The Complete Travel Guide to Tauranga

Home to New Zealand's top-rated beach, kiwifruit farms, glow worms, street art, and a lot more, the region is aptly named the Bay of Plenty. Whether you are trying to relax or for some excitement, you will discover plenty of fun things to accomplish in Tauranga (the largest city), Mount Maunganui (coastal beach town), and the surrounding region.

It is really a local's playground, a week-end getaway for other New Zealanders, a key cruise port, and a haven for international visitors.

Unlike cruise visitors, we'd several days to explore. While our personal goal was a little relaxation, we couldn't resist many unique and fun things to complete in Tauranga and the surrounding area.


Things to accomplish in Mount Maunganui
With so many things to do in Tauranga and in Mount Maunganui, we opted to begin with the icon – the extinct volcano rising up from sea level, that is both a sacred mountain to the Māori people and the entrance to Tauranga Harbour.

Hike up Mount Maunganui or walk around the base
The extinct volcano's Māori name is Mauao, which means “caught by the dawn.” Rising 230 metres above sea level, Mount Maunganui's coastal views from the summit track are unforgettable.

As a result of random turn of events, we didn't ensure it is to the most truly effective and had to reverse about midway up. To that time, the walk was steadily uphill but not too steep. It's a popular walk that is now labelled “the best” by one of many Game of Thrones stars.

If climbing Mount Maunganui isn't your thing, another popular track is the 3.4-kilometre path round the volcano's base.


Begin to see the blowhole on Leisure Island
Moturiki (Leisure Island) is really a tiny island accessible with a manmade land bridge from Mount Maunganui Beach. You can see the island in the photos above. The blowhole shoots seawater up at high tide on days with wild surf.

We visited on a calm day, so despite the proper timing, there was no splash. However, the island has a beautiful nature walk, offering plenty of rock pools and endless views.

Fun things to do in Tauranga
Tauranga is the greatest city in the Bay of Plenty. Tauranga harbour welcomes nearly a quarter-million cruise ship visitors annually, and the port of Tauranga is currently the greatest cruise port destination in New Zealand, and consistently voted the favourite.