It is located to the east of the Auckland City Centre, and is bisected by the Eastern Line and Tamaki Drive.

Hobson Bay is a tidal inlet of the Waitematā Harbour, surrounded by the suburbs of Parnell, Remuera and Ōrākei.

A 700-metre-wide (2,300 ft) volcanic maar, the Ōrākei Basin, is found to the south-east of the bay.

[5] Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei rangatira Te Tinana had a kāinga to the south of Hobson Bay.

[5] During the early colonial era, the bay was named after the first Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson.