Taupo: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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The Waikato, New Zealand's longest river, leaves Lake Taupō in town and within a few kilometres is squeezed into a chute, dammed, and fed by a steaming geothermal field. Begin on the water with a boat to the Māori rock carvings, then drive north along the river. Everything is within twenty minutes of the centre, so it fits an arrival afternoon or a morning before the drive to Wellington. Time the end of the day to the Aratiatia dam release.

A short history of Taupo

Lake Taupō, the largest in New Zealand, fills the caldera of a huge volcano. About 25,500 years ago one of the largest eruptions in the Earth's history took place here, and about 1,800 years ago it erupted again; its ash, according to estimates, was seen in the skies of China and Rome. The Māori of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa tribe lived on the shores of the lake for centuries. In 1869, during the New Zealand Wars, the colonial army set up a post here, and the town grew out of it. The Waikato River flows out of the lake, and a little downstream it passes over the Huka Falls.

The ten best sights in Taupo

1
Taupō Museum
Small and central; go for the Ora garden and the lake's volcanic story before you drive south
2
Wairakei Terraces
Silica terraces built with geothermal water, with hot pools beside them; check the opening hours before driving out
3
Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre
The volcanic alert level and the mountain forecast are posted here; read both before the Crossing
4
Huka Falls
Free; the car park fills by late morning, so come early or walk in along the river from Spa Park
5
Craters of the Moon
A paid boardwalk of about 45 minutes with no shade; bring a hat in summer
6
Aratiatia Rapids
The rapids run only when the dam gates open, a few set times a day from 10 am; check the times and come ten minutes early
7
Spa Thermal Park
A free hot stream meeting the cold river; bring sandals and keep your head above the water
8
Taupō DeBretts Hot Springs
Hot mineral pools and hydroslides on the edge of town, open into the evening; a good soak after the Crossing
9
Red Crater
The highest point of the Crossing; the loose scree descent after it is the hardest part, poles help
10
Emerald Lakes
The lakes are sacred to the local iwi; look, but do not swim or touch the water

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For every wonder: a nearby city, a route and a hotel up to $80.

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What is an audio walk?

Tours in Taupo →

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 Taupo:

Free walking tours in Taupo

The river leaves the lake

Lake Taupō Marina · Cruises to the Mine Bay rock carvings leave from here, because the carvings can only be seen from the water. The face of Ngātoroirangi, the navigator who led the Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa ancestors to this land, was carved into the cliff in the late 1970s by master carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell.
Craters of the Moon · Most of these steaming craters are young. When the Wairakei power station began drawing hot water from underground in the 1950s, the water table dropped, steam rose to fill the space, and new craters kept opening.
Huka Falls · Huka means foam in Māori. The Waikato, about 100 metres wide just upstream, is forced into a rock chute only about 15 metres wide, and it shoots out over a drop of roughly 11 metres in that ice-blue colour.
Huka Prawn Park · The tropical giant river prawns raised here could not survive a Taupō winter on their own: their ponds are warmed with heat from the geothermal power station next door.
Wairākei Power Station · Opened in 1958, it was the second geothermal power station in the world, after Larderello in Italy, and the first to generate from wet steam, a mix of hot water and steam. The silver pipes you see from the highway carry it from the bores.
Aratiatia Rapids · The Aratiatia dam, finished in 1964, left the rapids almost dry, and they now run only when the gates are opened on schedule. The barrel escape in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was filmed in this flow.

Fire and ice on the plateau

An hour south of Taupō three volcanoes stand on the plateau: Tongariro, the near-perfect cone of Ngāuruhoe, and Ruapehu with its snow. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing walks 19.4 km one way between them, so the plan is a drive the day before and the hike on the day the weather allows. The weather on the tops changes fast and can bring wind, cloud and snow even in summer; shuttles cancel on bad days, and that is a good reason to keep the second night in Taupō free. Carry warm layers, a rain jacket and all your water.

Tongariro National Trout Centre · Lake Taupō and its rivers are a separate fishery run by the Department of Conservation, so anglers here need a special Taupō licence; the national Fish and Game licence is not valid on them.
Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre · Tongariro became New Zealand's first national park in 1887, after the Ngāti Tūwharetoa paramount chief Te Heuheu Tūkino IV gave the sacred peaks to the nation so they could not be divided and sold. It is listed by UNESCO for both its nature and its Māori cultural meaning.
Tawhai Falls · The falls pour over the edge of an old lava flow into a round pool, which Peter Jackson's crew used for the scene of Gollum fishing in the Forbidden Pool in The Lord of the Rings.
Mangatepopo Road End · In 2017 parking here was limited to four hours, to end the overcrowding of cars along the road. Since the Crossing takes most walkers six to eight hours, almost everyone starts here from a shuttle and finishes at Ketetahi on the other side.
Red Crater · At about 1,886 metres this is the top of the Crossing, and the crater still steams. Its rusty red comes from iron in the rock oxidised by heat and gas.
Emerald Lakes · Three water-filled explosion craters whose green comes from minerals washed down from the thermal ground around Red Crater. The lakes are sacred to the iwi, which is why walkers are asked not to swim in them or touch the water.

