I have a flight into Auckland, NZ, at the end of June, landing at the international terminal at 9:20PM. If all goes well, I should be through customs with my baggage by 10. I subsequently have a flight leaving from Auckland domestic terminal at 7AM. That terminal will be closed by the time I land, opening at 5AM. I hate the idea of, and can’t really afford, paying ~$100 for an airport hotel, where I’d come in late at night, crash on the bed for four to five hours and be on my way again. The international terminal closes at night as well, and I’m sure they wouldn’t want me hanging around there all night. The airport’s around 20km from the city center as well. What can I do?
I’m pretty sure that there are several motels in Mangere (the suburb where the airport is located). You could probably get a cheaper room for the night from one of them.
This place is $59 NZ (not much in real money) and close to the airport - not going to get much cheaper http://www.skywaylodge.co.nz/
oh and these people did sleep the night at auckland airport - so I guess the dont lock the doors Auckland Airport Guide (AKL) - Sleeping in Airports
Hell, in Mangere you could sleep on a park bench and nobody would notice anything unusual! Sorry, I shouldn’t say that.
If you’re really desperate to get to the city, the last Airbus of the day leaves the terminal at 10:00pm, and the runs resume at 4:30am. These take about an hour each way. But a motel in Mangare would be more convenient, and probably cheaper, than anything in the city.
I’m not quite sure what it means when the terminal is “closed”, because flights come and go at all hours of the night. But it won’t be a case of “OK, closing time, everyone vacate the terminal immediately, lights will be off in 10 minutes.” The website says that the international terminal is open 24/7, so it’s probably just non-essential facilities that get shut down overnight.
Naughty, naughty 
A friend of mine lives in Glen Eden, Auckland.
If you want I’ll ask him if it’s ok for you to call him, he may put you up for the night altho’ if he does he’ll expect a few beers in payment. By a few I mean a lot 
I once took a flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne that stopped in the middle of the night in Auckland for an hour. We had to get off the plane while they cleaned and refueled it. Not having a visa to visit New Zealand, most of us couldn’t leave the international terminal even if we had wanted to. There was one shop in the international terminal open in the middle of the night. I remember wandering through it and buying a couple of bottles of New Zealand-made hot sauces.
The international terminal has to always remain open for passengers who are only changing flights (or waiting for their planes to be cleaned) who don’t have visas. I’m sure there are chairs for you to fall asleep in. Check on whether you could leave the international terminal at all. I’m not sure of what the current situation is about whether you need a visa to visit New Zealand.
Given she/he is subsequently leaving from the domestic terminal I guess any visa issues are sorted.
Visa issues depend on citizenship. If you’re an Australian, you don’t need a visa for New Zealand (and vice versa).
Who is your onward flight with? If it’s the same company as the LAX-AKL leg, try asking them extremely nicely at check-in if they can get you on the Redeye from AKL to wherever else you’re going.
My fiancee and I were going to be stuck in Auckland for 9 hours on our return from the US last month, but the incredibly friendly Air New Zealand check in staff at LAX arranged for us to get on an earlier flight out of AKL so we basically got off the plane from the US and got straight on a flight heading back to Australia.
Worst case scenario, take a good book and go and find a Denny’s/Cafe/Something like that somewhere near the airport.
Auckland has to be one of the most boring cities on the planet, IMHO, but you’ll find that out for yourself in a month or so anyway. 
except your luggage would be missing in the morning. 
I don’t see why you can’t find a deserted airport bench and sleep on it. I did it in that very airport at Christmas 2004 and the only thing that bothered me was the family who let their kids run around.
You mean besides wondering what an auck is?
I would have no problem if I were able to stay in the departure lounge at the international terminal… unfortunately once I get through customs and pick up my bag, I won’t have a boarding pass and won’t be able to get into the departure lounge. From what I’ve seen of other airports, most of the facilities are behind the security checkpoint.
I had the exact same concern. I even approached the personnel of an alternate airline in the hopes they could help me out. I eventually somehow ended up finding a seating area I could stretch out in without having to check in, though I don’t remember how or where. Sorry that I can’t help any more than that.
You don’t need a boarding pass to get into a domestic departure lounge in Australia or New Zealand.
Or maybe you needed to get back into the international departure lounge?
You may still be able to do it. Depends on where the customs area is. The boarding pass is not normally required to get past the security point.
Hmm. Interesting. What about “contraband” in my luggage though? Are liquids banned in NZ? Certainly sharp things won’t get through (though I lost my beloved Leatherman Micra at the last security checkpoint I went through :mad: )
The Auckland airport is sort of in the middle of nowhere so don’t get your hopes up about sightseeing (rather nice looking scenery on the approach, however – which you’ll probably miss if you’re doing it in the middle of the night).
I haven’t been there for a few years but the domestic terminal had only a few shops and was pretty barren. I, too, dozed on seats in the international terminal under similar circumstances.