Best Things to Do in Rotorua

Rotorua at a glance

See geysers and geothermal parks

Geothermal activity is the main reason people come to Rotorua, and each of the big parks does something different.

Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland

About 30 minutes south of town, Waiotapu is the most colourful of the geothermal parks. Walking trails pass the Champagne Pool and the Artist's Palette, and the Lady Knox Geyser erupts daily at 10:15am. The free Waiotapu Mud Pools and the Hot 'n' Cold streams sit on the same road, so it turns easily into a half day.

Te Puia and Whakarewarewa

Te Puia, on Hemo Road, is home to the Pohutu Geyser and the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, where you can watch carvers and weavers in training. Allow around three hours. Next door, Whakarewarewa is a living village where the Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao people have welcomed visitors for more than 200 years. To see Pohutu without paying entry, the free Pohaturoa Track leads to a public lookout across the valley.

Hells Gate

Known to local iwi Ngāti Rangiteaorere as Tikitere, Hells Gate is Rotorua's most active geothermal reserve and is Māori owned. A 2.5km boardwalk loop of about 90 minutes passes boiling pools, a mud volcano and Kakahi Falls, the largest hot waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere at around 40°C. The on-site Wai Ora Spa runs mud baths and sulphur pools. Open daily from 8:30am to 10pm.

Waimangu Volcanic Valley

Waimangu is the world's youngest geothermal system, formed by the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption. The mostly downhill walk takes 1 to 2 hours and passes Frying Pan Lake and the pale blue Inferno Crater Lake.

Soak in a hot pool

Paid hot pools

• Polynesian Spa: mineral pools on the lakefront, within walking distance of the city centre.
• Wai Ariki Hot Springs: a newer luxury spa with tiered pools overlooking Lake Rotorua. Bathing and spa experiences are for guests aged 16 and over.
• Waikite Valley Thermal Pools: pools at a range of temperatures fed by Te Manaroa Spring, with a campground on site.

Free hot pools

• Kerosene Creek: a warm stream with a small waterfall in native bush, roughly 35km south of Rotorua on State Highway 5.
• Hot 'n' Cold: near Waiotapu Bridge, where a hot stream meets a cold one so you can move to the temperature you want. About 31km south of town.
• Kuirau Park foot baths: free public foot pools in a thermal park on the edge of the CBD.

Free natural pools have no toilets or changing rooms. Keep your head above the water in any natural thermal pool, since untreated geothermal water carries a small risk of amoebic meningitis.

Experience Māori culture

Rotorua sits within the rohe (tribal area) of Te Arawa, and a cultural experience is part of most visits. The two main evening experiences both include a hāngī, food cooked in an earth oven, and a kapa haka performance.

• Te Pā Tū (formerly Tamaki Māori Village): storytelling, haka and a hāngī in a forest village setting, usually with bus transport from town.
• Mitai Māori Village: haka, hāngī and a glow worm stream walk on site. Book ahead, as places fill quickly.

For a free option, Ohinemutu is a lakeside village that is still home to a Māori community, along with St Faith's Anglican Church. Visit respectfully, since it is a living community rather than an attraction.

Adventure activities

The Redwoods (Whakarewarewa Forest)

• Redwoods Treewalk: 28 suspension bridges through the redwood canopy, with a separate after-dark experience called Redwoods Nightlights.
• Mountain biking: more than 100km of trails through redwood and native forest, free to ride. Hire bikes near the forest entrance rather than in town.
• Redwoods Altitude: a guided high ropes course with ziplines, 25 metres up in the same forest.

Kaituna River rafting

The Kaituna River at Okere Falls has 14 rapids, including Tutea Falls, which at 7m is the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. Operators include Kaituna Cascades, running since 1991, and Rotorua Rafting, which also runs Rotorua Ziplines at the same site.

More adrenaline

• Skyline Rotorua: a gondola up Mt Ngongotaha with a luge track and Sky Swing.
• Velocity Valley: the Swoop, the Vertigo freefall and the Shweeb, the world's only pedal-powered monorail racetrack.
• Zorb Rotorua: roll downhill inside a giant inflatable ball.
• Rotorua Canopy Tours: ziplines through native forest west of Ngongotaha.

Walks, lakes and glow worms

• Hamurana Springs: a 1.7km loop past one of the clearest freshwater springs in the country (paid entry).
• Okere Falls Track: 3km return past three waterfalls, with views of rafters on the river.
• Blue Lake Circuit: an easy walk around Lake Tikitapu.
• Te Auheke Track: a 1.7km loop to the Cascade Falls glow worm dell, free after dark.
• Rainbow Mountain: a summit track with a shorter option to a crater lake viewpoint.
• Tarawera Trail: around 16km one way along Lake Tarawera to Hot Water Beach, where you can dig your own warm pool in the sand.

Eat and drink

Eat Streat is a covered, pedestrian-only strip at the lake end of Tutanekai Street, with around 20 restaurants and bars under a retractable roof and geothermally heated footpaths. On Thursdays from 5pm to 9pm, roughly October through February and weather permitting, the Rotorua Night Market fills Tutanekai Street with food trucks, craft stalls and live music. On Saturday mornings, the Kuirau Park market runs from 7am to 1pm.

Getting around

The city centre is easy to explore on foot, and local buses serve Te Puia and the Redwoods, but a car makes the biggest difference. Waiotapu, Waimangu, Kerosene Creek and Hot 'n' Cold are all roughly 20 to 35 minutes south on State Highway 5, and Okere Falls is north east of town.

Plan your trip

With two days, pick one geothermal park, one hot pool, one cultural evening and one adventure. With a third day, drive south on State Highway 5 for Waiotapu, the free Mud Pools and Hot 'n' Cold, or head north to Okere Falls for rafting and the waterfall track.