By car it takes 3-5 hours depending on your style of driving and whether you stop for a cuppa. A plane from Auckland to Kerikeri Airport takes about 40 minutes The bus journey is approx. 5 hrs including travel from the airport to the Downtown Bus Terminal. Follow State Highway 1 from Auckland to Kawakawa and then on to State Highway 11 to Opua. There are also three different passenger ferries operating between Paihia and Russell.
Frosts are rare and never severe.
The Bay has an average annual rainfall of 2000 millimetres.