Port of Tauranga Ltd
2 Salisbury Avenue, Mount Maunganui 3116, New Zealand
The meeting point for passengers off the cruise ships is on the grass by the flag poll just outside the port pedestrian exit gate on Salisbury Avenue. If you are not travelling on a cruise ship then this is still the meeting point unless you have made an alternative arrangement with us.

Start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Opening hours

6/1/2022 - 5/1/2024
Monday - Sunday : 08:00 AM - 12:00 PM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Kuirau Park

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Sulphur Point

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Government Gardens

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Redwoods, Whakarewarewa Forest

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Rotorua

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Tauranga

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Mount Maunganui

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Te Puke (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Family friendly tour
Not wheelchair accessible
Tour departure time may change due to early and/or late ship arrivals and departures
Stroller accessible

Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately. We suggest layers with hats and sunscreen
You must provide your own infant/baby seat if required.
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 22 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 good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
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

211 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 211 reviews

6 hour tour

Patty_M, Apr 2024

Brian was a great tour guide.. Very interesting and informative. Would strongly recommend. The vans we traveled in were very comfortable.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thanks for the very positive review. REgards Ian

Tour in Tauranga

Laurie_A, Apr 2024

Brian did a terrific job keeping us informed and entertained. The Redwood forest walk and visit to Whakarewarewa (the living Maori village) were the highlights of the tour!

Response from Host, Apr 2024

So pleased you enjoyed our tour.

Great guide Richie made...

Guy_S, Apr 2024

Great guide Richie made for a very enjoyable day His co-guide ….. Sir Guy also did a great job ! lol

Response from Host, Apr 2024

So pleased you had a good time with us. Regards Ian

Small Group Rotorua Scenic Tour

Joy_H, Mar 2024

The big surprise at the end of the tour was visiting the Redwood Treewalk. The park which had the most beautiful Redwood trees was breathtaking. Alistair was very knowledgeable and a great tour guide.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

So pleased you had a good time with us. Regards Ian

Educational in culture and history

Nicky_D, Mar 2024

Simon was our tour guide. Extremely knowledgeable in the history and culture of the area. Everything was fantastic and nicely paced. Never felt rushed. Only comment is we had to purchase our beverage for lunch. Kind of petty. Charge an extra buck or two and include it.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

So pleased you had a good time with us. Regards Ian. PS, the lunch snack was added as a no cost option on the tour, so you can see the Maori Village, drinks are optional and this lets us keep the tour cost as it is, a more budget option, not all passengers want to have the same drinks.

Great, relaxing, one with nature tour

Jill_F, Mar 2024

Eddie was a great tour guide. He personalized a lot of the tour for us. I loved the hot natural bath, and my favorite was the walk along the suspension bridges in the redwood forest.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

So pleased you had a good time with us. Regards Ian

Good day out

Robyn_S, Mar 2024

Richie is a knowledgable and conversational tour guide. We all learned much about NZ industry on the way, and he was accommodating to individual needs. The visit to Rotorua does not include the famous geyser, but a quick dip (feet only) into the hot spring water. The only negative was the provided lunch which we were told was a "hungi pie" which had been cooked in the traditional method. This turned out to be some beige mush inside flaky pastry with no regard to dietary allergies. All in all, the trip was a positive one. I would suggest the option to buy lunch would be an improvement.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

So pleased you had a good time with us. Regards Ian PS, we added the little lunch pie FOC this year and there is always an option to buy something else or extra.

Great tour & guide. A little bit of everything.

Ceyhun_A, Mar 2024

Overall great tour. You get to see a little bit of everything in the area and enjoy some hot baths for your feet. Tour guide Richie was very helpful and knowledgeable. I would recommend this tour over Hobbiton. If you are a LoTR fan and your cruise starts/ends in Auckland you can rent a car and go to Hobbiton on your own and add in Glowworm caves that day as well.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks for your review, pleased you enjoyed the tour. We can also offer a combined Hobbiton and Rotorua tour from here in Tauranga, regards Ian at CruiseToursTauranga

Fond memories of Tauranga

Janet_H, Mar 2024

The tour was one of our favorites due to the Knowledge and professionalism of our tour guide. It was a very memorable day!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thank you for your review, we have been doing these tours since 2001 and have a great team of 15 guides who really enjoy showing visitors around our region. Regards Ian at CruiseToursTauranga

Great trip

Sandra_G, Mar 2024

Richie was excellent in driving and educating us on the culture and history. Lots of good. Info. Very efficient. Covered a lot in 6 hours. Very fun trip!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Its a fun filled day for sure and often the highlight is the Redwoods Forest tree walk, literally high!! Thanks Ian, CruiseToursTauranga

Great day out.

Matthew_H, Feb 2024

We had a fantastic time on this tour. Ritchie was an excellent host and he has given us the desire to return to NZ for a driving holiday. Thanks for the experience.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Hope you can make it back for another visit, great to know you had such a great day with our guide Richie. Regards Ian

Diverse

Debra_M, Feb 2024

Enjoyed the diversity of the trip especially the hot springs. Guide was on time, knowledgable and interesting.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks for the review, it would be great to know what we could have done to get that 5th star. Email us and we can then make sure we do better next time. Regards Ian

Broad and Thorough. Richie, our tour guide, was excellent.

