How far from Auckland is Rotorua...and

[padiho]

Wonder if someone can help by telling me how far it is from the port of Auckland to Rotorua? We will be on Aurora in February 2008 but don't really want to take their tour. If we hired a car, approximately how long does it take ?...Also if we decide against doing this trip (know we won't have time to squeeze in two trips in one day) can anyone suggest a good tour where my hubby can get to see and learn about the Moari culture?

Many thanks

[mipps]

The whole time I lived in Rotorua ... I never drove to Auckland

 

The trusty AA website tells me its 3 hours and 20 minutes and its 234KM

http://www.aa.co.nz (distance calculators at the bottom of the page)

 

If that is too far someone made the suggestion of Auckland Museum for Maori show ... one of the locals like KiwiKruzer might have more info

 

:)

[kaseyoz]

does your cruise stop at tauranga as that is an easy drive to rotorua

[roscoe39]

mipps is quite correct in that the Auckland War Memorial Museum has a great Maori cultural display and history. Its a great way to speand some time., Rotorua is about 2.5 hours drive from Auckland, depeanding of course on how fast or leasurly you like to drive.it covers some great scenery but if your ship docks at Tauranga I would take it as the better option from which to go to Rotorua and use your Auckland time to explore one of the Pacifics great cities...

[Aquarians]

Wonder if someone can help by telling me how far it is from the port of Auckland to Rotorua? We will be on Aurora in February 2008 but don't really want to take their tour. If we hired a car, approximately how long does it take ?...Also if we decide against doing this trip (know we won't have time to squeeze in two trips in one day) can anyone suggest a good tour where my hubby can get to see and learn about the Moari culture?

Many thanks

Kia ora ki a Rotorua,

We live in Rotorua, having lived in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington & Dunedin. Of them all I would say that Rotorua is the 'must see'. From the wharf I would allow about 3 hours to drive to Rotorua, remembering that we drive on the left. In Rotorua you experience Maori culture as it is lived, rather than in a museum or artificial setting. There is the added bonus of the unique thermal areas and lakes which are part of the area. However, if your ship calls at Tauranga it is less than an hours drive from the port.

Email me if I can help further at burkinshaws@clear.net.ns

Aquarians

[padiho]

Thanks very much.... thats really helpful...unfortunately Auckland is the only port in NZ that we are stopping at but the trip ticks all the boxes so this tour is a must do...Thanks again

[threeedogmedia]

Kia ora ki a Rotorua,

We live in Rotorua, having lived in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington & Dunedin. Of them all I would say that Rotorua is the 'must see'. From the wharf I would allow about 3 hours to drive to Rotorua, remembering that we drive on the left. In Rotorua you experience Maori culture as it is lived, rather than in a museum or artificial setting. There is the added bonus of the unique thermal areas and lakes which are part of the area. However, if your ship calls at Tauranga it is less than an hours drive from the port.

Email me if I can help further at burkinshaws@clear.net.ns

Aquarians

 

 

Four of us will be traveling via rental car from Auckland to ? before our cruise. We have from Jan 20 a.m - mid day Jan 23rd to drive around. We plan to spend the night where ever we end up. We are getting conflicting information from our many friends who travel there frequently. Some say go north from Auckland and others say go south as far as Taupo. Would you be able to give us another opinion of must see's in the area? We will be in Auckland on the 18th & 19th but wanted to drive away from the city on the other days. We're planning on making reservations at recommended hotels/lodges for this side trip. Any advise on great lodging would also be appreciated. We're all pretty active in our 50's and 60's. Oceania will make a stop in Tauranga the day after we depart on the 24th so I would imagine that we don't need to visit that city twice.

 

Thank you in advance for what ever information you can provide.

 

Karen

[Chivalrygirl]

Karen, just remember one thing, it is the very middle of our summer holidays, its the busiest time of the year for accommodation and the price goes up accordingly for this high season. Everything will probably be super booked out, so I would recommend whatever you decide to do, and only you guys can decide on that one, make sure you have reservations in place. You could very well find yourselves caught short if you plan to end up where ever at this time of the year.

