Rotorua feels like it has endless opportunities and that can make planning your trip more difficult. Fortunately, I’ve highlighted my top activities for you to help narrow your itinerary down. Once you’re in town, you can also visit Rotorua’s i-site located in the city center which has information on all local activities, knowledgeable guides to answer your questions, and the ability to book and schedule tours.
Many of the activities are outside of central Rotorua, but they know a lot of backpackers don’t have a means to drive themselves around. Most, if not all, of these activities offer cheap and easy transfers from central Rotorua, typically from the i-site. This might add a few dollars to your cost, but not enough to break the bank.
When I first visited Rotorua, I had no idea what there was to do or what it was known for. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to the very present smell of sulfur with geothermal steam rising from the ground. Not only is it a geothermal hotbed (pun intended), Rotorua is also one of the adventure capitals of New Zealand. I didn’t realize what Rotorua had to offer on my first visit but was fortunate to return and remedy my mistake. Read on to avoid my error and chose your perfect Rotorua activities!
Maori Experience
The Maori community is nowhere more present and visible than in Rotorua. The North Island in New Zealand has a higher population of Maori communities than the South Island (and is also simply significantly more populated). Rotorua offers several ways to connect with and learn about the ancestral guardians of Aotearoa.
There are even more opportunities than the ones I talk about below, but these are the ones I’ve done personally and recommend. Whakarewarewa Village and Mitai Maori Village offer different experiences that make them both worth doing. You don’t have to limit yourself to just one!
Whakarewarewa Village
Whakarewarewa Village is nestled on the edge of Rotorua central, surrounded by the redwoods and geothermal areas. They offer three different activities that you can pick and choose from: a guided tour of the village, cultural dance performance, and geothermal walk. If you have the time and money, I recommend all three. If you’re more limited, stick to just the guided tour and performance combo.
The Living Maori Village still has full time residents, hence its name. The tour will take you around the village, showing you the thermal pools for cooking and bathing and the Pohutu geyser. You’ll also learn more about Maori community values and culture, past and present. The tour teaches fantastic lessons of harmony between nature and its inhabitants that are more valuable today than ever before.
Mitai Maori Village
Whereas Whakarewarewa feels more informal and close-knit, the Mitai Māori Cultural Experience & Dinner Buffet is more curated, though just as genuine. Mitai Maori Village sits on the other side of Rotorua, just out of town. Mitai only offers one experience per night, so they can sell out quickly during popular tourist times.
What makes Mitai Maori Village stand out to me is the variety of experiences they pack into one night. As a guest, you will have the privilege of seeing warriors paddling a canoe/waka down Wai-o-Whiro stream, a full hangi buffet, a cultural dance and performance, a question and answer session, and a nighttime walk through the forest to see glowworms.
Kuirau Park
One of Rotorua’s defining features is its geothermal activity. The site of steam coming from the ground and the smell of sulfur greet you as you enter Rotorua’s city limits, at once attracting you towards adventure and warning you away. While there are many geothermal activities in the area (some also included on this list), Kuirau Park in central Rotorua is a free, easy way to explore this geothermal hotspot.
Located just next to downtown Rotorua, Kuirau Park is easy to get to by foot and enjoy. At one end sits Kuirau Lake, or simply “Hot Water” (thanks, Google?). Don’t be fooled by the name “lake” though, this body of water is too hot to touch and is not for swimming. There’s a wooden boardwalk that circumnavigates most of the lake, but don’t let your guard down as over time the lake is slowly reclaiming that land back. Steam is constantly wafting off the water and creates a really enchanting atmosphere, especially at sunset.
On the other end of the park, there’s a hidden gem: the foot baths. There are two foot baths you can sink your feet into: one covered and one out in the elements. The water comes straight from the geothermal springs, cooled by being moved from the epicenter (meaning, not cooled all that much). The geothermal waters have all the minerals for skin and health benefits. You truly feel like you’re at a fancy geothermal spa without paying a thing!
The rest of the park has a variety of hot pools, mud pools, steam geysers, and other interesting geological features. Unsafe areas are fenced off, but there are signs that warn you about the unpredictable nature of geothermal activity and to keep your eyes out.
Rotorua Night Market
A change of pace from the big high-octane adventures, Rotorua’s night market provides a bit of local fanfare after a long day of exploring. Every Thursday night, Rotoura’s main street Tutanekai Street is closed to all traffic and transformed into a vibrant night market. There’s an abundance of food stalls, crafts for sale, and live music.
The food on offer comes from all over the world, showcasing the diverse international community in the area. Honestly, you could spend all day going from one stall to another and have not one complaint. Of course, you have to top off your market visit with the New Zealand classic: real fruit ice cream.
White Water Rafting
If you’re big on adventure or willing to try, I cannot recommend white water rafting in Rotorua enough. Out of all the activities I tried in Rotorua, this was my favorite. Rafting takes place just north of Rotorua but for very good reason. Tutea Falls is the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world at 7 meters tall. So naturally that’s where local rafting tours are going to take you.
I consider myself a medium adventurer – willing to give new things a try but you won’t see me jumping from any heights anytime soon – and this was right up my alley. Ultimately, I went with Rotorua Rafting who are relatively new to the scene but I can’t recommend them enough. Their guides made us feel safe, had us laughing, and kept us all afloat. They also have a professional photographer who takes photos of all the rafts. So you can purchase some high quality (and hilarious) photos when it’s all over. You can coordinate with your whole raft and share the cost of the photos (around NZ$40) and have one member forward the photo email to everyone.
Rotorua Rafting, above any other company I looked at, emphasizes the connection to nature and the Maori community. Not only did we get to experience some amazing adrenaline, we all learned more about the environment that gifted us these wonders and the local Maori community who protects it. I booked the combo rafting and zipline tour with them and both tours included this educational component while still providing such a fun experience.
