Tauranga

Nearby

Hamilton Coromandel Taupo Rotorua Napier

Tauranga: Understand

Tauranga Population ~ 125,000

Tauranga is such a great spot in the North Island – the climate is great, which means there’s heaps of fruit (kiwifruit & avocados in particular) and there are heaps of beaches!

View from Mount Maunganui down the coast

Tauranga: See & Do

Climbing Mount Maunganui (or ‘the Mount’ as kiwis refer to it) is something we love to do every time we get to Tauranga (all for the views!). It’s a 232-meter high extinct volcano that’s cone-shaped, and it takes just over an hour to reach the summit and get back down. There’s also a track that goes around the entire base of the mount, which is much flatter and only about 45-minutes walking. The Mount is a bit north of Tauranga central, around a 15-minute drive.

The Mount Maunganui Beach is a great spot for swimming, surfing or sunning!

And the coastline just continues and continues! Omanu Beach is south of Mount Maunganui and is closer to Tauranga, then Papamoa Beach is a bit south of Tauranga.With all the water around, there’s lots of kayaking options as well as boat cruises. And depending on the wind direction, you can usually find a good kitesurfing spot.

You can go on whale and dolphin watching boats (the aim being to get to swim with the dolphins!)

Adrenalin Forest is 20-minutes out of Tauranga, with 25 flying foxes, and 6 levels to conquer. Prices start at $29.

The Papamoa Hills Regional Park has a bunch of trails. On a clear day, the best track is definitely from the carpark to the trig – it’s about 45-minutes up.

Tauranga: Eat

Elizabeth Cafe & Larder in central Tauranga is a great breakfast and lunch option. A really nice modern, relaxed environment with delicious food and great coffee.

Cafe 88 at the Mount is another great breakfast and lunch option – excellent food (well presented) and their coffee is spot on!

Rising Tide is a lunch and dinner option at the Mount – they do tasty dumplings and craft beer. Be sure to check out the daily specials.

Cafe Istanbul Cherrywood is super cheap, with delicious food. Dine in or take away your pizza, kebab or something else from the menu.

The Barrio Brothers serve excellent Mexican fare and have a location in Tauranga and at the Mount. Prices are mid-range.

For a lovely, leisurely lunch set in the vineyards, Mills Reef Winery & Restaurant is a very good option.

Fresh Bobby’s Fish Market serves super fresh fish (and chips) which you can eat there, or take to a park or the beach!

Tauranga: Sleep

Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Camp ($) and Cosy Corner Holiday Park are both located on the beach and have cabins and tent/campervan sites.

Papamoa Beach Resort ($) has beachfront camping and motels.

ArtHouse Accommodation Boutique Backpackers ($) is a reasonable hostel option located in central Tauranga. Good communal areas, but the facilities are not top notch.

There are a number of apartments and entire homes in gorgeous locations in Tauranga too, so be sure to take a look at AirBnB!

1-Day Trips from Tauranga

White Island (Whakaari)

White Island is our only active marine volcano – it’s situated off the coast in the Bay of Plenty, and looks like a beautiful, volcanic-shaped island! You can explore the island via boat, plane, or foot (depending on your tour choice). It’s a pretty unreal experience (and the photos of you with a hard-hat and a gas mask are brilliant!). Most tours launching from Whakatane, which is just over 1-hour drive from Tauranga. Alternatively, you can join a tour group from Tauranga itself.

Waihi

Waihi is a gorgeous town 45-minutes North of Tauranga. If you’re heading to Waihi for the day, a highlight would be walking over to Orokawa Bay from Waihi Beach – be sure to take the camera! Another nice walk is up and around the Bowentown Heads, or in Waihi township itself, you can walk around the pit rim of the (operating) gold mine. The walk starts near the Information Centre on Seddon Street. The Karangahake Gorge is 10-minutes from Waihi and has awesome walking and biking trails – the trail goes through a former train tunnel!

Eating in Waihi: Flatwhite Waihi Beach is a good cafe option (open 8 am – 10 pm daily) as is the Secret Garden (open 7:30 am – 5 pm daily). Or the Porch is another good cafe (open 8 am – 3 pm daily, and staying open later Friday and Saturday nights). The Waihi bakery is also a great stop to replenish energy levels!

If you love Waihi so much you decide to stay for the night, there’s the Bowentown Beach Holiday Park ($) down at the beach, or Dicky Flat Campground ($) which is super basic is 15 minutes inland from Waihi township.

Lake Rotoiti

Just under an hour from Tauranga are Lake Rotoiti and Okere Falls – a great option to break up all your ocean time and spend a day in this fresh lake water!

Hobbiton, Matamata

Hobbiton in Matamata is less than an hour (driving) from Tauranga. Tours are available from Tauranga, or you can make your own way there. Hobbiton movie set was a very important location in both Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit movies. Set on a 14 acre (5.5 hectare) farm, Hobbiton is a pretty unique place to visit, particularly for fans! There are 2-hour guided tours of Hobbiton where you visit Bagshot Row, the Party Tree and Bilbo’s Bag End home. There are 44 hobbit holes on view and you can enter a few of them. The Shires Rest Cafe is on site, where you can also get a “Second Breakfast.”