Bay of Islands - Bay of Islands visitor guide showing a virtual tour of 'Bay of Islands' linked to an interactive map with local and travel information. 360° panoramas from Northland.

The Bay of Islands covers a large bay and several communities on the west coast of Northland in New Zealand. It is one of the most visited and most popular tourist destinations in New Zealand, and the Bay of Islands is world famous for big game fishing.

The Bay of Islands is so named for numerous islands that are scattered around the 16km bay, which has numerous deep inlets and natural harbours. The largest towns around the bay are Paihia and Russell. Paihia is now the focus for much of the tourist activity, with fishing, sight seeing, cruises and water sports promoted heavily. Russell at the end of a small peninsula that sticks out into the Bay of Islands, and easily accessible by ferry from Paihia, making the round trip an ideal day trip for visitors.

Other small communities around the Bay of Islands include Kerikeri and Te Puna (Mangonui), and Opua.

Paihia, the main tourism destination on the Bay of Islands, is about 230km north of Auckland on the SH1 followed by SH11.