Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village

Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village

Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village
4.5
Historic SitesPoints of Interest & LandmarksHot Springs & Geysers
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
With natural geothermal heat radiating from the ground, Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village is a unique cultural experience, set in a fascinating geothermal landscape, offering an authentic peek into Māori village life. Hourly guided tours give visitors a chance to learn how the geothermal resources are used in daily life, twice-daily cultural performances are filled with fun interactivity, and a network of nature trails traverse geothermal lakes, bubbling mud and explosive geysers. This will be a memorable experience for all ages. Open 8.30am – 5.00pm daily.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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  • Mike S S
    Knaresborough, United Kingdom117 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The best hot springs/ cultural attraction In Rotorua by far
    Great place to visit really informative guide in a proper living village not a creation for tourists. Breathtaking views of mud pools geysers. So much better than it’s neighbour te puia and cheaper.
    Visited November 2022
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 18 March 2023
  • JandW
    5 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Worth a visit
    We bought a day pass and booked to do the guided tour and the cultural performance. Later we explored the geothermal trails. We enjoyed all 3 experiences. The Maori performers were excellent, as was our guide for the tour. I had visited many years ago, and I was disappointed at the now, very limited viewing of the geysers. There used to be a Cafe opposite which afforded excellent views of the geysers. We had planned to have a hot meal for lunch, but food choices at the village were very limited, so this was disappointing.
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 27 March 2023
  • sophieLondon
    107 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    The highlight of our trip to New Zealand
    What an amazing insight. Do take a guided tour. The guides passion for their culture and their interest in sharing it with you is from the heart. We were never left feeling like tourists but welcome visitors. No question went unanswered and we left wanting to do it all again!
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 7 April 2023
  • Lorraine N
    North Wales, United Kingdom9 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Worth a visit
    Definitely worth a trip here. Do all the walks, tours and show. The show was good to watch and learn about the Maori's. The viĺlage is a working one and the tour guide was friendly and chatted about her village.
    Visited April 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 19 April 2023
  • Allison B
    2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Love the personal stories
    We missed our slot but the team was support accommodating and let us join the next tour. We loved that our guide how so many personal experiences to share along the way! So interesting and informative! Was a great tour even with a bit of drizzle.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 15 October 2023
  • mdh969
    Canberra, Australia615 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Living village 👏👏👏
    We were staying at Tauranga for a few days so drove to Rotorua to the living village. We paid for the cultural performance and village tour. The cultural performance was very good. The Māori people have such great singing voices. The village tour was also a standout. I would recommend you pay for both experiences.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 13 November 2023
  • Crystal M
    7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Rotorua Māori Must See
    We are so glad we picked this Māori village to visit. It has been around a long time. Our guide himself lives in the village and was very informative. It felt very genuine and welcoming. We really liked the history and how well daily life in a thermal area is lived now and in the past. While in Rotorua this place is one not to be missed.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 14 November 2023
  • moonbase11
    Leicester, United Kingdom37 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great for understanding Maori now
    We had booked on for the 9am self guided walk round the thermal pools followed by the guided tour of the village and then the cultural experience. The self guided walk was great as it was only us. The tour was very informative and we felt we had a much better understanding of Maori culture now. Finally the cultural experience. It was genuine but not polished! The day before we had been to Te Puia (don't go there come here instead). Their cultural experience was very polished, but perhaps less of the experience you get when the tourists have left. Also worth noting that you ge just as good a view of the Te Puia geysers from here.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 4 December 2023
  • Jon D
    Watford, United Kingdom33 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wonderful trip to the living village
    This was a truly amazing experience. I wasn’t sure about the ‘tourist’ nature of this visit - worried about Māori culture being cheapened and ‘Disneyfied’ for masses of cruise ship passengers wandering through. But it wasn’t like that at all. A real, living, authentic Māori village, and the tourists are guests - guided by locals who are knowledgeable and full of respect for the heritage and majesty of this special place. And the natural surroundings, geysers, bubbling pools, landscape, walkways alongside a boiling lake … it’s just ‘wow’. So glad I was wrong … and so respectful of the Māori inhabitants who have welcomed guests to their Marai, and shared their amazing home with strangers from all parts of the globe. Do not miss this experience!
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 17 December 2023
  • GillStott
    Liverpool, United Kingdom7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fascinating Day
    Our first visit to New Zealand and one of our must sees was here. We booked an All Day ticket and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Our guide was friendly, entertaining & knowledgeable. Would highly recommend.
    Visited January 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 7 January 2024
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles3,033 reviews
Excellent
1,845
Very good
838
Average
204
Poor
65
Terrible
83