 

Enjoy your time in the "Land of the Long White Cloud", it is very beautiful and decisions are always difficult for tourists with a limited time frame. We sailed down from Vancouver last September on the Statendam and made great friends with two Canadians from Ontario, who then proceeded to travel from Auckland down to the far South for 21 days, we were speaking on the phone yesterday and she was still lamenting that they just did not have enough time to do this land justice!

 

Val

[Chivalrygirl]

Thanks very much.... thats really helpful...unfortunately Auckland is the only port in NZ that we are stopping at but the trip ticks all the boxes so this tour is a must do...Thanks again

 

I think if you really intend to do Rotorua from Auckland you maybe should consider a ships excursion, its not just down the road, the traffic is going to be at its peak at this time of the year, we do not have big long motorways like large population countries, the road to Rotorua, is OK, but can very easily turn to bumper to bumper also. It could turn into a bloody nightmare for you all. At least you know this way the ship will wait for your return to port. Just thinking about doing it independantly makes my hair stand on end! I have dond enough port days to reflect how I would feel :eek:

 

Val

[Aquarians]

Four of us will be traveling via rental car from Auckland to ? before our cruise. We have from Jan 20 a.m - mid day Jan 23rd to drive around. We plan to spend the night where ever we end up. We are getting conflicting information from our many friends who travel there frequently. Some say go north from Auckland and others say go south as far as Taupo. Would you be able to give us another opinion of must see's in the area? We will be in Auckland on the 18th & 19th but wanted to drive away from the city on the other days. We're planning on making reservations at recommended hotels/lodges for this side trip. Any advise on great lodging would also be appreciated. We're all pretty active in our 50's and 60's. Oceania will make a stop in Tauranga the day after we depart on the 24th so I would imagine that we don't need to visit that city twice.

Kia ora,

Rotorua is the north island's real 'must see'. Nowhere else will you see geysers, boiling mud pools and hot water bubbling out of the ground over such a large area and Maori culture as it is lived. This is all combined with the surrounding mountains, lakes and forrests. As your cruise ship is visiting Tauranga you could take a tour from there to Rotorua as it is about an hours drive by bus, compared with three hours from Auckland. North of Auckland is the kauri forrest on the west coast and the Bay of Islands, with its' histoprical associations, on the East. The Bay of Islands is about three hours drive north of Auckland. if you did Rotorua from Auckland you could consider the Waitomo caves. Both routes traverse a cross section of NZ farms. A difficult decision. We have lived in all three areas and think that the Rotorua region warrants more than a days visit. You would then have time to include Taupo as well.

Ka kite ano

Aquarians

[threeedogmedia]

Thanks Aquarians. I had tried to email you directly but apparently your email address has changed. Thanks for the information. We now plan on at least two days in Rotorua and have considered a "swim with the dolphins" tour in Whakatane too. We found out that you really would be swimming with them in their environment rather than a pen or pool.

 

I'm looking at my options for places to stay while we're in Rotorua. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated. We would prefer a 3+ star facility in a good location. The list of things to do is really growing while there. We want to do the Agridome, Swim with the Dolphins, Skyline Skyrides, Hells Gate, Buried Village, Glow Worm Caves in Waitomo, and if we can manage to fit it in, a visit to Kiwi Fruit Country.

 

The only thing we haven't found is a dive tour for my husband. He really wanted to dive while we're in either New Zealand or Australia and the ship doesn't offer one in any port so we'll have to do this on our own while we have our extra days 3 1/2 days in New Zealand before the cruise.

 

Karen

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The only thing we haven't found is a dive tour for my husband. He really wanted to dive while we're in either New Zealand or Australia and the ship doesn't offer one in any port so we'll have to do this on our own while we have our extra days 3 1/2 days in New Zealand before the cruise.

Karen

 

I don't know too much about diving but here is a link to Goat Island,just north of Auckland, that may be worth checking out.

 

http://www.goatislanddive.co.nz/Goat_Island_Dive/Welcome_IDL=1_IDT=302_ID=1613_.html

 

If you are staying in Auckland it would be a full day trip as its about 1 1/2 hours drive away.

