Rotorua is a North Island “holiday playground extraordinaire”, with a huge variety of places to go, places to eat, and places to stay, catering for all family ages and stages. You can easily spend a day, a weekend, or a week exploring this exciting geothermal wonderland – “Nature’s Spa of the South Pacific”.
Getting There
Rotorua is centrally located in the North Island, a comfortable drive from most North Island towns and cities – about 230km from Auckland, 108km from Hamilton, 223km from Napier, and 460km from Wellington.
South Islanders have the option of driving (remember to book the Ferry across Cook Strait!) or flying (with direct daily flights out of Queenstown and Christchurch). If you fly, then you’ll need to consider hireage of either a car or campervan to get around the Rotorua district.
When should we go?
Rotorua is a tourism and event/convention “hot spot”, so we recommend that you plan and BOOK AHEAD for accommodation (and your preferred restaurants) in order to avoid disappointment.
The Rotorua climate is temperate, and is situated at 290m above sea level on the volcanic plateau, resulting in summer temperatures of 20-27oC and winter temperatures of 10-12oC. There is relatively less wind in Rotorua than in the rest of the North Island, while rainfall is evenly spread across the year.
Whether you are into walks, swims, adrenalin-pumping action, sightseeing, a combination of many different activities, or a family day out Rotorua has so much to offer for family fun and adventure.
We’ve separated “the Rotorua trip” into 3 articles:
Places to Go — a huge variety of attractions or things to do in and around Rotorua
Places to Eat — restaurants, cafes, some with entertainment
Places to Stay — accommodation for different budgets and lifestyles
