Lake Tarawera's Hot Water Beach
Lake Tarawera's Hot Water Beach
Lake Tarawera's Hot Water Beach
4.5
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4.5
83 reviews
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Martin
Konstanz, Germany23 contributions
Dec 2019
There is a small section on the nice big beach where once you dig a bit hot water will surface. Ideally you create a small pond where also some fresh water can come in as otherwise it will be to hot. There are a lot of people digging so it is not necessary to bring your own spate. It is as described 2 hrs before and 2 horse after high tide. The beach itself is nice too, also the cafe on the car park and the one 500m away.
Written 4 January 2020
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.
Robert R
Fairfax, VA854 contributions
Feb 2020
This is an experience of a lifetime and should be tried. There is a stretch of beach where hot water, heated by volcanic heat, flows in certain parts. Best time to experience is at low tide. Three of us got to the beach about an hour before low tide - the place was packed an the best spots were already occupied. So we picked a spot closest to the ocean and dug our hole piling the dug up sand on the water side to keep the ocean water out. We soon learned you had to let some sea water in to mix with the underground hot water. Overall a good time sitting in our own makeshift hot tub. I was a constant battle maintaining our sand wall to keep the sea out. If we come again, we will arrive earlier so we can grab a spot further from the sea.
Written 22 January 2021
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.
yank
71 contributions
Lake Tarawera's Hot Water Beach is unique in the world but perhaps expected in the Rotorua area because of its local geothermal activity. Not to be confused with the Hot Water Beach near Hahei that requires low tide to enjoy, this hot water beach is always available and hot. A boat is required to get there, but there are several options in the area including one at the lake itself.
We took the Lake Tarawera Scenic Experience from the lake. It included stops at both the hot water beach and a trail. These stops seemed a little hurried (about a 30-45 minutes each place), but the experience was great. The entire trip was approximately three hours.
Lake Tarawera is located off the junction of Hiway 30 and Highway 5 about 15 minutes from Rotorua. Follow Tarawera Road past beautiful natural park land. Stop at the lookout between Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) and Lake Rotokakahi (Green Lake) for a great view (and a hike if you have the time). Then follow Spencer Road to Lake Tarawera. On the way you can also stop at The Buried Village, an archaeological site related to the volcanic explosion that impacted the area. There is also a cafe at the Tarawera landing that serves decent food.
We took the Lake Tarawera Scenic Experience from the lake. It included stops at both the hot water beach and a trail. These stops seemed a little hurried (about a 30-45 minutes each place), but the experience was great. The entire trip was approximately three hours.
Lake Tarawera is located off the junction of Hiway 30 and Highway 5 about 15 minutes from Rotorua. Follow Tarawera Road past beautiful natural park land. Stop at the lookout between Lake Tikitapu (Blue Lake) and Lake Rotokakahi (Green Lake) for a great view (and a hike if you have the time). Then follow Spencer Road to Lake Tarawera. On the way you can also stop at The Buried Village, an archaeological site related to the volcanic explosion that impacted the area. There is also a cafe at the Tarawera landing that serves decent food.
Written 3 March 2007
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.
Aki K
4 contributions
Oct 2014 • Friends
Hot Water Beach can be reached by a water taxi or by walking a 15 km trail along the lake's hilly southern bank.
The trail starts from Te Wairoa car park some 2.5km before the lake and little before the Buried Village. You can also drive down to the lake and leave your car there. By the lake and at the end of the car park there is an unsigned path going into the bushes, but some 50m before it reaches the official trail it gets very muddy and might not be good to try unless your shoes are fit for it.
If you left your car to Te Wairoa car park, remember you need to walk back to it if you return from the lake by water taxi, unless you manage to hitch a hike on someone's car. The walk back is uphill along the narrow asphalt road, not very nice or safe.
The narrowish trail itself is in decent condition, mostly hard mud with some pebbles thrown on it. Don't try walking with sneakers that don't have a good hold. Some ups and downs are pretty steep and you might slip off the trail, especially if it has rained.
The trail has some stairs built to its steepest sections, but those are far and few. It goes up and down most of the time, especially closer to the Hot Water Beach. For someone in good condition and not in need of breaks the walking time is 3.5h and for the rest of us 4-4.5h.
Rest areas are not covered, so in case of rain, there is no dry place to sit down (except toilets).
People sensitive to high places will experience some occasional mild discomfort when the winding path crosses some steeper scarps, but in general the trail is without high risks.
At the last resting place before the last ascend the path goes to two directions with no signs which one to take. Take the one going up - the other just goes to the lake but as there is a cliff separating you from the destination, it works as no shortcut.
