A lot of visitors to New Zealand’s North Island go to Rotorua, known as the country’s geothermal headquarters. Centrally located with so many attractions, it’s a few hours south of Auckland and a big part of North Island itineraries. Known as “Sulphur City” for the smell produced by the geothermals, we spent a couple of days there ourselves, which is about the right amount of time. Here are our top things to do in Rotorua, New Zealand.
About Rotorua
Rotorua, pronounced Row – tuh – roo – uh, is a couple of hours south of Auckland, in the heart of the North Island’s volcanic valley. The Maori meaning is ‘Two” or “second” lake, and is named for the adjacent lake.
It reminded me of Iceland, with the bubbling hot springs, geysers, and colorful volcanic walkways. Rotorua felt like a cross between an adventure town and a family fun zone. So many of the tourists we saw there were with children. And a lot of the activities in Rotorua, like zip lines and mini golf, seemed catered to families. But there’s still a lot of cool things to do in Rotorua for adults without kids. Here are our favorites.
Mountain Bike Park
One of our top things to do in Rotorua is spend time at the mountain bike park. This place is amazing, and these two North Americans were shocked that it was completely free. We spent hours with our two dinky bikes on the easy trails, often being passed by tiny children on big wheeled mountain bikes, and we had a ball. Our bodies were sore the next day, but we’re always happy to get on our bikes and explore new places.
Thursday Night Market
The town’s weekly night market is a big draw, with lots of activities and many food trucks taking over the streets. Every Thursday from 5-9pm, locals and tourists fill their bellies with dumplings, satays, tacos, burgers and more, and we joined them. If you can, go early to watch the Maori performers do the introduction, with music and singing. It was great, almost as good as in Whangarei.
Redwoods Nightlights Tree Walk
At night, the Redwoods Nightlights Tree Walk involves walking on suspension bridges through tall redwoods full of lanterns and lights. It’s hard to explain how beautiful it is, walking high in the trees after dark among colorfully lit sculptures. Hugely popular, book in advance.
We booked the fast pass option for the tree walk so we wouldn’t have to wait in line (which could last hours). The fast pass cost $44, only five dollars more than regular admission and well worth it.
Kuirau Park
If you only have time for one geothermal activity in Rotorua, Kuirau Park is convenient and affordable. Short for “Te Waimirimiri o Te Kuirau” in Maori it means water, relaxation, and massaging waters.
Located on the lake in town, walking along the boardwalks of Kuirau Park is a free and easy way to see a variety of the results of the heat below the earth. After walking past bubbling mud pools and steaming ground, end the walk with a foot soak in the 40 degree C foot bath. You’ll want to stop and take photos of all the cool – I mean hot – scenery.
See Even More Geothermal Activity
There are a lot of different geothermal activity parks in the large geographic area between Rotorua and Taupo, all require time and money. We visited both Waiotapo Thermal Wonderland, with it’s famous green lake and other geothermic displays, further south from Waimangu Volcanic Valley, which involved hiking past different features. Both were beautiful and informative. It really depends on your interests and timeframe.
We didn’t have the best weather in Rotorua (it rained almost our entire time in Waimangu), but it did make for dramatic photos.
Kaituna Cascades Rafting
One of the best experiences we had in Rotorua was just outside of it. While we drove to Kaituna Cascades from Tarangua, packages include a bus directly from Rotorua.
We had a blast river rafting with our friend Greg from Viridian, a guide, and three strangers. The water was surprisingly warm, and we rafted several rapids, including the world’s largest commercially rafted waterfall. The Kaituna Falls was 7 meters, but it didn’t feel too high or scary.
Including suiting up and being on the water, the experience took 2 1/2 hours. We didn’t want it to end as it was one of our favorite things to do in Rotorua.
Rotorua Highlights Conclusion
Overall, I think Rotorua is a great place to visit for a couple of days, especially if you like outdoor activities and nature. Families will find even more to do with all the parks catering to them.
Let us know in the comments what you’ve done in Rotorua or what you’ll do when you get to New Zealand!
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I’ve been to Rotorua twice and I still find it hard to get used to that smell. Having said that it’s a great place to visit. Last time I was there on went on a tour on a vehicle that drives on land and can move through water. That was fun. The Thursday Night Market sounds good. I will seek it out the next time I am in Rotorua. Thanks for the great post!
I found the smell was only bad in certain areas! That tour you went on sounds fun. There’s so much to do there!
I went to Rotorua when I was young with my parents. I mostly remember the smell of sulphur – it started to give us a headache so we didn’t stay too long!
Wow Sharyn! We did not notice the smell nearly that much, thankfully. Everyone is different
I am in the process of planning a 2 week road trip around the North Island of NZ and Rotorua is on my list. Thanks for sharing, I now know what I want to see and do during our visit. Is one day long enough to spend here?
We spent 1 day and then went back for another day and night, so for me one day wasn’t enough time in Rotorua. But if that’s all you have, Sharyn, you can definitely get a sense of the geology and see a lot of the attractions in a full day. Especially in summertime when the sun is shining for 14 hours!
We want to plan a long trip to New Zealand and are looking for ideas for stops. When we get to the North Island we will definitely want to visit Rotorua. I love all the great outdoor spots. And that Waiotapo Thermal Wonderland looks wild!
This is such a fun area with all those volcanoes. Waiotapu was one of my favourite places in Rotorua (and the North Island) I just loved seeing all the crazy colours of the pools. I didn’t know about the Redwoods Nightlights tree walk! That looks fabulous!
I have never heard of Roturua before but it sounds like a great destination for nature lovers. I would love to visit Waiotapo Thermal Wonderland; the colour of the lake is amazing.
This is SO high on my bucket list!