Rotorua Based Small Group Morning Tour Waimangu And Wai O Tapu

It was a great tour, beautiful and ethereal scenery. Clive was a fantastic guide and he was extremely knowledgeable.

Whether you’re a solo traveller or a couple this your is for you! Our tour guide was truly amazing and made everyone welcome Being a small group you make friends from all over the world. The fauna information Shaun gave us was excellent I would recommend this tour to everyone Well done

Excellent experience. The driver/guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. The tour was very well organized.

It is a half day tour. Time is tight. But the tour guide covered all three places. The history was well explained and we were taken good care during our tour.

Wai-O-Tapu and Waimangu are absolute beautiful!!! A must-see. Lady-Knox-Geysir is fake, they put soap in to make the eruption. No support for this. Could have stayed much longer in the parks and enjoy beautiful nature. Please offer at more time at the spots to enjoy. I know the guides saw this for 1000x.

Shout to Phil for being an awesome tour guide! He was very friendly and gave us a lot of cool info about Waiotapu and Waimangu! He was on time to pick us up, and greeted us from our hotel lobby! Phil was very passionate when he spoke about Waimangu since he worked there before. We got back on time! I would say eat breakfast since it’s a short tour; there is not much time to eat lunch. Overall 5 out of 5 stars! Thank you Phil!

Very good tour with excellent guide! Clive our guide is knowledgeable and experienced. He filled us with lots of information along the way and he likes to decorate it with some jokes. The tour is really interesting, we saw many sceneries related to the volcanic activities. Although the weather was not too friendly (occasionally rains and chilly winds), but the spirit of the group and the beauty of nature made the tour very satisfying. Recommend to bring raincoat or wind breaker no matter what because the weather changes all of a sudden without hints. I was told to wait at 8am but the minibus came around 8:25am, so if you received the confirmation of your booking, don’t worry and relax, the minibus will eventually come.

Great tour, guide is helpful, and Waimangu is so pretty.

Great way to see a lot in a short amount of time! Definitely recommend if your time in Rotorua is limited. Our local guide Clive was knowledgeable, friendly and punctual.

Had a fantastic time on this trip - our guide Shaun was fantastic and so knowledgeable. Highly recommend.

We had a wonderful time hiking and exploring the amazing geothermal areas. Phil was an amazing guide - funny and insightful - providing us a lot of great information and recommendations.

The locations are absolutely stunning and best enjoyed without rushing. If you have the time, I highly recommend booking a full-day experience to truly take it all in and make the most of your visit.

Our travel guide, Phil, was fantastic. He picked us up from the meeting place right on time. Throughout the drive to each spot, he kept up an informative and interesting dialogue, providing history of New Zealand and recommendations of other places to visit in New Zealand. During each walking tour, he provided more information but was also quiet so we could enjoy the peacefulness of each site. I felt well-supported as he seemed to sincerely care that we were all getting what we needed. It was an excellent tour!

Wow, this place is amazing, despite the strong rotten egg smell , lol! Clive is a great guide and provided information about lots of interesting things.

Was a fantastic experience even though it was very foggy. tour guide very informative and friendly. Would recommend

We had a wonderful time. Clive was very knowledgeable and friendly. He took the time to explain things and interacted with the kids. Would recommend the tour and Clive the tour guide

This tour is an absolute blast! These thermal hot springs are amazing! The guide(s) are very knowledgeable and friendly. You'll get a lot of natural beauty out of this excursion you can't get anywhere else in the world. Highly worth it!

The tour guide was really nice and took care of all of us. The group was relatively small therefore quite comfortable. Highly recommended

Great trip. Very fun and informative, and the guide was knowledgeable. Would recommend to anyone visiting Rotorua!

Had a great time visiting Waiotapu and Waimangu. Our guide Clive was very knowledgeable about all things geothermal and plants. The lady Knox geyser presentation was also very cool. The champagne lake was unfortunately covered in steam due to the cold weather but was nice nonetheless. Would recommend.

It was amazing. A nice walk to the lakes and bus to take you back up the hill. Incredible views and information

Nicely paced tour. Appreciate that it wasn't cancelled when there was only one participant. So a private tour for me. Clive was a very informative guide.

Guides Shaun and Phil were amazing. Sights were fantastic! Small group made this tour worthwhile. Highly recommend.

Great local knowledge of the area. The personal pride they have is amazing. As a local coming back its wonderful.

Phil was an excellent guide and so knowledgeable about all the sites we visited! I’d recommend the entire tour as each facet was so different from the others. I must say I was somewhat disappointed in the geyser experience due to the fact it must be ‘fed’ soap flakes to cause it to erupt rather than being a natural eruption; but, at least everyone gets to see an actual geyser. Since this part only took like 15-20 minutes it was fine.