The trail descends on the lake some 500m before the Hot Water Beach. Walk along the beach to reach the camping site.
The beach itself is not that spectacular, but after the long walk it sure feels nicer than it perhaps actually is. The best way to enjoy the flow of hot spring water might be just to swim around in the lake - the topmost 10cm of water feels very warm and the water below it cold. You can also just soak close to the spring, but beware occasional uncomfortably hot streams.
The water taxi does NOT have any scheduled departures from the beach. It only comes if called beforehand and costs 25 NZD per person. Note that at the time of writing (October 2014) there is no cell reception on the lake or even the car park, so arrange the pickup before you go there. If you forgot to do that, there is a chance for cell reception at the highest peak of the trail. You may also ask the Buried Village reception to call the taxi.
Due to lack of cell reception, it is not a good idea to try this trail alone, especially during weekdays off season when almost nobody is walking there.
The trail starts from Te Wairoa car park some 2.5km before the lake and little before the Buried Village. You can also drive down to the lake and leave your car there. By the lake and at the end of the car park there is an unsigned path going into the bushes, but some 50m before it reaches the official trail it gets very muddy and might not be good to try unless your shoes are fit for it.
If you left your car to Te Wairoa car park, remember you need to walk back to it if you return from the lake by water taxi, unless you manage to hitch a hike on someone's car. The walk back is uphill along the narrow asphalt road, not very nice or safe.
The narrowish trail itself is in decent condition, mostly hard mud with some pebbles thrown on it. Don't try walking with sneakers that don't have a good hold. Some ups and downs are pretty steep and you might slip off the trail, especially if it has rained.
The trail has some stairs built to its steepest sections, but those are far and few. It goes up and down most of the time, especially closer to the Hot Water Beach. For someone in good condition and not in need of breaks the walking time is 3.5h and for the rest of us 4-4.5h.
Rest areas are not covered, so in case of rain, there is no dry place to sit down (except toilets).
People sensitive to high places will experience some occasional mild discomfort when the winding path crosses some steeper scarps, but in general the trail is without high risks.
At the last resting place before the last ascend the path goes to two directions with no signs which one to take. Take the one going up - the other just goes to the lake but as there is a cliff separating you from the destination, it works as no shortcut.
The trail descends on the lake some 500m before the Hot Water Beach. Walk along the beach to reach the camping site.
The beach itself is not that spectacular, but after the long walk it sure feels nicer than it perhaps actually is. The best way to enjoy the flow of hot spring water might be just to swim around in the lake - the topmost 10cm of water feels very warm and the water below it cold. You can also just soak close to the spring, but beware occasional uncomfortably hot streams.
The water taxi does NOT have any scheduled departures from the beach. It only comes if called beforehand and costs 25 NZD per person. Note that at the time of writing (October 2014) there is no cell reception on the lake or even the car park, so arrange the pickup before you go there. If you forgot to do that, there is a chance for cell reception at the highest peak of the trail. You may also ask the Buried Village reception to call the taxi.
Due to lack of cell reception, it is not a good idea to try this trail alone, especially during weekdays off season when almost nobody is walking there.
Written 28 October 2014
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.
Scorchingbay
Mount Maunganui, New Zealand12 contributions
Apr 2014 • Couples
What a disappointment!! The walk along the new track was great, it was new, had good signage and toilets along the way, well done, plenty of money spent on that. Nice stop on the lakeside along the way. However the pleasure of it all ended when we got to the lake. No signs...where do we go? Tried along the beach but that ended at the water, then we ended up wandering in the trees along goat tracks that were not marked and through a bit of litter left behind by lazy campers till we reached the campsite. Don't understand why the rest was so well marked and then a FAIlL when we got near the destination. The campsite was fine but the lake was a huge disappointment. Out front of the campsite it was full of lakeweed. People had pulled loads of it into piles which were decaying and it just looked rank. Some kids showed us their very nasty rashes all over their legs that they said they got from the lakeweed, very nasty, really there should have been a warning it was so painful looking. So no soaking in front of the campsite. Further down where there is no weed, it was very shallow and either too hot from the the water coming out of the sand or too cold. it really wasn't somewhere as they had advertised as having a soak in the warm waters. You could only stand in it and try and find a patch that didn't burn your feet. It was either too cold or too hot. We took the water taxi out the next day and they took us to some other hot pools. This was created by a small dam and very pleasant but was many other boaties were there it was very crowded and it was only about knee high in depth so it was like being in a warm bath with a lot of people. It appears the advertising of this spot sounds idyllic soaking in natural hot water springs in nature on a lakeside. The reality is not, slimy weed, shallow water, burn your feet. Everyone in the campsite said that it was Ok if you were spending your time there if you had a boat and did some waterskiing but just for the hot pools, nope not the place to go. Definately wouldn't recommend it. I believe this place has been quite falsely advertised.