[Aquarians]

Thanks Aquarians. I had tried to email you directly but apparently your email address has changed. Thanks for the information. We now plan on at least two days in Rotorua and have considered a "swim with the dolphins" tour in Whakatane too. We found out that you really would be swimming with them in their environment rather than a pen or pool.

 

I'm looking at my options for places to stay while we're in Rotorua. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated. We would prefer a 3+ star facility in a good location. The list of things to do is really growing while there. We want to do the Agridome, Swim with the Dolphins, Skyline Skyrides, Hells Gate, Buried Village, Glow Worm Caves in Waitomo, and if we can manage to fit it in, a visit to Kiwi Fruit Country.

 

The only thing we haven't found is a dive tour for my husband. He really wanted to dive while we're in either New Zealand or Australia and the ship doesn't offer one in any port so we'll have to do this on our own while we have our extra days 3 1/2 days in New Zealand before the cruise.

 

Karen

 

Kia ora korua,

Sorry for email address. Looks like it was a slip of the finger - country code should read nz & not ns! The attractions you list in Rotorua are all popular & worth seeing. The Kiwifruit area is about half way between here & Tauranga so you may be able to leave that to the cruise.

There are a large number of places to stay & The bus tour groups help to fill the hotels. Motels, with self catering facilities are popular & breakfasts can usually be arranged if you don't 'self cater'. You may like to click on Rotorua accomodation & see what comes up. Email me if we can help.

We have cruised in the Mediterranean but have booked a Baltic cruise for next year.

Ka kite ano

Aquarians

[Jane110]

We stayed a the Princes Gate Hotel and liked it very much.

 

http://www.princesgate.co.nz/ataglance.html

[Chivalrygirl]

I don't know too much about diving but here is a link to Goat Island,just north of Auckland, that may be worth checking out.

 

http://www.goatislanddive.co.nz/Goat_Island_Dive/Welcome_IDL=1_IDT=302_ID=1613_.html

 

If you are staying in Auckland it would be a full day trip as its about 1 1/2 hours drive away.

 

My next door neighbour run the local dive shop and organise dive trips, give me a bell at patch@talk.co.nz if you are really interested, and we can see if we can organise something for you for Goat Island.

 

Val

[Aquarians]

Thanks Aquarians. I had tried to email you directly but apparently your email address has changed. Thanks for the information. We now plan on at least two days in Rotorua and have considered a "swim with the dolphins" tour in Whakatane too. We found out that you really would be swimming with them in their environment rather than a pen or pool.

 

I'm looking at my options for places to stay while we're in Rotorua. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated. We would prefer a 3+ star facility in a good location. The list of things to do is really growing while there. We want to do the Agridome, Swim with the Dolphins, Skyline Skyrides, Hells Gate, Buried Village, Glow Worm Caves in Waitomo, and if we can manage to fit it in, a visit to Kiwi Fruit Country.

 

The only thing we haven't found is a dive tour for my husband. He really wanted to dive while we're in either New Zealand or Australia and the ship doesn't offer one in any port so we'll have to do this on our own while we have our extra days 3 1/2 days in New Zealand before the cruise.

 

Karen

Kia ora korua,

Following on from my earlier reply, you may like to consider an alternative to hotel or motel accomodation. In NZ homestay/B&B in private homes is popular with visitors & offers a range from luxury to 'standard' and also has the advantage of staying with tangata whenua - a local.

The official website for Rotorua lists a variety of places to stay - just click on Rotorua New Zealand. Email us for further help or advice.

Ka kite ano

Aquarians

[susierailroad]

Goodda'

 

We'll be in Auckland in early March, 2008. Will it still be as crowded as it is in January/February? We'll have several days prior to boarding a cruise ship, so renting a car and visting Rotura and other not-too-distant areas is in our plans. Thanks for any info.

[Aquarians]

Goodda'

 

We'll be in Auckland in early March, 2008. Will it still be as crowded as it is in January/February? We'll have several days prior to boarding a cruise ship, so renting a car and visting Rotura and other not-too-distant areas is in our plans. Thanks for any info.

Kia ora korua,

No. March is out of the school holidays and in early March you could normally expect reasonable weather

Aquarians