Chaty H
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
It was a great experience to walk and see what happened in the past years in this beautiful place. Memorable moments and the tour guide was fantastic.
Written 18 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jason H
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
Great guided tour of the village with a detailed history of their ancestors and how they harness the geothermal nature to cook. You're literally walking through a living village where the Maori people live. The cultural performance was awesome. Highly recommend a must see.
Written 18 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Neil B
Auckland, New Zealand1,180 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
One of NZ's oldest Maori tourism experiences. Options include the self-guided geothermal trail and the guided Village tour. We chose the former. It was a relaxed hour's stroll around a loop track, taking in boiling mud, bubbling water, and lots of steam. Fairly easy track with a modest hill providing some good vantage points. Only poor aspect is the subpar toilet block out by the ticket office.
Written 16 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Helen L
6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
Absolutely fantastic, guided walk was brilliant. Learned so much about the Maori culture and geothermal pools.
Would definitely recommend
Written 15 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

salamander343
Vancouver, Canada17 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Solo
I signed up for the "all day" experience and am so happy I did. The tour was excellent - informative and a good length. The cultural performance was super - so energetic, plus informative and a good length. The trails? What a cool landscape!
Written 13 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Coastal19523677079
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
We loved it. Our guide was really knowledgeable and well explained everything we should know. Corn was so yummy. Haka performance/ songs/ dance were amazing. We recommend this tour for everyone.
Written 12 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

helenkendrick
Cheshire, UK10 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Friends
The Whaka Trails was a self guided walk with some amazing views. The signage could have been a little better though as some of the numbers that corresponded with the map were missing. The Living Māori Village was a very enjoyable experience.
The guide was very friendly, extremely knowledgeable and gave us a good insight into a Maori village life.
Written 11 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

familytravelers345
Denver, CO8 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Our visit to the “Living history village” was so interesting! Hearing about historical Mauri life and then seeing it currently was fascinating. And getting to sample hot pool cooked corn was a special treat! Then the performance with the 5 musicians/dancers capped off our time experiencing their culture. We loved that each song was explained so we knew what the context was for when they would do that dance or what the song was about. Finally, walking the self-guided trails all around the hot pools and lake was a great finish - especially seeing the main geyser erupt for a second time that morning.
Written 9 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rebecca G
2 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
We had a great couple of hours exploring the geothermal pools around the village and our tour guide Philip was good! We paid an extra 10 dollars each for a cultural performance which was well worth the extra money. Only issue is we had around 35 people in our group so we couldn’t always hear what Philip was saying as walk ways are fairly narrow.
Written 8 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LRadford
Perth, Australia19 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Family
Booked the tour $45 and then paid $30 to add on the cultural show. We enjoyed our day but just felt $75 per adult was relatively expensive. The guided tour was good, thankfully they did split the group into two as there was so many people, ended up with 25 ish people per guide. Our guide, I think her name was Mai, lived in the village and was very informative. All the staff we interacted with were helpful and cheery. You do see Te Puia geyser from over a fence, quite a good view. Piece of corn cooked in the geothermal geyser was a nice extra. Overall a nice day, just not blown away and perhaps expected abit more for $75.
Written 6 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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WHAKAREWAREWA - THE LIVING MAORI VILLAGE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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