Written 28 April 2014
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.
Martin K
Sao Paulo, SP188 contributions
Aug 2015 • Friends
We hiked the 15 km trail, on 4,5 hours including 15-20 min. break. It was nice, good marked - and in a nice and varied terrain..
OBS - - IF you want to go to the Pools you need more time. :)
If you want to go there - you have to turn left and hike for about 30 minutes from the Te Wairua Amenitu aera. It is the camp site when you cross the bridge, theres is a toilet on - the right hand, and on the left is the trail - a bit purley marked, but you can find it. :)
We camped at the hot water beach for the night - Booking is essetial (10NZD a night) and is done online on: http://www.whakarewarewa.com/Tarawera.html under enquiry. :)
The we took the water taxi home - we used Lake tarawera water taxi. http://ecotoursrotorua.co.nz/
We just phoned them (+64 7 362 8080) Or Within NZ (073628080) the day in advance, but this was of season we were two persons (August 2015) Even though - they still picked us up for 30NZD. Really neat - great service!
NOTE: This is an advanced trek - theres no water accessible and no cellphone coverage.. :)
Info on the Track (No booking required):
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/bay-of-plenty/places/lake-tarawera-scenic-reserve/things-to-do/tarawera-trail/
OBS - - IF you want to go to the Pools you need more time. :)
If you want to go there - you have to turn left and hike for about 30 minutes from the Te Wairua Amenitu aera. It is the camp site when you cross the bridge, theres is a toilet on - the right hand, and on the left is the trail - a bit purley marked, but you can find it. :)
We camped at the hot water beach for the night - Booking is essetial (10NZD a night) and is done online on: http://www.whakarewarewa.com/Tarawera.html under enquiry. :)
The we took the water taxi home - we used Lake tarawera water taxi. http://ecotoursrotorua.co.nz/
We just phoned them (+64 7 362 8080) Or Within NZ (073628080) the day in advance, but this was of season we were two persons (August 2015) Even though - they still picked us up for 30NZD. Really neat - great service!
NOTE: This is an advanced trek - theres no water accessible and no cellphone coverage.. :)
Info on the Track (No booking required):
http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/bay-of-plenty/places/lake-tarawera-scenic-reserve/things-to-do/tarawera-trail/
Written 23 August 2015
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.
WaverleyGK
London, UK56 contributions
Dec 2013 • Friends
Having visited Lake Tarawera my entire life, This place is great to bring friends to show them the magic that this area has to offer!
There is a place you can go via water taxi and a short walk through the bush you can come across a natural spa pool! Must go here if you are in the area!
There is a place you can go via water taxi and a short walk through the bush you can come across a natural spa pool! Must go here if you are in the area!
Written 18 November 2014
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.
Strickes
Rotorua District, New Zealand1,589 contributions
We occasionally take the boat over to Hot Water Beach. A great spot to camp (minimal fees), soak in hot water, swim, fish, ski, wakeboard etc.
Written 10 June 2012
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.
FlyingKiwi2012
Tauranga, New Zealand9 contributions
Apr 2012
This was a great experience, particularly if you have kids as the water is pretty bloody hot at the source and pretty cold as soon as it disperses.
Stunning part of NZ to see.
Stunning part of NZ to see.
Written 27 May 2012
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.
Sue C
Rotorua, New Zealand134 contributions
Jun 2016 • Family
I went to Hot Water Beach with a small group of friends on the water taxi, which cost $25 pp. You drive to Tarawera Landing, and park. The water taxi leaves from there, crosses Lake Tarawera, and drops you at the hot water beach. It is just hot springs coming up in the sandy edge of the lake. Some people rough camp there overnight. Then you walk back, about a four - five hour walk along the track, returning to the Landing where you started. Very relaxing, unspoilt, and natural. Make sure not to leave valuables in your car. If planning to camp, I suggest you park at the previous car-park on the town side of the Buried Village, which has security cameras.
Written 22 June 2016
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.
How long does it take to kayak to hot water beach from landing or solitaire lodge?
Written 7 November 2017
Hi, I'm definitely interested in this hike. My cousin and I were looking to do it Friday, Nov. 17th. Can you give me a price estimate? We would like to do the hike, swim in the hot springs and take a water taxi back to the starting point.
Thank you for your assistance.
Tonga
Written 6 November 2017
The hike and hot springs are free. The water taxi is $30 per person and must be pre booked.
Written 26 September 2019
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