A town on warm water

Taupō sits on the northern shore of the largest lake in New Zealand, which fills the crater of one of the most violent volcanoes on earth. The town began as a military post, and the soldiers' favourite spot was a hot spring. This route takes the lakefront and the free and paid hot water in a lazy day, ideal for the day after the Crossing. Some stops are a short drive apart; bring a towel and swimwear in the car.

Taupō Museum · The Ora Garden of Wellbeing in the museum courtyard is a re-creation of the New Zealand garden that won a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show in London in 2004.
Redoubt Street · Taupō started in 1869 as a post of the Armed Constabulary during the campaign against Te Kooti, and the street is named after the redoubt they built here. The town grew around the soldiers' camp.
Lake Terrace · The lake covers about 616 square kilometres and fills a caldera formed in a super-eruption some 25,500 years ago. Its full Māori name, Taupō-nui-a-Tia, means the great cloak of Tia, after an ancestor who explored its shores.
Otumuheke Stream · A hot stream tumbles down a little waterfall straight into the cold Waikato, so you can sit where the two mix and choose your temperature. As in all New Zealand natural hot pools, keep your head out of the water: the warm water can carry amoebic meningitis.
AC Baths · The pools carry the initials of the Armed Constabulary, the soldiers of the 1869 post, who bathed in the hot springs on this hill. Today they are indoor heated pools inside the town's events centre.
Wairakei Terraces · The terraces are man-made: mineral-rich water from the Wairakei geothermal field is run over them, and they grow slowly as it leaves silica behind, the same process that built the famous Pink and White Terraces lost in the Tarawera eruption of 1886.

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Getting to Taupo and getting around

Taupō Airport · A small regional field about ten minutes south of town; few flights, so most travellers on this route arrive by road
Taupō Visitor Centre · Book the Tongariro Crossing shuttle here and ask for the next day's mountain forecast before you pay
Mangatepopo Road End · Start of the Crossing; parking is limited to four hours and the walk is one-way, so come by shuttle

Cheap eats in Taupo

New Zealand counter food is simple and good: a meat pie from the warmer, fish and chips wrapped in paper, a flat white and a slice from the café cabinet. Prices are high by Israeli standards, so a pie and a coffee at about NZ$12 is the cheap lunch; for the Crossing, buy everything in the supermarket the day before, since there is nothing to buy on the mountain.

McDonald's Taupō · A burger meal about NZ$14-16, and you can eat it in a plane
Knoll Ridge Café · Soup or a pie about NZ$10-15, plus the gondola ticket
Grand Central Fry · Fish and a scoop of chips about NZ$10-15; eat it on the lakefront
Replete Café · A flat white about NZ$5.50, cabinet food NZ$8-15
Dixie Browns · A cooked breakfast about NZ$20-28 on the corner by the lake
L'Arté Café · Lunch about NZ$20-25 in a mosaic garden above Acacia Bay
PAK'nSAVE Taupō · Bread, cheese, fruit and water for the Crossing for under NZ$20

Museums in Taupo

Taupō Museum · The lake, the eruptions and Tūwharetoa history; an hour is enough
Wairakei Terraces · Silica terraces and hot pools, ten minutes north
Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre · The volcanoes, the 1887 gift and the day's alert level
Wairākei Power Station · Steam pipes and plumes along the highway north of town

Nature and day trips near Taupo

Huka Falls · The blue chute; walk in from Spa Park in about an hour
Lake Rotopounamu · A forest lake with a loop of under two hours
Taranaki Falls · A two-hour loop from Whakapapa; good when the Crossing is closed
Tawhai Falls · Gollum's pool, five minutes from the car
Emerald Lakes · The green craters on the Crossing; sacred, so do not touch
Whakaipo Bay · A quiet beach west of town for a swim and a picnic

Things to do in Taupo with kids

Huka Prawn Park · Prawn fishing with a rod and a riverside restaurant
Tongariro National Trout Centre · Trout through a window under the stream
Huka Honey Hive · Honey tastings and a live hive behind glass
Taupō DeBretts Hot Springs · Warm pools and hydroslides
AC Baths · Indoor heated pools, good on a wet day

Where to eat in Taupo

Waterside Restaurant & Bar · At the bottom of Tongariro Street, facing the lake; book for sunset
Plateau Bar and Eatery · Modern New Zealand plates in the centre; book at weekends
Vine Eatery and Bar · Small plates and wine on Tūwharetoa Street
The Brantry · Fine dining a short drive up the hill; book ahead
Mulligans Public House · A pub for pints and a pub meal on Tongariro Street

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Frequently asked questions about Taupo

What is there to see in Taupo?

The top sights in Taupo are Taupō Museum, Wairakei Terraces and Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Taupo?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Taupo without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Taupo?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Taupo, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The river leaves the lake.

How do you get to Taupo and get around?

The main ways are Taupō Airport, Taupō Visitor Centre and Mangatepopo Road End. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Taupo, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Taupo 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.

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