Fantastic way to experience the special landscape surrounding Rotorua.

Phil our guide is great, the tour was amazing. He's sharing a lot about the culture, and history. But it felt like the tour was rushed.

Great small group tour. Phil was an exceptional guide telling stories about history of the thermal pools. Highly recommend!

For those who want a thermal spring experience it is exhaustive of the region and well laid out and managed. Lady Knox seemed a little contrived and the description turned ot a little misleading as it is set at a specific time by human intervention. The tour guide was excellent and very informative.

Thank you Elite Adventures for a brilliant tour. Highly recommend these guys. Shaun was an excellent tour guide and extremely knowledgeable with a fab sense of humour! Thanks Shaun for making it a great day

It was a great tour! Guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. We got some great pictures. I would definitely recommend!

Fantastic trip! Both of the sites were super interesting. Our guide, Shaun, was extremely well informed so we learned a lot about the geothermal and volcanic features, plants, and quite a bit about Maori culture. Wouldn’t change a thing!

Lots of interesting sights. Shaun was excellent! He gave us a lot of interesting information. Be prepared for a lot of walking.

Our guide, Clive was good and knowledgeable, but we were not overly impressed by the three locations. All were good…but not great…maybe we have been spoiled by having visited Yellowstone National Park in USA.

Our tour guide on 8/03/2026 (Shawn if I remember his name correctly) is very knowledgeable. He took care of us well, shared a lot of information. My son and I had a great tour. We recommended our friends to book this tour when they come to Rotorua

A great and fabulous trip. Our guide Shaun was so informative and offered so much background about these areas enhancing the whole experience. We both really enjoyed the tour and were so pleased we took it as would otherwise have missed so much.

Fantastic tour, very well organized. We got to see everything at these great sites in a way that didn't feel rushed. Our tour guide Clive was awesome. I definitely recommend it!

Big thanks to Phil our guide, gave us a superb guided tour of the Eco Thermal Park. Timings all to plan and we now know far more about this neck of NZ, Phil knows his onions (as we say in the UK) 😁

A very well-organized small group tour covering Wai-O-Tapu, Lady Knox Geyser, and Waimangu Valley. Each stop was unique, with incredible geothermal landscapes and plenty of time to explore without feeling rushed. The Lady Knox eruption was a highlight, and Waimangu’s scenery felt truly otherworldly. Transport was smooth, timing was perfect, and the small group size made the experience relaxed and enjoyable. Highly recommended if you want an efficient and memorable overview of Rotorua’s geothermal sites.

This should not be missed! We saw some excellent geothermal sights, went on a beautiful hike (downhill with a return bus ride- yeah!) through a lush green forest, which would have been scenic enough even without the geothermal pools but that just made it so interesting! We saw geysers and colorful pools, heard about the fascinating volcanic and geothermal disasters that have occurred, and got outstanding commentary from our tourguide throughout. It was entertaining even for the kids on the tour. Also great that he got us to see the once daily geyser event without having to stick around to battle crowds- it was timed and coordinated perfectly. If you are coming to Rotorua you have to come on this tour!

Fun and educational exploration of Rotorua's volcanic and geothermal zone. Clint was extremely knowledgeable and infused local culture and humor into the experience. Great local food recommends too!

Great geothermal experience led by Shaun who has a background in geology. Everything was well explained. Also included was a visit to a rain forest

Such a wonderful experience! Clive was a fantastic guide, knowledgeable, charismatic and the insider knowledge on a busy Saturday really paid off. Would thoroughly recommend!

What an amazing day! Phil, our tour guide, was so good, very knowledgeable and interesting commentary. The scenery is just stunning. Really enjoyed this trip and would highly recommend 😁

Phil was a great driver/guide. We had three distinct activities. Each was great. Phil’s knowledge was huge and he shared it freeway.

Terrific tour! We learned a lot and laughed a lot with Clint, who gave us so much info about this country and this unique part of the world. Highly recommend!

This is a great informative tour. Our guide, Cliint, was very knowledgeable about the history, maori language and culture, geology and botany of the area. This is definitely a worthwhile tour.

Take an umbrella in case of rain. Was a fantastic morning, beautiful park and great guide. Sturdy sandals/ shoes would be helpful. Absolutely stunning geothermal park

Absolutely fantastic experience even in the rain. The guide was superb went at a steady pace and enough explanation for everyone to be included. Was a wonderful morning in Rotorua for us so thank you!