
That causeway is also the answer to a common question: no public ferry goes to Motutapu. Walkers cross from Rangitoto at Islington Bay, where DOC's map marks the start of the Motutapu Walkway, and come back to Rangitoto Wharf for the boat. If you start from the North Shore, the Devonport ferry from Downtown shares the terminal at Devonport where two Rangitoto boats a day call. Pest-free rules here are the same ones that apply on the Tiritiri Matangi trip, which AT names alongside Rangitoto as a ferry outside the SuperGold concession.
No. The 15:30 is the final weekday sailing and the 16:00 the final one on weekend days and holidays; both go via Devonport before reaching the Downtown Ferry Terminal.
On two sailings a day: 09:40 and 12:25 on weekdays, 09:25 and 12:25 on Saturday, Sunday or a holiday. The 10:30 from Downtown runs direct.
Neither. Auckland Transport rules out HOP on this route, and seniors get no SuperGold free trip here. Buy a Fullers360 ticket.
It depends which boats you pair. Fullers puts the crossing at about 25 minutes, so the first boat out lands you before mid-morning, and the last boat home leaves at 15:30 on weekdays or 16:00 at weekends.
No. Motutapu is reached on foot over the wartime causeway at Islington Bay, on the far side of Rangitoto from the ferry wharf.
No shops at all. Bring water, food and sun protection, and carry your rubbish back to the city.
Unconfirmed. Fullers ran no Rangitoto boat on Christmas Day 2025, while Auckland Transport's data for 2026 shows weekend sailings. Check with Fullers before planning around it.