Birkenhead Wharf, where Hinemoa Street meets the water, is the main stop on this Explore Group route for Auckland Transport. Te Onewa Northcote Point, nearer the bridge, is served on request only. On weekdays boats run straight to and from Pier 1; at weekends the same boat sails a loop that calls at Bayswater as well.
Auckland Transport timetable and schedule data from 12 October 2026 to 7 February 2027; checked 23 and 26 October 2026 Auckland Transport – Birkenhead ferry timetable · 2026-10-23
Trace the North Shore shoreline either side of the bridge's northern end and the route explains itself. Birkenhead Wharf sits at the bottom of Hinemoa Street; the wharf at Te Onewa Northcote Point is a short way east, on the headland beside the bridge. Explore Group has served both for AT since October 2023, out of the city's Pier 1, and a weekday sailing between Pier 1 and Birkenhead is timetabled at between 13 and 23 minutes depending on the run and whether it stops at the point.
On a weekday 20 boats leave Pier 1, from 06:15 until 22:40, and 20 leave Birkenhead between 06:30 and 22:55. The morning commute has a boat about every 40 minutes, the middle of the day one an hour, and the late afternoon one every 40 minutes again. On Fridays a final 23:10 loop from the city brings Birkenhead people home after an evening out.
Northcote Point is a request stop and follows the commuting flow. Before midday it is a pick-up for boats heading into the city from Birkenhead; from 12:40 it is a drop-off for boats coming out from Pier 1, called at ten minutes after departure.
Both North Shore stops on this route sit in the inner-harbour band, the cheapest of AT's three ferry bands, and unlike the longer runs up and down the harbour this route counts towards AT's fare caps: $50 over seven days on AT HOP, $20 a day when tapping a bank card. A rider who crosses twice every weekday will reach the weekly cap before the week is out.
The two North Shore wharves also have a fare between them, $3 for an adult by card, for anyone using the boat to hop round the point rather than to the city. Weekend and holiday travel is free on a registered child card, which here means the loop boats; the monthly option is the Inner Harbour pass at $195.
| Adult, AT HOP or contactless | $ 7.80 |
| Adult, cash ticket | $ 12 |
| Child 5–15, AT HOP | $ 4.69 |
| Child 5–15, cash ticket | $ 7 |
| Adult, AT HOP or contactless | $ 3 |
| Adult, cash ticket | $ 4 |
| Child 5–15, AT HOP | $ 1.55 |
| Child 5–15, cash ticket | $ 2 |
| Seven-day cap, AT HOP | $ 50 |
| Daily cap, contactless | $ 20 |
| Inner Harbour monthly pass | $ 195 |
Auckland Transport inner-harbour fares in force since 1 February 2026, read 23 October 2026 Auckland Transport – ferry fares · 2026-10-23
Birkenhead Wharf looks out over the upper harbour, west of the bridge; the Northcote Point wharf is on the next headland east, where the bridge comes ashore. On weekdays the boat shuttles between Birkenhead and Pier 1, slipping in a Northcote Point call on request: inbound before midday, outbound after it.
At weekends the route becomes a loop. Boats head first to Bayswater, then call at Northcote Point if asked and at Birkenhead before running back to Pier 1. The trip out to Birkenhead takes 25 minutes that way; the return leg is 20.
All sailings start and finish at Pier 1, the berth this route shares with the Bayswater boat. At weekends the boat that leaves Pier 1 comes back to the same pier at the end of its loop, so a city-to-city round trip is possible without changing boats.
The wharf is at the bottom of Hinemoa Street. Bus 917 starts here and runs to Albany Station via Massey University. AT's park-and-sail list does not include Birkenhead, so plan on arriving by bus, on foot or by bike.
Ask the crew for Northcote Point as you board; the boat only stops there on request.
Press the button at the terminal to signal the boat, and stand where the crew can see you as it approaches.
On weekdays Northcote Point is served towards the city until 12:00 and away from the city from 12:50; outside those runs there is no call.
The weekend sailings from Pier 1 call at Bayswater first, so the run to Birkenhead is slower than on weekdays.
AT has said the Northcote Point wharf is tidal and exposed to westerly and south-westerly winds, and cancellations there are regular; check AT's ferry status page on blustery days.
Why is Bayswater on a Birkenhead timetable? At weekends AT combines the two routes into a single loop: Pier 1, Bayswater, Northcote Point, Birkenhead, Pier 1. That gives Bayswater its only weekend sailings, five or six a day, even though AT's own Bayswater route has no weekend timetable: the weekend calls are listed under Birkenhead, and our Bayswater ferry page sets out both patterns. The rest of the inner-harbour band is covered by the Devonport ferry, which runs every day from the same terminal.
Northcote Point's future was in doubt in 2023, when AT proposed dropping the stop because fewer than ten regular passengers a day used it and a wharf rebuild to cope with the tides and westerly winds would cost upwards of $30 million. The stop stayed. AT's Western Package contract, signed in July 2026, lists Birkenhead and its Northcote Point stop among the routes moving to Belaire Ferries and Kelsian's SeaLink in mid-2027, together with the West Harbour ferry.
Yes: six loops on Saturdays and five on Sundays and holiday Mondays, each a circuit from Pier 1 by way of Bayswater and the Northcote Point request stop to Birkenhead and back to town.
Push the button at the terminal to signal the boat and stay visible as it comes in. To get off there, tell the crew when you board.
22:40 from Pier 1 from Monday to Thursday, 23:10 on Fridays, 22:10 on Saturdays and 20:10 on Sundays and holidays.
$7.80 per adult by card or phone, $12 in cash, $4.69 for a child on HOP.
Yes. AT's $50 seven-day cap on AT HOP and $20 daily cap for bank cards both cover the Birkenhead and Northcote Point trips.
Yes, for $3 by card or $4 cash, on any sailing that calls at both: weekday mornings towards the city, afternoons and evenings away from it, and every weekend loop.
Explore Group sails it for AT today; from 1 July 2027 the contract passes to a Belaire Ferries and Kelsian partnership.