This small-group day trip from Auckland features the highlights and hospitality of Rotorua. Visit the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute of Te Puia, witness the thermal activity of the Te Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley, and tour the city with a knowledgeable guide. Opt for additional free time to explore on your own, or upgrade for a private soak at the Polynesian Spa, a visit to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, or a Maori concert. You have the flexibility to return to Auckland or end with drop-off in Rotorua.

Drive past the farmlands of Waikato and tour the city
Upgrade to add on Polynesian Spa, Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, or Maori concert
Travel with a small group by air-conditioned minivan
Select a round-trip from Auckland or be dropped off in Rotorua

What's Included

Cafe Lunch - buffet when avaiable(vegetarian and gluten free options available)
Live commentary on board given by experienced guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off - in Auckland. If you book one way the drop off is in Rotorua
Small-group tour Transport in air-conditioned minibus with luxury leather seating
Local taxes

Morning and afternoon tea available at own expense
Infant meals not included
Gratuities
Please note that because of the amount of travel time this tour is not suitable for children under 2 years as part of the group - It can be booked as a private tour - please ask TripAdvisor/Viator to contact us for the custom price

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

We pickup for free at all Central Auckland accomodation, hotels, apartments, etc. We only go to the hotels/accomodation which are booked for that day. We also offer a subsidised shuttle service for people staying out of the city centre to bring them to meet the tour coach. Please liaise with us re where you are to be picked up. It is essential you get in contact with this information as soon as possible We use shuttles to minimise the time between pickup and tour departure - You will not be driven around for hours at the beginning or end of your tour while other people are being picked up or dropped off

What To Expect

Your tour begins with pickup from your Auckland hotel by air-conditioned minibus. Relax and enjoy the views on the about 2.5-hour journey to Rotorua, the city known for its geothermal wonders and rich Māori heritage.

On arrival in Rotorua, the first stop is at Te Puia, where you’ll visit the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, see the geysers, and enjoy a delicious buffet lunch (included) at the café. Continue into central Rotorua for a guided tour of the city, including Rotorua Lake.

Depending on the tour options that you selected, you’ll either have free time to explore independently, visit the Redwoods Treewalk, attend a Maori concert, or unwind at the Polynesian Spa.

If you opted for the one-way tour, then your tour ends with drop-off at your Rotorua hotel. For Auckland day trips, you’ll travel back to Auckland, where you’ll be dropped back at your hotel.

New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Lake Rotorua

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Te Puia

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 1 day of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
Infant seats are required by law in NZ in private vehicles for children under 7 years - We recommend the same standard be applied for your child's safety and have them available in all vehicles for use of seat and child restraint for the day.
Infant meals not included
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Please note that because of the amount of travel time this tour is not suitable for children under 2 years as part of the group - It can be booked as a private tour - please ask TripAdvisor/Viator to contact us for the custom Tour price
We must know where you are staying in Auckland - We do not have a standard meeting place and go only to prearranged hotels and places to meet people

Children must be accompanied by an adult - note must be over 2 years old to be on group vehicle
Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
Hotel or Accomodation information
Pickup address
We have been forced to temporarily suspend our policy“We guarantee to travel for one person” due to low numbers and sustained losses caused by Covid19. Until further notice we will need a minimum of “4 people (or price equivalent)” to run tours
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

174 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 174 reviews

Rotorua geysers were great

Tom_B, Apr 2024

The day was long and ran late despite the first half the day being time pressured. The geysers were great, loved it and a delicious lunch provided. Polynesian Spa, now we have been we wouldn't pick it again, was very average. .

Remarkable Rotorua

Charles_H, Apr 2024

Louise was an excellent van driver and tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and we had a great time not only visiting the the geothermal park and Maori Arts & Crafts Center, but also the New Zealand Redwood Forest and driving by the blue and green lakes.

Smooth journey

Avery_L, Apr 2024

Door to door journey to two main attractions, Te Puia and Polynesian Spa, were well facilitated. A couple of spots of waiting time as a result of different groups heading off to different afternoon programmes. Tour bus was spacious although can afford more maintenance. Overall, journey was smooth and efficient. Subject to evening traffic, expect to reach into CBD after 715pm. Louise made special effort to accommodate comfort stops and reached into the city ahead of 730pm.

Great tour with extras!

Anonymous, Apr 2024

In addition to the expected stops, Louise fitted in a visit to the Redwoods and Blue and Green Lakes, as well as getting off the high speed roadway to let us enjoy views of the countryside and smaller towns. She also shared a lot of interesting information about Māori culture & NZ history. She was great!

Dirk was good the ride was not.

