Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland

I believe this is one of not simply the best hot pools park to see around Rotorua. Well organised facilities, excellent gift shop, smooth check in/ticketing. There are few clearly marked walks which are easy to navigate. One of the best views there and also most colourful one.

Stunning place to visit even on a cloudy/rainy day. The colours of the thermal pools are spectacular and you can get very close to all the pools from walkways and lookouts. I’d recommend doing all 3 walks to see everything because there are very few places like this in the world.

Arguably the best thermal place to visit. Entry price is $47 which is quite expensive. Only one look is available if you can’t claim/descend stairs. About 4km of trails. Good signage, different things to see, excellent facilities and a good cafe and gift store. The staff are lovely and friendly. Plenty of parking. The geyser goes off at 10:15am each day (man assisted). There’s also free hot pools you can swim in just down the road. About 30 mins from Rotorua. Suggest getting there when it opens because it’s very busy.

Wonderful walk with a gorgeous view, I highly recommend! I personally haven't seen anything like this before and because of the weather we didn't want to risk going to Hell's Gate and paying a lot of money, so this was a great option. We also enjoyed the hot pools and felt amazing afterwards. Bring your own towels or rent there

Terrific place to visit, and unlike anything I have ever experienced. This would make a perfect backdrop to a movie set because it seems out of this world. I recall seeing my dads super 8 film of these pools from the 60’s and dreamed of coming here since. Wasnt dissapointed.

Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland is worth visiting. The entry price was $47, which felt a little steep. The scenery feels otherworldly — vivid mineral colours, steaming vents, and lots of variety throughout the walk. The walking loops are easy to follow and well maintained. I went while most people were at the Lady Knox Geyser show which meant parking was super easy and I pretty much had the park almost to myself, which made the experience even better. One note: the geyser “show” is a scheduled, triggered demonstration where they use soap to activate the geyser (not a naturally-timed eruption), so it felt a bit less authentic/special to me, therefore I was perfectly fine not doing it.

Interesting and incredible views Some unbelievable landscapes Great staff, helpful and neat cafe Clear and well maintained walkways with good information about the place. Plenty of parking Got there early so few people 👍 Geyser was interesting, busy so no one checked stamps? Could do with a way of walking there rather than drive

We visited Wai-o-Tapu Thermal wonderland buying tickets when we arrived. We lined up to purchase tickets at the counter labelled tickets however when we got to the front of the line we had to then purchase tickets from iPads on the side. The ticket counter was just a check in counter. We then drove down to the Lady Knox Geyser from the main entrance and carpark. Noticing when we got there we could have actually bought tickets there. The Geyser viewing area was packed out some people were a little pushy. The Geyser experience was over within minutes after it had been helped to shoot up. It is important for people to realise that in order for this to go off it needed some human intervention, so whilst a naturally occurring phenomena in this situation it is operating under human influence. We drove back to the main area after and we were lucky to get a car park. It was very busy. Be prepared for strong smells when walking around the pools. Our kids (16 & 12) struggled with the smell. The pools were interesting though.

Drove by here, thinking we would be able to stop and look at it. Unfortunately, it's only open once a day for 30 minutes. There are no signs telling you that it's closed or open, which is highly disappointing. So, you don't know if it's open or not unless you talk to someone there at the park. We were told it's only open from 10 a.m to 10:30 a.m. I wish they could tell people beforehand what the status is. The staff was nice and helpful.

Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland is a must-visit place if you're on New Zealand's north island. The natural geothermal pools are stunning with their awesome colors and visible off-gassing. The ticket price and trek here are definitely worth it. Pro-tip: Come early so you can see the Lady Knox Geyser which is only open at 10:15AM daily. If you come later in the day when it's closed, but still want to see it, they can mark your ticket so you can access it the next day.

I bought a family pack that included the Lady Knox geyser and visiting all 3 parts of the Thermal Wonderland. We arrived and checked in a little before 10am. The girl checked us in and sent us on our way. We spend 1.5 hours walking around and at the end I asked where the geyser is. They informed me that we had to visit it by 10:15am. The girl didn't tell me this, nor did my email or tickets say this either. I complained to the manager and she informed me that nothing could be done unless I wanted to come another day, but of course I'm moving on to another city. There were no offers for a partial refund, a coffee from the cafe, t shirt, or anything. The Thermal Wonderland was cool, but just go to Hell's Gate because you see the same thing and also get a mud bath and in some hot pools. I regret purchasing tickets for this place

We skipped this on our first trip thinking we had seen enough geothermal wonders on our hike of Tongariro. Lucky for us, the husband felt differently on the honeymoon and we made it one of our stopping points. The admission is a little over 20 USD and was definitely worth all of the diversity you get to enjoy. The park is rather large with lots to explore, brilliant colors to admire, and lots of interesting smells to sniff. As you follow the well organized paths winding along the park wonders await you like steaming rock crevices, vibrant pools of color, and of course sulfury smells around every corner. For the first part of the walk we enjoyed various locations of heavily steaming rock formations tinted with yellows and greens. As you continue your adventure you pass bubbling pits of mud, glorious toxic water its siren a prism of colors, and even pools of greeny slime making you certain either the ghostbusters have been there or you just passed into Horde territory. We enjoyed the bridges that pass you over the waters and mud pits allowing you to get up close and personal with the gurgling goo. The husband also delighted in frolicking in the steam disappearing and reappearing like magic. We also thought the gift shop was really nice and adopted a small kiwi stuffed animal dubbed Sir Reginald Q Buttersworth III, he now travels with us on all our married adventures.

