Tauranga Activities & Tours

Things to do in Tauranga New Zealand - Tours Activities

In the heart of the Bay of Plenty, Tauranga is booming, and it’s not hard to see why. The huge natural harbour ensures it is a thriving community, being NZ’s busiest port attests to that. But when you combine this with an unbroken 20km stretch of golden beach with good surf and the revitalised waterfront and marina that is now packed with bars and restaurants you start to realise why Kiwis flock here for their summer holidays. Just over the way at the northern tip of the ocean beach is Mount Maunganui, an extinct volcano that is a marker from all parts of the Bay of Plenty. A hike to the top will reward you with incredible views of the town, the harbour and Matakana Island.

While the sea and all the usual activities that go along with are reason enough to visit Tauranga, perhaps the standout is the unique chance to go kayaking just after dark along a canyon lit up with glow worms off Lake McLaren.

Not far south is the sleepy hollow of Whakatane, which is a good base to hop aboard a cruise to the stunning White Island, one of the few accessible active volcanoes in the world. Aside from the stunning shows nature puts on with jets of steam and ash spewing forth and the constantly changing landscape, White Island is world renowned as one of the premier diving locations anywhere. Uninhabited since 1934 for obvious reasons (apart from thousands of grey faced petrels and gannets), you can only get on to the island on a guided cruise, and when the seismologists are assured there’s nothing about to go boom.