I love the Bay of Islands and Russell is at the heart of it. Filled with little restaurants, wonderful beaches, it has an air of Polynesia in New Zealand. Lots of water activities.
Natives tell you the food is just as good or better in the restaurants in the street behind the beach with no view, but the views are nice.
We stayed in a bed and breakfast and felt totally pampered. span.jajahWrapper { font-size:1em; color:#B11196; text-decoration:underline; } a.jajahLink { color:#000000; text-decoration:none; } span.jajahInLink:hover { background-color:#B11196; }