The 5 Best Tauranga Shore Excursions

1.Tauranga Shore Excursion: Rotorua Highlights

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 427 reviews · from $152Our pick

Travel from Tauranga to Rotorua for geothermal wonders at Whakarewarewa, a Māori village welcome and performance, Pohutu Geyser, kiwi tasting, redwoods, Government Gardens, and Kaituna Falls. Guides such as Stephen and Rolf provide commentary. Lunch is at your own expense.

“This was a tour of an authentic Mauri village built over hot springs and geysers. Twenty five families still live here. Tour was led by a Mauri resident and the performance was great. The Pohutu geyser fully erupted. We even got to taste ears of corn cooked in a boiling pool. Tour also included a visit to a kiwi fruit orchard with tasting, a stop at the Whakarewsrewa Forest, government gardens, and Kaituna Falls. The tour began at the ship’s port and our guide was very careful to watch the time all day in order to get us back to the ship in plenty of time.”

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2.6.5 hour Small-Group Rotorua Naturally Shore Excursion – Tauranga

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 283 reviews · from $135

From Tauranga, you’ll ride with a local guide such as Simon, Richie, or Alistair to Rotorua for bubbling mud pools, steaming lakes, a geothermal foot bath, a Māori village stop, glow worms, and the Redwoods Treewalk. The small group is limited to 20 people.

“This is a tour to Rotorua where you will see some hot steaming lakes and can put your feet in hot spring water. Then there is a short visit to a Maori village where a lunch is offered, which consisted of a stuffed filo dough hot pocket. After that there is a visit to a canopy walk between redwoods. We found that the highlight of the tour. Quality of the guide was good and the bus was new, though very tight for the knees at some seats.”

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3.Hobbiton Movie Set Shore Excursion from Tauranga (6 Hours)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 267 reviews · from $198Top rated

Travel from Tauranga through Mount Maunganui, the Kaimai hills, and Waikato farmland to Hobbiton. A local driver such as Gary, Grant, or Isabel provides commentary before a Hobbiton guide leads the 2.5-hour visit, including a furnished Hobbit home and a drink at the Green Dragon.

“We booked a Hobbiton tour independent of our cruise ship and couldn’t have been happier with the experience. From the beginning, the instructions were clear, simple, and easy to follow, which made getting to and from the tour completely stress-free. Our guide was excellent — informative, organised, and very clear about how the tour would run at every step along the way. We always knew exactly what was happening, which was especially reassuring when coordinating around cruise timings. Hobbiton itself was a true bucket-list experience for me, and it absolutely lived up to expectations. We were lucky to have beautiful weather, which made the setting even more magical. A special…”

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4.Tauranga Shore Excursion: Top Half Day Curated Highlights Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 152 reviews · from $69Best value

From Mount Maunganui, ride with guides such as Jan, Terry, Duncan, or Stephen through Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty. Walk in McLaren Falls Park, taste kiwi fruit and manuka honey, enjoy a cafe muffin and hot drink, take in Minden Lookout, and finish with hokey pokey ice cream.

“We had a fantastic day. Our tour guide Stephen was very friendly and gave us a very informative commentary. I would highly recommend this excursion.”

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5.Kiwifruit Destination and Sights Shore Excursion

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 69 reviews · 4 hours · from $74

Meet near the Port of Tauranga for a four-hour small-group tour led by guides such as Stephen, Alan, or Dave. Visit a private organic kiwifruit and avocado orchard, McLaren Falls Park, Mount Maunganui, and Tauranga Historic Village, with bottled water and homemade-style refreshments included.

“Stephen was very informative and spent the tour with us. We didn’t feel like we were on a timer which you sometimes do on other tours. They were only us on the tour so again felt very special. Would definitely recommend this tour”

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