For the next fortnight, we’ll criss-cross the country, north and south, coast to coast, to whittle down the 50 candidates you’ve chosen in five categories: family, camping, surfing, city and hidden gems.
We’ve been rolling down state highways and negotiating coastal byways for almost a decade now, since we first asked readers to vote for their favourite beaches in 2018.
Back then, we decided against naming Numero Uno and instead asked readers to vote for the top 12, unranked. Spoiler alert: in 2018 and 2019, it was pretty clear your favourite spot was Whangamatā.
Times and tides change. In 2022, we hung that towel out to dry on the nearest pōhutukawa branch and asked you to vote for the Best of Summer – fish ’n’ chip shops, ice cream stores, campgrounds and the like.
The following year, we moved on again, to the format you’ve loved ever since: choosing five category winners and one supreme champion.
And if one place has felt the summer lovin’ from our readers, it’s been Ōhope: 14 clicks of Bay of Plenty sand, sea, surf that specialises in just about everything Kiwis like getting up to close to the water: swimming, surfing, fishing, sunbathing, dog walking, sandcastling and we’ve probably left out dozens more, your premier summer spot in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
The giant tottered last year, dethroned by the lovely, lazy Northland spot of Waipū Cove. Looking at the nominations for 2026, the two are likely to do battle again this summer.
One thing remains constant: the northern regions are your most popular playgrounds. Northland, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty account for 31 of the 50 nominations between them.
We’ll give you one result already: Bay of Plenty pips the others with 12 entries, Northland has 10, and Coromandel is a boogie-board behind with nine.
That was easy. The rest is over to you, the voters. To help you decide, we’ll be profiling all the finalists in more detail in our print and online editions over the next week, so stay tuned.
The Sweet-as Spot
Because it’s our game and we like to change it up every summer, this year we’re going to spotlight a Sweet-as Spot for each category in our top 10 profile stories over the coming week.It’ll be a place that has never made the short list – or even the long list – before, but we reckon has something special about it. You can’t vote for the Sweet-as Spot, but it might inspire you to check out somewhere new in the coming weeks, or next summer.Keep an eye out for the stories over the next five days.
How do I vote?
Below, you’ll find the full list of our finalists – the top 10 in each of five categories, with the current champion marked with an asterisk, and a previous winner marked with a plus sign (the number of plus signs denotes how many times that beach has won).
You have until 11.59pm on Sunday, January 25, to vote for your favourites in each category. You can vote at nzherald.co.nz/bestbeach or by using the form below.
You can be a winner too – submit your votes and you’ll go in the draw to win one of 10 $100 gift cards to spend at a Four Square near you, wherever you’re spending your summer.
We’ll announce the winners in the Herald on Sunday and at nzherald.co.nz on Sunday, February 1.
Best Family Beach
Hāhei, Coromandel
Kaiteriteri, Tasman
Matapouri, Northland
Matarangi, Coromandel
Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty
++Ōhope, Bay of Plenty
Ōrewa, Auckland
Waihī Beach, Bay of Plenty
*Waipū Cove, Northland
Whangamatā, Coromandel
Supplied – royalty free
Best City Beach
Cheltenham, Auckland
Fitzroy, New Plymouth
Kohimarama, Auckland
Mission Bay, Auckland
*Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty
++Ōrewa, Auckland
Oriental Bay, Wellington
St Clair, Dunedin
Tāhunanui, Nelson
Takapuna, Auckland
Best Camping Beach
+Hāhei, Coromandel
+Kaiteriteri, Tasman
Maitai Bay, Northland
Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty
Ōhope, Bay of Plenty
Ōrewa, Auckland
Tāwharanui, Auckland
Tōtaranui, Tasman
Waihī Beach, Bay of Plenty
*Waipū Cove, Northland
Best hidden gem
Langs Beach, Northland
Lonely Bay, Coromandel
Maitai Bay, Northland
New Chums/Wainuiototo, Coromandel
Ōpito, Coromandel
Orokawa Bay, Bay of Plenty
++Ōtarawairere, Bay of Plenty
Pokohino, Coromandel
Taupō Bay, Northland
*Whale Bay, Northland
Best surf beach
*+Manu Bay, Raglan
Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty
Muriwai, Auckland
Ōhope, Bay of Plenty
Piha, Auckland
Sandy Bay, Northland
Waihī Beach, Bay of Plenty
Wainui, Gisborne
Waipū Cove, Northland
+Whangamatā, Coromandel
Go to nzherald.co.nz/bestbeach to submit your nominations or fill out the entry form below.