John_G, Apr 2024

Our driver/guide Dirk was very knowledgeable and an excellent driver. Unfortunately there was a detour and we ended up spending 2 extra hours pounding over very bad roads to a dead end. Not Dirks fault although at some point it became clear to me that we were in a goat track and it couldn’t be the right road. We were the last ones on so we were at the back of the bus over the axle and it was extremely uncomfortable. He should have told folks that they didn’t own their seats and to move around.

Great tour, very interesting

RicardoAntonio_L, Apr 2024

Great experience and the excellent service. The driver ver kind and everything was good. That’s all I want to say

The best tour

Renata_D, Mar 2024

We had an amazing time. Absolutely the best tour and driver. Mr. Edson was so helpful, informative, friendly, and funny. Highly recommended!

The Best

Dianna_J, Mar 2024

Loved Chris. He was energetic and gave us several options for the afternoon.. We enjoyed this tour the best of all the ones we took while in Auckland because of Chris.

It was really great

Adi_S, Mar 2024

It was a really great tour. the tour company was really great, they reached out to us few days before to reconfirm everything. our guide, Pete, was really nice. We visited Te Puia to see the Kiwi, Wai o ta pu and redwoods altitude. We chose the buffet option for lunch and it was really good.

Natural wonders and marvelous peoples

Ted_P, Mar 2024

Great to see the natural wonders of this planet. Also such a strong cultural heritage of the people here. The meal was fantastic. Thought the local sight seeing extra driving around was sort of a time filler. Our local guide at the site was great. Sure, the tour is built for tourists but would certainly recommend it.

Awesome Tour

Sam_P, Mar 2024

This was an excellent tour. Got to experience true Maroi culture, lake Rotorua, Haka show, great buffet lunch, and the hot springs baths. Our driver Dirk was the best, as he shared so much history of New Zealand, Aukland, and Rotorua. Highly recommend for all. It is a long 13 hour day, so best to go well rested.

Great way to experience Rotorua

Grace_T, Mar 2024

This was a great tour! I appreciated the choice of options for our experience; my boyfriend & I did the Wai-O-Tapu option and it was amazing! If you're torn about what to choose, if you're up for a bit of walking, Wai-O-Tapu is the way to go (all the pictures in this review were taken there). We were the only ones on our tour who had taken that option, so upon our arrival in Rotorua, we stopped for a bathroom break and were transferred to another van to take us to the park while the other travelers in our cohort went on to the cultural performance. After about 90 minutes or so in Wai-O-Tapu, we were driven back to Te Puia, where we met up again with our tour group for the buffet lunch (which was delicious and high-quality). Te Puia was also great, though I wish the tour of Te Puia had a little more time for us to explore around the geyser. Wanted to give a shoutout to Edson, who was our driver, and super charming and lovely. All in all, this is a great way to experience Rotorua if you want to head back to Auckland and/or don't want to drive yourself.

5stars

SilviaCruzPierce, Mar 2024

The trip was amazing! Edison our guide was knowledgeable and kind from the beginning to end making the trip so easy and fun! Was the best way to see all Rotorua and the beautiful Māori culture for sure!

Definitely worth doing

Charles_A, Mar 2024

A fantastic tour. Definitely put this tour on your must do’s when visiting Auckland. Our guide Edson was wonderful. Friendly, knowledgeable and will go out of his way to make sure you have a great day.

If you’re short on time…

Susanne_W, Mar 2024

Lovely small group & efficient pick up and drop off. Edson was lovely and gave us a brief rundown on the areas we were driving through. He was such a good driver, everyone fell asleep!😁 Those of us that didn’t buy the dancing show “extra” had to just hang around in the gift shop etc. it was only around 30min but it should be included or guide should provide alternative. Lunch at Rotorua was excellent.

Enjoyable trip

evie_s, Mar 2024

We had a very enjoyable day. Our driver/guide he pointed very interesting places and gave us information for the surrounding places

Rotorua & Waitapu

Harsha_O, Mar 2024

Well organised. Good communication. Good amount of time allocated. Lovely lunch. The bus was a bit old wasn’t as comfortable.

Beautiful & learned so much

Tonya_G, Mar 2024

Te Puia was beautiful. The guide told us a lot about the history of the Māori & of the geysers. We learned about the kiwi birds, and how they are working towards saving them. Respect for the animals, people & lands. Redwoods treewalk was so much fun! It said to allow 45 min but it took about 25. Wish it had been longer.

Explore with joy

Stacy_C, Mar 2024

Edmon was great! The redwood forest, rotura tour and multipark tour was fascinating. I can't get over how magical and breathtaking. Well worth the trip.

Outstanding

William_B, Feb 2024

We loved the thermal features and Edson was an amazing guide. Many thanks to Edson for a wonderful last day in New Zealand.

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