When your cruise ship docks in Tauranga, head out for a full-day tour of Mt. Maunganui and Rotorua. In Rotorua, learn about Maori culture, and see geothermal hot pools and the Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa—The Living Maori Village. Sample New Zealand specialties such as manuka honey and kiwi fruit, and spend time checking out highlights including Lake Rotorua and Government Gardens.

Full-day tour to Rotorua from Tauranga
See bubbling hot pools and erupting geysers at Whakarewarewa
View a Maori dance performance and craft demonstrations
Take a driving tour of Mt. Maunganui and Tauranga city
Purchase lunch at a cafe that overlooks Lake Rotorua

What's Included

Bottled water
Port pickup and drop off
Local guide
All Fees and Taxes

Lunch

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Salisbury Avenue
Salisbury Avenue, Mount Maunganui 3116, New Zealand
Meet just past Port of Tauranga security you will be met there or at our vehicle in the carpark

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Begin your day with morning pickup from the Port of Tauranga.

Start with an overview of Mt. Maunganui, then head to Rotorua, stopping along the way to sample kiwi fruit, one of New Zealand’s top exports.

Continue by road past a redwood forest and Blue Lake on the way to Rotorua. More than 500 hot springs and 65 geysers are active around Rotorua. You'll visit Whakarewarewa, the Living Maori Village, which is home to the Pohutu Geyser and steaming hot springs, as well as Maori cultural exhibits like dance performances.

Next, drive through Government Gardens (Paepaekumana) and past the Polynesian Spa, then have lunch (own expense) at Lake Rotorua. See attractions like the Skyline Gondola and luge ride, and snap photos of Lake Rotorua from the cafe. You can sample New Zealand’s renowned manuka honey at Mossop’s Honey, before returning to Tauranga.

Mt Maunganui Main Beach

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Kiwifruit Country (Pass By)

Blue Lake Track

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Mt. Tarawera

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Buried Village of Te Wairoa (Pass By)

Lake Rotorua

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Government Gardens

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Kuirau Park

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Infant seats available
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 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

4.0

36 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 36 reviews

Great and fun trip

sarah_k, Apr 2023

This tour is well organized, tour guide ,Toby, has great knowledge of history for each highlight area, with 10 of us fit in comfortable van, we were amazing to see historic bubbling geothermal village, don't miss the concert, must see, our group had a lot of fun and enjoying this tour. I highly recommend to have Arrow Tour when you at Tauranga

Fantastic trip

Stephen_J, Mar 2023

We had been looking forward to this trip and wasn't disappointed. Kerry our guide was excellent, full of knowledge of all the areas we went to. We saw, hot springs and mud, a Maori Cultural show, lakes, forests and beautiful scenery. Kerry made the trip memorable and it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Highly recommend

Jenny_M, Mar 2023

The tour was relaxed and informative with a driver who clearly wanted everybody to have a good day. Went to areas with a more authentic feeling and less commercialised. Great knowledge by the driver who related very well with his passengers. Highly recommend.

Left Us At The Port

trvlr1313, Mar 2023

Toby left us at the port with no tour saying he didn’t have room for us even though we booked months in advance. He had been in touch to tell us where to meet and we met with no problems. Toby then ran around the parking lot for about 30 minutes, then loaded up a group with everyone but us. He then told us there was no room, we should find a tour from the sellers at the port and he gave us a refund. He’d wasted so much time, there was only one tour that was not sold out and it did not go to Rotorua. Our one chance to see Rotorua and we were left at the port with no tour. He really shouldn’t be in the tourists business.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Yes, I really did get caught with my pants down on this one, as I had a large group who had not booked it as such but demanded that it be a private tour. I sincerely apologised to Virginia and gave her a full refund plus an extra $25, although I know this does not make up for this mistake and the fact that the girls missed out on their planned trip to Rotorua. I can only pledge that I will take them on a day tour of Rotorua if they ever have the chance to come to this part of New Zealand again. Once again sorry Virginia.

Geysers

Robin_D, Mar 2023

Ceremony was good and old buildings and mud pools and no more today overpriced for what you receive can’t recommend this experience to anyone

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hi, I did give you to another tour company for this shore excursions. I've spoken to the operator and he just said that you were unhappy with whakarewarewa Maori geothermal village and no other aspect of the tour except for some traffic congestion that your vehicle was caught up in. I do know at USD$150 per person with a concert and 1.5 hour guided walk around this old village (costing our company USD$40), as well as the other time you spent on this 6 to 7 hour tour, everybody else thinks it's a reasonable rate for such an excursion. Is there another aspect of the tour that you were unhappy with?. Your booking didn't come through until after 7 pm the day before the tour and I didn't pick it up until the morning of your tour, so I was unprepared as I had arranged other work for that day.

