Doing the Chelsea Sugar Factory Tour in Auckland, New Zealand

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The Chelsea Sugar Factory tour in Auckland is a one-hour guided tour through New Zealand’s only sugar refinery, and yes, it’s every bit as fun as it sounds. When a friend suggested we check it out, I was all in.

I’ve lived in Auckland since 2014, and I’d always wanted to visit. My dad talked about going on a tour there as a kid, and half the schools in Auckland seem to head there too. And honestly? I love a good tour.

It was a lot of fun, and I highly recommend checking it out if you have a few hours in your day.

What is the Chelsea Sugar Factory?

The Chelsea Sugar Factory is the only sugar refinery in New Zealand, and the original 1884 building, made from over one million handmade bricks, still stands on the site today.

The building work actually started in 1882, and it took 18 months to finish. Now, the rest of the ‘new’ factory has grown up around the original building, but many of the machines and much of the equipment is still from those early days of the factory.

👉🏻 Learn more about the history of the Chelsea Sugar Factory

Today, though, they make over 15 types of sugar, including all the basics like white, brown, icing sugar, and then some other specific sugars like jam-setting products, and it’s a staple in most New Zealand household pantries.

I also love how the factory is pink!

What to expect when you book the Chelsea Sugar Factory Tour

What does a sugar factory tour actually look like? I wish I could say I have a lot of cool photos to show you, but alas, phones were not allowed on the tour.

When you book a tour of the sugar factory, you can choose your day and time slot. The tours run 5 days a week, and have a couple of time slots you can choose from. Each tour has space for 18 people.

Before the tour

They do have some guidelines on what you can wear on the tour. Long shirts and long pants are key, as well as flat, closed-in shoes. As someone who wears a lot of leggings and dresses, it’s a good thing we checked this!

What to do when you get there

Show up with good time before your tour, and then you’ll be following the instructions of the crew on site.

You’ll check in at the desk and then be shown to some lockers, which you can store all your things in, like your bags and your phone. You’re not allowed to take your phone on the hour-long tour, which is a good thing!

This is for safety reasons, as well as making sure you’re fully aware of your surroundings when you’re climbing up and down stairs, walking by working machinery, and it also means that the manufacturing process isn’t plastered all over the internet.

After you’ve stored your things, you’ll grab a bright pink safety vest and a pink helmet too, which is needed for the duration of the tour.

Don’t worry; you look good in pink.

During the tour

Once you’ve watched a quick intro video at the visitor centre, you’ll walk your vested-and-helmetted self to a train (not on tracks, though; it’s like a multi-wagon situation that looks like a train) and jump on board.

When the tour kicks off, you’ll have a tour guide with you, who will be sharing some information about the sugar factory and the processes that you’re viewing both outside and around the factory, and inside.

You’ll learn all about the process from the beginning, as you pause outside at the wharf and hear about how the raw sugar arrives in New Zealand, check out Sugar Mountain (it’s SO BIG and it’s literally just a huge mountain of raw sugar), which is then sent to the factory on conveyor belts to begin the processing … process.

The story of the story factory and the processing of the sugar is told by your tour guide but also through some short videos that are on screens at various points along the tour.

You basically follow the sugar from the wharf right through to the end of the tour when you’re able to taste some of the Chelsea Sugar products, like maple syrup, golden syrup, treacle and more.

After the tour

After the tour finished up, you get off the train-thing and head back into the visitor centre, where you discard your sexy pink vest and helmet. No, you can’t keep them.

One thing I did not expect at all was that when the tour is over, you get to take a bottle of syrup home! I believe the options change depending on the day, but our two options were maple syrup and honey maple syrup, both of which we had tried earlier in the tour.

I opted for the honey maple syrup because it wasn’t one that I had actually tried before. I’m a big lover of maple syrup, so I wanted to grab something different!

Chelsea Sugar Factory logistics: getting there, hours and prices

Accessability

One thing worth knowing before you book: the tour isn’t wheelchair accessible. You need to be able to walk unaided; no walking sticks, wheelchairs, walkers or crutches allowed, and there’s a total of 80 stairs up and 80 down over the course of the tour (up to 33 in a row at once).

If that’s not going to work for everyone in your group, the good news is the mini tour is a bit more forgiving, so it’s worth checking with the team directly before you book.

Getting to the Chelsea Sugar Factory

The Chelsea Sugar Factory is in Birkenhead, Auckland, at 100 Colonial Road.

If you’re coming from south of the bridge, you’ll take the Onewa Road off-ramp after the bridge, and through Birkenhead, then left onto Colonial Road. Follow the road down to the water’s edge, where you’ll find a large car park. It’s then just a short walk to the visitor centre and cafe.

Visit the Sugar Cafe

If you arrive early or plan to have lunch before you go on your tour, as we did, the Sugar Cafe is very good. We had eggs on toast (friend) and a pulled pork burger (me), and both were excellent. We also grabbed a few sweet treats to go, all made right there on site. With Chelsea Sugar, I can only assume.

Check out the interactive zone, too

The other thing you can check out while you’re waiting is the Interactive Zone. It’s a room with some of the history of the sugar factory, and also shows you (mostly kids, okay haha) some of the cool things about sugar, and what it looks like when it goes through the refining process. There are also some screens where you can bake a cake and ice it, and a colouring station.

Baking school

Chelsea Sugar also has a Baking School! You can book into one of the 30 classes here.

Opening times

The factory is open 24-hours a day, 5 days a week, and closed on the weekends while maintenance and cleaning is done. Mini-tours are still available on the weekend, though I assume they’re a bit different.

The cafe, however, is open 7 days a week.

Price of the tour

For the 60-min full tour, it was $33 NZD for an adult,  $19.50 for a child aged 5-15, and $27 for a senior. You got a free bottle of syrup at the end, which is about $5 in the supermarket.

For the 25-min Mini-Tour, it is $14 NZD for an adult, $10 for a child aged 2-15 and under 2s are free.

Is the Chelsea Sugar Factory Tour worth it?

I think the Chelsea Sugar Factory tour is totally worth it. We had a blast, and it was so so interesting to not only see how the sugar is made but to hear a bit about the impact of the sugar factory on the city, but also on New Zealand.

Did you know that when the Harbour Bridge was built, about 74 years after the factory, they had to make sure the height of the bridge accommodated the large sugar ships that were bringing raw sugar to Chelsea? Fascinating!

The other thing I really liked about the factory was their commitment to sustainability. Along the way, we were told facts about how they’re keeping their carbon footprint down, how much reuse and recycling takes place, and how they plan to only get better in the future. It’s awesome to see one of New Zealand’s top companies be so future-thinking in this way. You can read more about their sustainability projects here.

I’d love to hear how you found your own tour at the sugar factory, or if you’re planning to go! 

Quick-fire FAQs about Chelsea

How long is the Chelsea Sugar Factory tour?

The full Chelsea Factory Tour runs for about an hour. If you’re short on time, there’s also a mini train tour that takes around 20 to 25 minutes.

Can you take photos on the Chelsea Sugar Factory tour?

No, phones and cameras stay in a locker for the whole tour. It’s for safety around the machinery and stairs, and it keeps the factory floor off social media.

Is the Chelsea Sugar Factory tour wheelchair accessible?

No. You need to be able to walk unaided, with no walking sticks, wheelchairs, walkers or crutches, and there are 80 stairs up and 80 down. The mini tour may be a better option if the full tour isn’t accessible for your group.

Do you get anything to take home from the Chelsea Sugar Factory tour?

Yes, every ticket includes a bottle of syrup to take home at the end, usually a choice between a couple of flavours on the day.