Day One
Check into your accommodation (we suggest booking the family studio unit at Aura Accommodation, conveniently located along the edge of town, or All Seasons Holiday Park which was just voted New Zealand’s Most Hospitable holiday park) and leave the baggage behind, both literally and metaphorically. You’re on Rotorua time now which means fun, nature, hot pools and more await.
Grab your swim gear and head to ZORB to zoom down the side of Mt Ngongotaha in a clear, giant, inflated ball. ZORBs can fit up to three people and you’ve got four tracks to try!
Head down the road just a bit to Skyline Rotorua where a Gondola ride takes you up the side of Mt Ngongotaha so you and the family can race downhill on a Rotorua invention called the Luge. There’s also the Skyswing, Zoom Ziplines, Jelly Belly Museum and more. Fill hungry tummies up there at Market Kitchen Café or the award-winning buffet at Stratosfare Restaurant and Bar. Parents can duck into Volcanic Hills Winery to enjoy a wine tasting with an amazing view of Lake Rotorua and the city while the kids go for another Luge.
There’s no need to leave the city to check out a natural boiling, bubbling and steaming geothermal park. Just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre, you’ll find Kuirau Park, New Zealand’s only geothermal public park. It’s free to visit and a great place to play and picnic, with barbecues, picnic tables, children’s playground and toilets available. Make time to treat your feet in a thermally heated foot bath.
When it comes time for dinner, there’s a high chance you’ll find something for everyone in one spot called Eat Streat. This covered, colourful and thermally heated dining block offers about a dozen eateries, plus the best ice cream parlour in town, Lady Janes.
Rotorua has more than its fair share of restaurants and cafes to choose from.
Back at the hotel, be sure to hang your swim gear out to dry because you’ll need it tomorrow.
Day Two
Eggs bene, Belgium waffles, big Kiwi breakfasts and more from Arts Village Café (also known as AVC) will start your day right. While you wait for brekky to be served, send the kids out back to run around the lush lawns while you peruse the art-covered walls.Freshly made cabinet foods are equally tasty if you’ve had a wee sleep-in and need to get moving.
Head over to Rotorua Duck Tours for a super-fun family-friendly tour via New Zealand’s only WWII amphibian vehicle that takes you over land and splashing down into lakes to see and learn about some of Rotorua’s most spectacular scenery. Duck Tours’ guides have a certain knack for making history and geography fun, too, keeping everyone entertained.
If cruising ON the water whets your appetite for getting IN the water, this is where your togs will be in play again at Polynesian Spa. Here, in the centre of town several hot pools await, including a family pool where the kids can make a splash of their own.
Visiting the beautiful Whakarewarewa Forest is a must-do. Also known as “the Redwoods”, this 55,000 hectare public park is known for the network of world-class walking and mountain biking tracks among magnificent, towering Californian redwoods (as tall as 75 metres!) and other species. Two shorter walking tracks are wheelchair and pushchair/stroller accessible. All walks are clearly sign posted and the forest is always free to visit.
Leave the booking to us! If you’d like assistance with booking your accommodation and/or activities, or have any questions, our travel experts at i-SITE Visitor Information Centre are happy to help. Just ring 0800 474 830 (0800 iSITE0) or click here.