Personalised tour of Rotorua area

David_L, Mar 2023

Thoroughly enjoyed the Maori cultural experience. As it was a small group of 4 of us, with friends, Toby adapted the itinerary to suit us and gave us excellent insight into local New Zealand, it's history and flora and fauna. He provided options for lunch to suit the group, and made several additional stops for photo opportunities, plus a visit to a kiwi farm to see the fruit and vines prior to harvesting.

A fun adventure

FRANCIS_E, Feb 2023

Wonderful adventure! Enjoyed even in the rain. The Mauri show was great. The thermal pools so interesting

The trip was advertised...

Jacqui_R, Jan 2023

The trip was advertised with geysers. But the tour people asked for more money to see them. You need to check their website

Terrific day out

Ernst_S, Dec 2022

Our driver, Kerry, was an excellent and companiable guide who took us to places other tours didn’t include.

Perfect day in Rotorua

Dexter_W, Dec 2022

Excellent tour with Kerry (tour guide). Very comfortable vehicle, plenty of water throughout the trip. Tour stops were perfectly timed for beaks and stretching. Stops were a great mix of history and admiring the natural wonders of the region. Kerry was top notch, accommodating and super knowledgeable about the region. Wouldn’t change a thing.

Rotorua and much more

Steve_C, Dec 2022

Kerry was phenomenal! Took us to great locations beyond the normal tourist sites to fully experience the Māori culture, mud baths, and geothermal pools. Saw many beautiful lakes in the mountains along they way. This is a “must see” excursion!

Great Choice

Melinda_S, Nov 2022

This was great choice for the day. The geothermal hot spots the we went to were amazing and the Maori experience was educational and exciting. We would recommend this tour!

Thermal ponds

LyndelleA_T, May 2019

Our tour guides name was Chief, he was Awesome, his commentary was fabulous. The Maori show highly recommend. I would highly recommend visiting.

An unusual experience visiting the...

Margaret F, Feb 2018

An unusual experience visiting the active Maori village with its geothermal vents. An excellent day excursion.

Excellent tour. One of the most...

Ian S, Oct 2017

Excellent tour. One of the most interesting tours of the entire trip.

The bus provided was a last minute...

Stella C, Feb 2017

The bus provided was a last minute rental by the local tour group. No internet as promised small annoyance, no water provided big problem as we didn't bring any as this was also promised. Bus, tour driver kept saying it's a rental for the overflow, but why is this my problem? Worse, the bus group consisted of 3 different tours, no one completely sure of where they were going. Very very disorganized. Driver kept dropping off and picking up various groups waiting. We were never sure he was going to return to get us. One of the worst Viatour bookings I have made. Previous tours I have taken with Viatour were 100 better.

Excellent shore tour for our one day...

Nancy_Y, Feb 2017

Excellent shore tour for our one day stop in Tauranga. It is always a must-do when traveling to learn about the native people's culture and customs and about the flaura and fauna. Thoroughly enjoyed the Maori-led visit of Whakarewarewa where we learned how the 25 families still live there, how they cook their food and bath in the thermal hot springs. The Maori performance is not to be missed. Also enjoyed the kiwi tour and tastings and the drive and tour around Tauranga and into the country side. Appreciated Viator's adjusting the day of this tour when our ship was held up by high seas.

Roger tried to squeeze in as many...

James W, Jan 2017

Roger tried to squeeze in as many stops as he could before the main attraction--Geothermal Rotorua. The geothermal site provide guides who escorted us through the park and provide brief explanations. You're close to the geyser and mud pool so the view is good. The Maori performance was 30 minutes. Our ship had a change in schedule and we had to contact the company. He was very responsive.

Excellent tour, very enjoyable and...

PA_B, Dec 2016

Excellent tour, very enjoyable and informative. Driver did everything to make our visit really special and went out of his way to show us the things we wanted to see.

The tour was good in that it gave...

Boyd_M, Nov 2016

The tour was good in that it gave insight to the Maori culture. It was amazing to see all the geothermal activity in the area. The bigger geyser didn't want to cooperate during the time we were in the village, maybe next time. The tour was as described. The tour guide met us on time. The only reason I didn't rate 5 stars, is because I had seen the haka done by a different group which performed it in a more intense manner. Overall, though, I enjoyed the excursion.