Have kids or genuinely terrified of going down Tutea Falls? Rotorua Rafting has an option to join the raft after the bigger waterfalls to get a bit of that rush without committing to the whole shebang.
Redwoods & Whakarewarewa Forest
Believe it or not, Rotorua is well known for its abundance of redwood trees. In 1901, 12 hectares of Californian Redwoods were planted in Rotorua for their timber. Results were mixed and today only 6 hectares remain. While no longer used for timber, the Redwoods & Whakarewarewa Forest provides plenty of activities, both free and paid, for anyone to enjoy.
This forest has plenty of mountain biking and walking trails that are open to anyone. You can rent bikes from central Rotorua and spend a pleasant few hours riding through this stunning redwood forest. If you’re not interested in getting on two wheels, the walking trails are just as worthwhile to explore.
If you want to get into the treetops, check out the Redwoods Treewalk. This walk traverses platforms and bridges connected to the redwoods themselves. You can either take the tour during the daytime (Treewalk) or at night (Nightlights). Colored lanterns are set amongst the trees to transform the forest into a fantastical land after dark, making it a unique experience for visitors.
Apart from the Treewalk, you can get high in the trees with the Redwoods Altitude zipline tour. This zipline tour ups the adrenaline from the Treewalk while still weaving around the majestic redwoods. But there will be more on this tour in the next section.
Ziplining
After dropping all the hints throughout this post, it’s finally time to address ziplining in Rotorua! I had never been ziplining before and all of the options had me overwhelmed. As much as I wanted to do them all, I just didn’t have the time or money for that! Luckily, my friend and I talked to an amazing i-site worker about each zipline tour to find our best fit.
Redwood Altitude
First is Redwoods Altitude. As mentioned above, this tour is nestled in the Redwoods Forest and takes you 25 meters high into the treetops. The tour is 650 meters long, with 25 bridges, 3 flying foxes, and 2 spirals. According to the guide, this zipline tour doesn’t have the most or longest ziplines. It’s a good option for people worried about ziplining and want more of an introductory course. It’s also closer to the city center so this tour is good if you don’t have time to add on commuting to the zipline site.
Canopy Tours
Canopy Tours is probably one of the biggest names in the Rotorua zipline game. They now have two tour options: the Original Canopy Tour and the Ultimate Canopy Tour. The Ultimate tour is 45 minutes longer (all spent with feet off the ground) and adds over 400 meters of ziplining with longer and faster ziplines included. This is the tour company I would recommend to die-hard zipline or adrenaline fans. It is the most expensive option, but has the best ziplining of any tour.
Rotorua Rafting
Last (but not least) is the zipline tour I ultimately went with: Rotorua Rafting (yes, they also do ziplines). As I mentioned before, Rotorua Rafting truly prioritizes the impact to the environment and working with the local Maori community to help nature flourish while still providing exceptional experiences for visitors. The tour is closest to the Original Canopy Tour in terms of zipline number and length and even has a zipline race. These ziplines also fly you over three waterfalls – including Tutea Falls. You can sometimes see the rafting tours below you! They also offer a combo option to pair the zipline and rafting tours to make the most out of your visit to Okere. For convenience, they were an amazing option to hit two bucket list items off in one afternoon.
Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland
Twenty minutes outside of Rotorua is the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. As the name describes, the vibrancy and variety of the thermal volcanic activity in the area is on full display. There are three main areas in Wai-O-Tapu: Lady Knox Geyser, the mud pools, and the geothermal park.
Lady Knox Geyser is set off every morning at 10:15am, so make sure not to miss the show! Everything else you can take in your own time, but be prepared that most people will start their loop around the geothermal park right after the geyser. I recommend heading to the mud pools after the geyser to allow the majority of folks to begin dispersing in the park. Many people miss out on the mud pools, but I thought it was a nice little spot out of the way of the crowds to get a close up look at the bubbling mud!
The geothermal park has several looped paths you can choose from. So if you have limited physical mobility or just short on time, you can choose to only complete the first or second loop. If you have the time and abilities, I enjoyed doing the full loop and seeing even more of what the area had to offer.
If you don’t have a car, you can choose a tour that includes a return shuttle from Rotorua so you don’t have to miss out on this stunning location! Talk to the folks at the i-Site for the best shuttle option for you.
Ready for Rotorua?
These are some of the best activities you can experience on your next visit to Rotorua in New Zealand’s North Island. Don’t let the sulfuric atmosphere scare you away – Rotorua is a wonderland of adventure waiting for you. I hope this post has inspired you to try something new and take some (calculated and still relatively safe) risks.
Looking for more to do on the North Island after Rotorua? Check out my Northland Roadtrip Itinerary for inspiration!
Wow this is the first I have heard of Rotorua and it sounds amazing! The largest white water rafting waterfall in the world, being surrounded by hot springs or walking amongst the Redwoods at night are now on my bucket list of things to do. Thanks for sharing.
The Thermal Wonderland sounds fabulous. I hope to visit Rotorua and check out some of these activities.
I’ve placed a lot of the things you mention on my want to visit list in Google Maps, visiting New Zealand is a dream trip. Rotorua has so much to offer!
Never heard of Rotorua before, btu it sounds really cool! Especially the redwood forests, they always look so gorgeous in photos!
So much to do here! I had no idea! The Redwoods Treetops is now high on my bucket list! Thanks for sharing!
I haven’t heard of Rotorua prior to reading your post, but it’s well worth checking out once I make it to New Zealand. I’d love to learn and see the Māori community and to take a dip in the geothermal waters.
I have dreams of moving to New Zealand and this just makes me want to go even more !