What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Jenny from Australia

  Jennifer R,,Feb 14, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  A great trip. Absolutely amazing countryside. Loved it. Very relaxing. Nice food in cafe. Loved the open carriage

• Awesome experience.

  Christine R,,Feb 4, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  A very nice experience on the train. Scenery was breathtaking, and we loved the 10 hour ride. Gir dine lovely photos! Our train was clean, boarding was a breeze and staff were courteous and pleasant.

• Really not worth….

  David N,,Feb 3, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  3.00

  … your time nor money. We only (?) did an 8 hour stint but the number of exceptional views were dwarfed by the vast majority of mundane views. Staff were friendly but only two rubbish collections in 8 hours ??

• Scenic train ride Wellington to Auckland

  Mike T,,Feb 2, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Traveled Wellington to Auckland 2/1/2026 in Scenic Plus. Service staff were 5 stars, unfortunately forgot the lady and gentleman’s names. Wonderful views from our comfortable seats and open air viewing car. Toilets clean. You don’t go hungry, with regular meals and snacks - all top notch (frittata breakfast, salmon lunch, lamb dinner, cheese plate and deserts in between) and not overly large portions, so while you are constantly fed, I did not feel like I over ate.

  

  

  

  

• Great trip

  Connector01099220843,,Jan 18, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had the most wonderful experience on this trip going scenic plus. Beautiful scenery, great staff, beautiful food and drinks including wine. Would definitely see NZ this relaxing way again and highly recommend

• Great views with one disappointment

  Laurelin M,,Jan 15, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  3.00

  Good, beautiful views, but disappointed that there was no information about us having to change from the train to the bus to get to Auckland.

• A luxury ride across New Zealand

  John B,,Dec 30, 2025

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Beautiful views, excellent service and amazing food, what more could you want? We thoroughly enjoyed the day, beat driving all the way across the North Island on the wrong side of those narrow roads!

• Worthless long journey

  TravellerPorirua,,Nov 29, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  2.00

  The journey was not at all exciting as the weather was bad, cloudy most of the time blocking the views of Ruapehu. The person making the comments would provide info too late that by the time we get up to take photos, the train had passed beautiful sceneries. The Cafe only provided pre-cooked packets of food which are not even properly thawed, but heated so high that the food is overheated and not palatable. We complained but got only a "sorry". The toilets on board were so horrible and stinking which reminded of the trains in the third world countries. They do take a lot of money for the journey but the comforts are very low and poor. Not worth the money we paid for. Will never go on that again.

• Scenic Plus takes a great trip to a new high level!

  TimothyM2189,,Nov 29, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This was my fourth trip on the Northern Explorer, but my first going South to North. Whilst I was familiar with the general experience, the different travel direction made a difference, but most importantly, what made a difference was the fact that I used, for the first time, their relatively new Scenic Plus dining experience - which elevated the whole event. You can read on their website about what the Scenic Plus dining experience offers, and there's nothing there, from my perspective, that is untrue. To say my expectations were wildly exceeded, is in no part due to the incredible service offered by the three staff members, unnamed for this review, who provided a consistent high level of service throughout the 12 hours of the journey. Whilst the premium of over $250 for the dining plus experience may on the face of it seem excessive, I've come to realise that certainly for business, it's going to be better for me to take a cheaper flight with Jetstar down to Wellington, in order to afford a Scenic Plus experience coming home, or vice versa. The cost of the two added together, TBH, is about the same as a typical Air New Zealand return airfare. What do you get for the additional all inclusive premium is phenomenal; and I found myself consistently fed and watered from the time the train left the platform of Wellington to driving through the suburbs of southern Auckland ,ready to get off at the Strand. I think what I would've paid for six flat whites during the day in itself goes without saying, and the barista service available in scenic plus is perfectly adequate. There's really nothing negative that I could say about this. To be clear it's a lovely carriage, in fact an exceptionally refurbished or rebuilt carriage, which pays homage to Te Ao Māori in its' design and built and artwork. However, ultimately it is traveling on old rolling stock on very old and narrow gauge railway lines. If you are uncomfortable with bumpy train rides, this will not be for you. Until the train gets well past Hamilton, expect lots of up-and-down motion. That said it's nothing like flying into Wellington, and all adds to the experience. I can't wait to do this trip again, and I think it marks a pivot from my typical fly down to Wellington and back; instead 12 hours with intermittent Wi-Fi ($5 for 2GB) allows you just to look at the changing fauna and flora all around and actually chill out for a bit. I got to listen to almost 7 hours of podcasts which normally would take a week to do! Go for it!

• Birthday gift

  Guide05145517067,,Nov 20, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Enjoyed the trip great looking at different countryside. Staff very pleasant and super helpful. Loved the mulled wine

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