Rotorua: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Rotorua lies on a lake in the middle of the North Island, on top of one of the most active geothermal fields on earth: steam rises from gardens and drains, mud boils in the parks, and the air smells of sulphur. It is the land of the Te Arawa people, and a spa town since the 1880s. Half a day on foot; keep to the paths, the ground can be hot and thin.
A short history of Rotorua
The Te Arawa tribe of the Māori settled around Lake Rotorua centuries ago and used the hot water and boiling mud for cooking and bathing. In the 19th century visitors came to the area to see the Pink and White Terraces, silica terraces on Lake Rotomahana, until on 10 June 1886 Mount Tarawera erupted, burying them and the village of Te Wairoa, and more than 100 people were killed. The government established the town in the 1880s as a spa town, and in 1908 the large Bath House opened. To this day more than a third of its residents are Māori.
The ten best sights in Rotorua
1Government GardensThe Tudor bath house
2Rotorua MuseumClosed for earthquake strengthening
3Polynesian SpaHot pools on the lake
-
4Kuirau Park
Free boiling mud and foot baths
5OhinemutuA Māori village on the lakeshore
6St Faith’s ChurchChrist in a Māori cloak
-
7Te Puia
Pōhutu geyser and the carving school
8Whakarewarewa VillageA living village on the steam
9Whakarewarewa ForestRedwoods and bike trails
-
10Redwoods Treewalk
Lit with lanterns at night
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Rotorua →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Rotorua:
Free walking tours in Rotorua
The town on the steam
Rotorua lies on a lake in the middle of the North Island, on top of one of the most active geothermal fields on earth: steam rises from gardens and drains, mud boils in the parks, and the air smells of sulphur. It is the land of the Te Arawa people, and a spa town since the 1880s. Half a day on foot; keep to the paths, the ground can be hot and thin.
- Government Gardens · Lawns and bowling greens around the Bath House, a Tudor-style building of 1908 where the government ran a spa offering cures with mud and electric baths; it housed the Rotorua Museum, closed since 2016 for earthquake strengthening.
- Polynesian Spa · Hot pools on the lakeshore fed by two springs, one acidic and one alkaline; the acidic one, the Priest’s Spring, is named after a nineteenth-century priest said to have been relieved of his arthritis by bathing in it.
- Eat Streat · A street of restaurants under a glass roof, its paving heated from below by geothermal water, so diners can sit outside in winter.
- Ohinemutu · The original Te Arawa village on the lakeshore, still lived in, with a carved meeting house; steam rises between the houses and from the graves, which are built above ground because of the heat below.
- St Faith’s Church · An Anglican church decorated inside with Māori carving and weaving; in one window Christ is etched wearing a Māori cloak, placed so that he seems to walk on the waters of the lake behind.
- Kuirau Park · A free public park of steaming lakes and boiling mud pools in the middle of town, with hot foot baths; the ground is restless, and vents have erupted here, throwing mud and rocks over the trees.
Whakarewarewa and the forest
South of the centre lies Whakarewarewa, a valley of geysers where a Māori community still lives on the steam, and beside it a forest of giant Californian redwoods. Half a day; go to the village in the morning and the forest at dusk.
- Te Puia · The valley of Pōhutu, the largest active geyser in the Southern Hemisphere, which erupts up to about thirty metres, often once or twice an hour; beside it is the national school of Māori carving and weaving.
- Whakarewarewa Village · A village where families of Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao have lived for generations, cooking food in boiling pools and steam boxes and bathing in the hot springs; the guides are residents, and a cob of corn cooked in a pool is sold at lunch.
- Whakarewarewa Forest · Californian redwoods were planted here in 1901 as a forestry experiment to see which foreign trees would grow best; they grew faster than in California, and now tower above some of the best mountain-bike trails in the world.
- Redwoods Treewalk · A walkway of suspension bridges hung between the redwoods up to some twenty metres off the ground, lit at night by lanterns designed by a New Zealand artist.
- Skyline Rotorua · A gondola up Mount Ngongotahā with a view over the lake and its island, and a luge track to ride back down on small carts.
- Mokoia Island · The island of the Te Arawa love story: Hinemoa, forbidden to marry Tūtānekai, swam to him from the shore at night, guided by the sound of his flute, keeping afloat on gourds. The main street of Rotorua is named after him.
The eruption of 1886
South-east of town, the land still shows the night of 10 June 1886, when Mount Tarawera erupted, buried villages, killed over a hundred people and destroyed the Pink and White Terraces, then the most famous sight in the southern hemisphere. A full day by car.
- Blue Lake · Tikitapu, a crater lake whose blue comes from the white pumice and rhyolite on its bottom, beside the Green Lake, which is sacred to Te Arawa and closed to swimming and boats.
- Buried Village · Te Wairoa, the village from which tourists set out by canoe for the terraces, buried under ash and mud in 1886; excavated houses stand as they were found. Eleven days before, local guides reported a phantom war canoe on the lake, taken afterwards as an omen.
- Lake Tarawera · The lake under the split mountain; in recent years researchers have argued that parts of the lost terraces may survive buried under the lake’s shore or bed, a claim still disputed.
- Waimangu Volcanic Valley · The youngest geothermal system on earth, created by the 1886 eruption. Its Frying Pan Lake is one of the largest hot springs in the world, and from 1900 to 1904 the Waimangu Geyser here was the largest ever recorded, shooting hundreds of metres high.
- Lady Knox Geyser · At Wai-O-Tapu a geyser is made to erupt every morning at a quarter past ten by dropping soap into it — discovered in 1901 when prisoners from a nearby camp washed their clothes in the pool and it blew.
- Tamaki Māori Village · On the way back, an evening in a re-created village in the forest: a welcome ceremony, songs, the haka, and a hāngī dinner cooked in an earth oven.
Getting to Rotorua and getting around
- Rotorua Airport · Ten minutes from town
Cheap eats in Rotorua
In Rotorua the counter food is cooked by the earth: the hāngī, meat and vegetables steamed in a pit or a steam box, sold in takeaway packs; a corn cob boiled in a hot pool; and the New Zealand meat pie. A hāngī pack costs about fifteen to twenty-five New Zealand dollars.
- Whakarewarewa Village · Hāngī from the steam
- Eat Streat · On the heated street
- Tutanekai Street · Thursday night market
Nature and day trips near Rotorua
Geysers, boiling mud, crater lakes and redwoods.
- Waimangu Volcanic Valley · The youngest valley
- Hamurana Springs · The deep spring
- Okere Falls · The rafting fall
Things to do in Rotorua with kids
With children: a luge, a geyser on cue, sheep and mud.
- Skyline Rotorua · The luge
- Lady Knox Geyser · At 10:15 sharp
- Agrodome · Sheep and shearing
Museums in Rotorua
Māori culture, living and taught, and the buried village.
- Te Puia · The carving school
- Buried Village · 1886
- Ohinemutu · The lakeside village
Nightlife in Rotorua
Rotorua’s nights are a Māori cultural evening, a hot pool under the stars, and a few bars on Eat Streat.
- Tamaki Māori Village · Hāngī and haka
- Polynesian Spa · Night bathing
- Redwoods Treewalk · The lanterns
Frequently asked questions about Rotorua
What is there to see in Rotorua?
The top sights in Rotorua are Government Gardens, Rotorua Museum and Polynesian Spa. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Rotorua?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Rotorua without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Rotorua?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Rotorua, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The town on the steam.
How do you get to Rotorua and get around?
The main ways are Rotorua Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Rotorua, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Rotorua that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Rotorua for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.