Top 6 Māori Cultural Tours in Tauranga

1.Rotorua Geothermal Living Maori Village Tour Whakarewarewa 6.5hours Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 145 reviews · from $166Our pick

Travel from Tauranga to Rotorua in a small air-conditioned vehicle, then tour Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village with a local guide. See geothermal cooking, steaming pools, and Pohutu geyser, enjoy a hangi-style lunch and 30-minute performance, and return via Rotorua, Te Puke, and Mount Maunganui.

“This was a wonderful tour, a long drive to the village but well worth it. Jack was full of information about the area and fun to be with. Excellent driver as well.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Tauranga Private Excursion: Rotorua -Te Puia-Geysers & Kiwi’s

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 115 reviews

Travel privately from Tauranga to Rotorua with a driver-guide such as Josh, Jan, Steve, or Marina. Visit Te Puia, Pohutu Geyser, the kiwi house, Kuirau Park, Government Gardens, Okere Falls, and Paengaroa’s kiwifruit country in about seven hours.

“We enjoyed our trip to many beautiful sights. Rotorua is beautiful. The geysers, rivers, and the Cutural Center were awesome! We saw many other sights too!!! Are guide was very knowledgeable!”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Rotorua via Kiwi/lakes country & a visit to iconic Whakarewarewa

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 66 reviews · from $182

Travel from Tauranga to Rotorua with a local guide such as Toby, Steve, Kerry, or Terry. Visit Whakarewarewa, watch Māori performance, see hot pools and Pohutu Geyser, sample kiwi fruit, walk through forest, and photograph Rotorua’s lakes before returning to your ship.

“Although cruise ships also sell shore excursions for some of the same places individuals can go on their own, it is so much better (and far cheaper) to book tours independently. This was definitely the case as Kerry shuttled we two couples around in the very comfortable, roomy Arrow Tours late model, mini coach. We did not have to wait in long lines to get on or off a bus, we were able to quickly ask questions to Kerry as he drove and narrated our tour. He individualized our tour also once he found out two of us were school teachers and had an interest in local education and the…”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Rotorua Discovery Te Puia Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 21 reviews · from $166

From Tauranga, you’ll visit Te Puia’s geothermal valley, watch a Māori cultural performance, see a native kiwi, tour Rotorua, and pass Mount Maunganui and Te Puke. Guides including John, Brian, Alistair, Charlie, Graeme, and Graham lead small groups of up to 20.

“To me, the most important part of going on this tour was to see the geysers. But after going on their guided tour and hearing all about Maori we only got less than 15 minutes to walk through the whole geyser area. That was completely insufficient and so disappointing.”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Rotorua Redwoods Tour & Maori Village Experience

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 8 reviews · 7 hours · from $209Top rated

Travel from Tauranga to Rotorua in a small group with an English-speaking guide, stopping at Mount Maunganui and a kiwifruit orchard before the Redwood Canopy Treewalk and Whakarewarewa Maori Living Village. Expect thermal pools, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest geyser, a hangi lunch, and a cultural performance.

“The suspended walk through the redwoods was amazing! The village experience was full of wonderful images of the setting and people”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Te Puia Maori Village and Rejuvenation Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 5 reviews · 8 hours

Travel from Tauranga to Rotorua in a leather-seated Mercedes with an English-speaking guide, stopping at a kiwifruit orchard before Te Puia's geysers, Maori culture, and kiwi enclosure. Finish with Deluxe Lake Spa bathing at Polynesian Spa, snacks, water, and optional Wi-Fi.

“We had a lovely day tour with Stephen. It was good to be with a small group of 11 in a very comfortable van. The Maori center with walks to the geysers was great. I would recommend the option of having an hour at Polynesian Spa. It is pricey but worth it!”

Check availability →Read our full review