Absolutely stunning!!! If you are in the area, you have to do this place. The walk is anywhere from an hour, if you do one loop, to 2 hours if you do all 3. The third loop is a lot of steps up and down, but worth it if you can handle it. So many different colored lakes, so many mud pools, so much steam. Just wonderful. Try to arrive by 9:45am to do the Lady Knox geyser first. It is set off at 10:15 every day, and it gets to be standing room only if you wait to arrive after 10am. They say it can erupt for up to an hour, but it was only 5 minutes for us. Still worth seeing. After you do the walks, drive to the big Mud Pool and stop for a look. The whole place is amazing. Seriously, you do not want to miss this.

Thermal + Wonderland = Thermal Wonderland No visit to Rotorua is complete without seeing some sort of poopy stinking geothermal pools. While there are several simmering smelly locations to choose from, Wai-O-Tapu has the added benefit of not having any Maori related activities involved...if you want the pure science and hiking experience come here. You'll pools Use the toilet, bring a water bottle, and hopefully you wore decent shoes before you begin your 60-90 minute exploration. Hard to describe in words what you'll see: colorful, bubbly, steaming, stinking, yet beautiful pools and unreal landscapes. Check out the pictures, and come here.

Who knew nature could produce such crazy colors? The Wai-o-Tapu (sacred waters) thermal wonderland is a bit like New Zealand's answer to Yellowstone in the states. It is filled with bubbling mud pits, fluorescent colored steaming pools and oozing sulfur, boiling streams and even a geyser that they induce into action daily around 10:15. This is definitely something to see and it is very well marked, just follow the path. Or, do as we did and see the park with a private guide and save a lot of time. We used Martin from Martin's Tour & Transfer service and since he is a regular, we zipped past people staring at maps and focused on all the best sites. Because the geyser goes off at 10:15 this tends to concentrate the crowd so if you don't like crowds, follow these tips: -get up early, arrive when it opens at 8:00 am -start by walking the loop trail to see the major sights-loop 1&2 covers all the best stuff, loop 3 just walk to stop 15 then back track -FINISH your tour with the Geyser "show" then move on to other attractions in the area.

* bring a full water bottle with you * being a hat and sunscreen if you want to walk around the park on a sunny day * buy your ticket online prior to your visit * try to be in the park around 9:30 so you can see the geyser at 10:15am. If you want the best seats I would be in the park at 9 am instead We got into the park at 9:30am, saw the geyser at 10:15am, then walked around the first two loops (1km). We really stopped a lot to take photos so the whole experience lasted us until about 1pm. There seemed to be a large exodus of visitors right around noon so that made it much easier to get around.

This place can only be described as the quasi-Yellowstone-esque spot of NZ & Rotorua. It is extremely touristy, but not enough to deter from enjoying a visit here. The geothermal features are plenty, but some are definitely more impressive than others. There is a very helpful map they provide you with your ticket that shows you each feature w/a description and assigned number. You follow a path, so there is no way to get lost or go off-route and miss a feature. The most impressive to me were Devil's Ink Pots, Champagne Pool, the thermal waterfall and lake, and the Devil's Bath. I did feel the price of $35NZ was a bit steep considering it was a fully self-guided tour that you just walk through by yourself, but you gotta pay the price of admission to see the really neat geo-features. I recommend going later in the day (I went 90mins before closing and there were not that many people) to find parking and to take pictures. There was a large group of Chinese Tourists that did make my initial ability to look at and enjoy the features almost impossible, but I was able to grab a bench and let them get far enough ahead (it literally is a "one way" situation, so if you are behind or in front of a group, you will be with them for the duration) to where I could go from feature to feature and see it, take an unobstructed picture if I wanted, and enjoy them. I also recommend a stop by the boiling mud pots just a 2min drive from the Visitor Center.

Came here a few days ago and cannot recommend it enough! It was so interesting and a once in a lifetime thing to see firsthand. I loved the Champagne Pool the best, lots of colors showing especially when there was a slight breeze blowing off the steam. Nice to do when it's a bright clear day, plenty of walking involved. Nice gift shop and restrooms were very clean.

