We engaged a condo on the banks of Lake Taupo for a week…read more Enjoyed this magical area As we planned our New Zealand holiday, it was a no brainer to engage the condo as a base for touring the area Would do again...

This was my second trip around Lake Taupo and without a doubt, both times, one of the prettiest…read moreparts of the North Island drive. This community area is stunning with beautiful lakeside hotels and Airbnb's, fantastic restaurants, and tons of available activities. Mostly what I enjoyed was strolling around the lake edge and admiring the view, but there's actually a lot more options if you have time. There's several companies offering water sports and lake activities, great locations for picnics, and several miles of hiking all around the region. The husband and I were here at the end of winter so we settled with admiring the gorgeous sunset while driving into town and stopping by the lake side and a few vista points before leaving. If you have time, definitely stop by and at least enjoy the view, or better yet actually plan to spend a few days here if you can.

This is the best free thing we did in New Zealand. Its a natural hot water river, creek, stream,…read moreor whatever you want to call it. Jump in and chill. Get a free massage from the waterfall or strong current. My only mistake was not bringing some beer and wine. Otherwise its wonderful! It sure beats paying $15-25NZ for one of the spas. It does require about a 20 minute drive south of Rotorua, a short drive on a gravel road(1km?), and a very short walk from the impromptu parking lot. Its so worth it!

An enchanting natural hot spring water fall. Short hike through beautiful wooded area next to the…read morestream and small water falls along the way. The waterfall is nestled in a cozy wooded open area. Sit and enjoy the water rushing around you at the top of the water fall area, or climb down into the warm/hot water below. It is hot at first, hotter than the reviews I read. You can walk up to the water fall at the bottom, but be careful it does dip down and the soft dirt below does not give you much grip to hold your balance. This is a magical beautiful place not to be missed. As you drive onto the dirt road you will see the green pool lake to your left and a small pull off to the right. Pull off and you will hear a rushing waterfall in the woods. You can hoist yourself up the trail not too bad of a climb and come to a small waterfall area with a plank. It is not hot, this is a cool one we did not swim in. Further down the road is Wai-O-Tapu hot spring, but decided not to wade in it because of the warning sign, see pic in review.

An amazing experience I will never forget! The whole process from registration to jump was super…read moresmooth, and all the staff were amazing and very professional. The jump comes with free photos and videos, which turned out great. You also get a free shirt at the end.

The staff was phenomenal! They knew it was my first jump as a celebration of my 50th birthday and…read morethey went out of their way to make me feel at ease and ensure that I enjoyed myself. I had so much fun that by the time I finished the walk back up my wife had already arranged for my 2nd jump They were amazing and I can't wait to come back again!

Steam holes, and one bubbling mud steam pool... Yes and a very nice nature stop…read more Visitor will encounter other similar locations, and we recommend a visit here

Get back in your car and go to Wai-O-Tapo Thermal Park near Rotorua instead. Seriously, this place…read morewas such a disappointment. There's a gravel path, sometimes a wooden path, and some steam vents. A "mud pool" that is as dry as a bone. There is absolutely no shade, and it takes about 45 minutes to walk around the short loop. I wish we'd turned back after 10 minutes cos it didn't get any better. Wai-O-Tapu has spectacular vents, mud pools, incredibly colored water. Just so much better than this. It's only $8 to get in this place, but in my opinion it's just not even worth that. Don't say I didn't warn you!

This was my first time skydiving, and I had an amazing experience. All the staff were very friendly…read moreand professional, and made me feel extremely safe. I did the 12,000 feer jump and also bought the cheapest photo option, which was well worth it. My instructor took a ton of photos with the selfie cam throughout the entire process and they turned out way better than I was anticipating. They also offer a few bundle packages with other nearby activities, which I wish I had seen before I had already done the bungy jump. Thank you Taupo Tandem Skydiving for an unforgettable experience!

The skydiving experience here was absolutely amazing. My buddy and I bought the bundle so we were…read moreable to get skydiving, bungee jumping and the drop swing. The price for this package was well worth it and skydiving here was insanely beautiful. We did the 15,000 foot jump on that a marvelous time. The instructor and the camera girl we're both very cool and personable. They made the process very smooth and easy. I have jumped once before this but it had been some time and it was certainly a memorable second. Everything about this was absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend this to anyone. The only reason I am leaving a four-star is because the process of getting your pictures and videos is horrible. I didn't receive these automatically as I was told. After a week I reached out and had to request these things that unpaid for. Upon receiving them it's taken significant amount of time and effort to extract any of the media. You can't simply download the stuff on your phone and you have to instead upload it to a computer and try and get it transferred over to your phone. I probably wouldn't recommend others getting the media package as it is way more work than it's worth. I have an iPhone 13 pro so this shouldn't have been an issue.

Looking for an alternative near taupo for rafting, i found this company. My original plan to raft…read morethe kaituna river got disrupted due to 'flood gates opening' to prevent flooding. What i liked: - easy to find (next to hw1) - good amount of rapids (grade 1-3) - friendly staff - good material - good safety instructions What i missed: - a shower at the end. There are only changing facilities Even though i missed the kaituna waterfall drop, this was real fun to do. Especially when it rains, rafting is a great activity to do. There are options for normal rafting, or family rafting. I took the normal rafting... Which includes more complex rapids and surely getting wet.

I highly recommend you go rafting with this group. The guides know the ins and outs of the river,…read moreknow where to go are very experienced in case you get in any trouble. They are very personable and make your trip worthwhile. It is not a very big operation, so you are assured of getting personal attention, and they go out of their way to ensure a fantastic experience. The ride itself is about 2 hours on a beautiful part of the river. These folks love what they do and it shows. Excellent value for the money. I had to cancel and rebook the trip and got my refund very quickly.

Wonderful, relaxing setting. A variety of pools ranging from 37-41C. Some are covered which…read moreprovided coverage from sun and rain. Clean and well maintained. Take the walk up to the spring to see where the hot water starts. Another tip: do buy a piece of the carrot cake to go. Make on site and delicious! Enjoy!

This is a wonderful facility with well-maintained hot pools, situated right next to the hot spring…read morewith the largest discharge of boiling water in New Zealand. Service there was excellent too. Staff are friendly. The iced chocolate is delightful. The private pool option is worth trying as well.

Had a great time! Laura was a terrific guide and told us lots of local legends/stories. Kayaks were…read moreeasy to navigate and the small group made it quite fun. Rock carvings and little bays were quite amazing. Coffee and mince pies were a nice treat.