Marie_C, Feb 2024

The Tree Walk, the Steaming Lakes and free chicken pie for lunch. Most of all, the excellent narratives of Richie, our guide.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks for the great review, Richie is a gem! Regards Ian

Excellent tour experience

Merle_E, Feb 2024

It was a very interesting and informative tour with Richie who is truly an excellent guide. He was very knowledgeable, thoughtful and sensitive to our needs. He was always there to assure our safety and comfort. We had a few PWDs in our group and he was able to anticipate their needs and was always there to help. Thank you very much, Richie. God bless!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks for your great review, we always aim to have all our clients have the best of days despite any issues that they may have with disabilities. Regards Ian

Great Tour!

Tasha_C, Feb 2024

We saw more on this tour than any other cruise excursion we took. It was a full day of sightseeing - geothermal bubbling mud baths, redwoods, kiwi fruits, Maori culture and a lot more that I can’t remember. Simon was an excellent tour guide!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

So pleased you had a good time, and this was on one of our shorter duration tours at just 6 hours. Regards ian

Good variety and intro to Rotorua

Janice_B, Feb 2024

Alistair was a stellar guide, very informative and accommodating. We enjoyed the commentary on the scenic drive and seeing the variety that Rotorua offers, from Redwood forest, littered with fern trees, beautiful gardens at Government House, mud pools and feet soaking, and the kiwi orchard stop (although no tasting). Unfortunately the food stop was disappointing, the Hangi pastry was good but the filling not so much so (no meat and bland), and we felt we were rushed at the gardens.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Hi Janice, thanks for the review, pleased you enjoyed this small group guided tour with Alistair. We now run this tour to be 6.5 hours as we want to give clients more time to enjoy the experiences. We have left the listing as 6 hours as many clients are scared of the longer tours, but then when on tour they want longer. We try and show you as much as we can withing the 6.5 hours. The snack we provide is an extra we added this year at no extra charge [its free] as trying to find a suitable cafe that can deal with 12 to 15 pax quickly is difficult, and as you say time is limited [or rushed]. The story behind the Hangi Pie is linked to the Māori Village of Te Whakarewarewa that you go to for the pies, this lets you see the village without having to pay the entry fee. Our guides explain how the hangi is part of Māori lifestyle, it is NOT fine dining, sorry. We cannot do tastings of the Kiwifruit orchard as it is an operational orchard, so entry is not allowed under NZ food security, also the fruit will not be ripe to eat until March or April, the visit is just to show you how kiwifruit grows and explain about this significant part of New Zealand agriculture. If you would like to find out what a kiwifruit tastes like [as it seems you don't know] then most supermarkets sell the fruit in their stores, 2 types, green or gold. Hope you find them enjoyable. Regards Ian

Excellent port area Tauranga and exploring ROTORUA a must do!

Ken_B, Feb 2024

Ritchie our tour guide was THE BEST, it was very easy to meet, the are stationed at the flagpoles as you exit the secured port area. The tour covered and will give you a great sampling of the area touching on a lot things. For the cruise stop glad we selected this option. This was our favorite stop/area in our cruise around NZ. Our tour started at 10am, cruisers should take advantage of disembarking as early as possible and walk either the Mount Maunganui Loop or walk up to the Summit. It starts a 5 minute walk from the cruise wharf and grab a coffee at one of the cool sidewalk cafes on the ocean side. We disembarked at 7:20, walked to the summit, enjoyed a coffee with plenty of time for the 10am tour start. Ritchie had towels for us to sample a foot bath in the hot springs, tremendous walk around steaming lakes, a small visual of a mud spring (not for bathing), stopped at kiwi orchard. HIGHLY recommend. This is one area of NZ we would have liked a few more days in. Again, it’s a sampling of the area/experience.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks Ken, sounds like you enjoyed the tour!!! We do find clients like this tour as you are with our guide through out and they just love showing you all the sights. The Mount walk you did before the tour is one of the best short walks in NZ and is always top of the list on feedback surveys. Come back and spend more time with us here in paradise. Regards Ian

Beautiful Countryside!

JOANN_B, Feb 2024

Enjoyed the tour but the seats in Van were too high to see out. So nice to see the countryside with all there farming, kiwi fruit, cattle and logging in New Zealand!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Pleased you enjoyed the day, sorry you found the seats too high, but these are standard in minibuses, but we try and have most of the time out and about doing things, its just the 75 minite drive to and from Rotorua when you are in the vehicle.

Interesting and varied

David_J, Feb 2024

The itinerary was interesting and varied, visiting mud, steam, scenery, forests and lake. The guide was excellent... very knowledgeable and explained things well. It covered everything from local Mauri tales to (simply explained) scientific understanding of the regions geology.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks for your very positive review, regards Ian

Love the Hangi pie

Barbara_C, Feb 2024

Absolutely enjoyed every moments of the tour, learned a lot about the volcanic activities and the kiwi fruit. Fantastic way to tour around.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Thanks for your very positive review, the Hangi pies are awesome. regards Ian

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