Stanley Bay Beach
Why go
Stanley Bay Beach is one of Devonport's quieter gems — a small, sheltered beach looking straight across the Waitematā to the CBD skyline. Less visited than Cheltenham or Takapuna, it has a genuinely peaceful, neighbourhood feel that locals fiercely love. Come on a quiet weekday morning and you might have it almost entirely to yourself.
What to expect
A proper locals' beach with a piece of Auckland history at its edge. Stanley Bay Wharf, at the south-east end, was once a commuter ferry terminal running Stanley Bay residents into the city — the service is long gone, but the wharf lives on as a local institution. On summer afternoons you'll find teenagers jumping off the end at high tide, carrying on a tradition generations old, and locals fishing off the end year-round. Across the road there's a large reserve with a good-sized playground, picnic benches and plenty of open green space — perfect for a game of touch after the beach — with the Ngataringa Tennis Club right next door if you want to book a court. Worth knowing: at full high tide the beach shrinks to a very small sliver of sand at the south end — time a beach day around the tide, though that same high tide is when the wharf jumping happens.
