Chocolate and Coffee Festival Auckland: A Sweet September Escape
More than sixty chocolate makers and coffee roasters on Auckland's waterfront. When the 2026 festival is on, how to get there, and what to do with the rest of the weekend.
Two days, more than sixty exhibitors, and an entire events centre that smells of cocoa and fresh roast. The Chocolate and Coffee Festival is back on Auckland's waterfront on 26 and 27 September 2026, and it is about as close as a festival gets to being built around a flat white and a second breakfast.
Here is what to expect, how to get there, and how to turn one sweet morning into a full Auckland weekend. The festival itself is best on foot, but a car from Evolve Rentals is what gets you to everything the weekend can be once you have eaten your fill.
When is the Chocolate and Coffee Festival 2026?
Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026, from 9am to 4pm on both days, at the Viaduct Events Centre on Halsey Street in Wynyard Quarter. It is a big weekend, with more than 7,000 people expected through the doors, so an early start is the way to see the stands before the aisles fill up.
What is at the Chocolate and Coffee Festival?
New Zealand's chocolate makers, chocolatiers and coffee roasters, all under one roof, with over sixty exhibitors between them. You can taste handcrafted chocolate, try specialty coffee from roasters you may never have come across, and pick up gourmet treats to take home or, realistically, eat on the walk back.
The best way to do it is slowly. Walk the whole room once before you buy anything, then go back for the things you are still thinking about. The festival site has the full exhibitor list and the latest details for the weekend.
How do you get to the Chocolate and Coffee Festival?
Leave the car where it is for this part. There is no public parking on Halsey Wharf, and the festival points people to the Downtown Carpark or the Jellicoe Street Carpark if they do drive. The easier options are on foot from the city centre, by ferry into the Downtown Ferry Terminal, or by train or bus into Britomart, all of which put you within walking distance of the waterfront.
It is a good walk anyway. Wynyard Quarter is one of the nicer parts of the city to wander, and after a morning of tasting you will want the exercise.
What else is there to do near the Viaduct?
Plenty, and most of it is within walking distance. The waterfront runs from Wynyard Quarter round the Viaduct Harbour towards Britomart, which is where to go for shopping and somewhere to sit down for lunch that is not made entirely of chocolate. The ferries from the Downtown terminal are the easy way to see the harbour from the water.
If you want more to eat, our favourite Auckland food stops covers where we actually go, from the city to the coast, and most of it is a short drive from the centre.
How do you make a weekend of it?
Do the festival on the Saturday morning, then pick up a car and get out of the city. The west coast beaches are about an hour away, and our Auckland day trips guide covers Piha, Kumeu, Matakana and the Hunua Ranges, with what is open and what is not. If you would rather go further, the best weekend road trips from Auckland has Raglan, the Coromandel and the Kauri Coast, each with an overnight worth planning around.
It is a good time of year for it. Late September is the start of spring, the days are getting longer, and daylight saving starts on the last Sunday of the month, so the festival weekend is also the weekend you gain an hour of evening.
Getting the car sorted
Our Auckland cars are collected from the Grand Millennium at 71 Mayoral Drive in the middle of the city, where somebody from our team hands over the keys in the hotel lobby and walks you round the car. From hotel lobby to highway covers exactly how it works and whether you need a car in Auckland at all.
Walk to the festival, eat far more chocolate than you planned to, then book your car with Evolve Rentals for the rest of the weekend and go and find a beach to walk it off on.
FAQs
When is the Chocolate and Coffee Festival 2026?
Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026, 9am to 4pm on both days, at the Viaduct Events Centre in Wynyard Quarter, Auckland.
Is there parking at the Chocolate and Coffee Festival?
There is no public parking on Halsey Wharf. The nearest car parks are the Downtown Carpark and the Jellicoe Street Carpark, and the ferry, train and bus all stop within walking distance.
How many exhibitors are at the Chocolate and Coffee Festival?
More than sixty, covering chocolate makers, chocolatiers, coffee roasters and gourmet food producers from around New Zealand.
Where do you collect an Evolve car in Auckland?
From the Grand Millennium at 71 Mayoral Drive in the city centre, where our team hands over the keys in the hotel lobby.
What is there to do in Auckland after the festival?
Walk the waterfront from Wynyard Quarter to Britomart, take a ferry out on the harbour, or pick up a car and head to the west coast beaches, which are about an hour from the city.