Anchor Bay beach

Anchor Bay is an amazing white sandy beach on the Pacific coast near Tawharanui regional park and is a 80 km drive north of Auckland. A real piece of New Zealand paradise!


The beach and the regional park located on a remote peninsula which makes it attractive for true water lovers and spectacular sceneries hunters only – a few kilometers to the beach you have to drive via narrow and dusty dirt road.

There are few carparks near the beach including overflow parking:

Toilets and changing rooms placed beetween beach and the carpark under the trees shadow. There are no BBQ facilities on the beach.

Entry to the beach goes via wooden stairs in a sand dune, typical for every New Zealand beach :

Water in Achor Bay is very clear and is great for swimming, snorkeling and diving:


Anchor Bay has a relatively calm waves however, I would recommend to take care because some times it can knock down you easily and unexpectedly. So stay safe and never swim alone.



Apart being popular place for a family vacation, Anchor bay is also a popular spot among serfers if there is a swell on the east coast.

One of the best views of the beach you can find from the top of a rock on the left side from main swimming area:

Little Barrier Island, at it observed from Anchor Bay:



In addition to swimming and sunbathing, Acnhor Bay is willing to offer rockpooling in the rock on the right side from main swimming area:


Also you can explore a small rock caves nearby during a lowtide:

P.S. Anchor Bay is part of Tawharanui Marine Reserve and hence there are few things to know before going:

  • No fishing is permitted
  • Don’t feed fish
  • Dogs are not permitted
  • Take your rubbish away.
  • Do not light fires on the beach

For the rest, I would highly recommend to include this beach into the list of must see places required to visit during the summer time.

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Ivan Grigoryev's Blog
Living in New Zealand. Blogging about the country, beautiful places, everyday life.
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