This was one of the things I was looking forward to when I started planning my trip into New Zealand. It is as beautiful in person as it is in pictures. We missed the Geyser showing and still loved it. The big pool is in the middle. This is where you will see the dynamic colors. The pool is HUGE too. If you don't like hiking, honestly, if you make a return trip at this point, the 2nd half is nice, but not necessary. The other really interesting pool is at the very end on the way back (near the entrance). It's a self guided hike, which I enjoyed a lot. Still looking at you glow worm caves!

Closing and 4:45pm. We miss it by 5 minutes, and had to come back the next day. But it was worth it, because the beautiful colors of some of the pools were magnificent. $30 NZ dollars per person, and it took us about 20 minutes to walk through and we are fast walkers.

Amazing and truly unique. Such a alien landscape. Plenty of wonderful walking paths in the geothermal park and plenty of wonderful photo opportunities. This is a experience of a lifetime.

Amazing location. Was other-worldly seeing (and smelling) all the strange looking colored mud pits. Was glad we did this. It wasn't too pricy at $20 US per person.

(This is probably closer to 4.5 stars to me.) This was a thoroughly enjoyable place to visit! It was very cool to learn more about New Zealand's volcanic history and to see remnants/signs of that. And the sights -- a wonderful variety -- were beautiful! It's a lot of walking on paved and unpaved trails, but all the paths are relatively straightforward. (The unpaved or steep sections may not be great for those with difficulty walking though, as the park notes clearly.) A wealth of information is available with (which I recommend) or without an outstanding guide. * One caveat is that the Lady Knox Geyser was one part of the area that would be two stars from me. The story was cool, and the geyser was pretty, but I was underwhelmed in general. This may be partly because of personal preference and partly because of the Lady Knox Geyser in my estimation falling below other amazing natural geothermal beauty I'd seen around New Zealand. (That last is not a bad problem at all!)

After seeing pictures of thermal pools with eclectic brown, blue and lime green color, I was bent over backwards to visit Wai-O-Tapo Geothermal Wonderland, though we were running short of time that day. Good thing we had sunscreen, caps and water bottles with us; there is no shade at all and it does get pretty hot. The trail map provided at the Visitor Center is very helpful, and the different thermal pools and caves are clearly marked. I always love seeing geothermal activities; really amazes me and reminds me how brittle our earth is, and that the molten magma is not too far below from what I stand. The formations of the mud pools and sulphur caves emitting smelly fumaroles are pretty cool to see. A few of the pools are very colorful emanated by the different chemicals. This was really not my first time watching geothermal activity, especially after my recent visit to Lassen Volcanic National Park, however, this one in New Zealand is a lot bigger and there's more to see! One of my favorites here is the Champagne Pool, which has a dark brown outer crust that strikingly contrasts with the turquoise blue water, constantly emitting fumaroles. Not too far below is the magma that heats up this pool, forming water boils and fumaroles on the earth's surface. My other favorite is the Devil's Bath that emits a shockingly neon green color. It looks too pretty to be called a Devil's Bath, but well, it is named so for a good reason. Definitely recommend a trip to this thermal wonderland.

Locals recommended this geothermal spot although there are several to visit in the area. We arrived to a huge tourist scene wth the highlighted Geisel spouting at 10am. This geyser show is induced by a few chemicals a guide throws in and top of a guy set and the water slowly bubbles to the surface then blows in the air. This takes about 15 minutes then your off to visit about 30 geothermal sites throughout the area. These are beautiful and stinky at the same time. The air is an acquired taste:)

Came out to check out the Wai-o-tapu thermal wonderland. Personally I felt that this was over rated for the 3.5 hour drive out of Auckland ( luckily i was on my way to the hot springs that day) and $35 entry fee. It is  an open range vocano and after seeing one to me personally I felt it was the same thing replicated over and over again. There is absolutely no interaction or any information provided by a human once you enter it is a self managed walking tour in a baron environment. For a bit of contrast maybe add in some videos at some viewing areas to provide more interactive information. Reading boards and your map for 45 min is not great fun. Word of warning expect the pungent smell (which personally made me feel ill).

Get ready to have your mind blown. We arrived and paid the entrance fee (I think ~30 NZD), and I couldn't imagine that it would be worth it. Well...I was very wrong. You walk in to see massive mud pits bubbling away. As you continue through the park, you come across more and more fascinating geothermal experiences. The champagne pool was absolutely the highlight. It is huge and multicolored and bubbling away. Even on a hot day, the hot sulfuric steam blows at your face and it feels so strange and awesome. It is a fully sensory experience. We could have stood there for hours in awe of the pool, the steam, and all the cool colors created by the geothermal energy. It was absolutely fantastic and I wish I could go back on the regular. Very much worth your time.

I've never seen anything like this. I've been to other thermal parks around the world but never seen such a variation of colors at Wai-O-Tapu. You can see greens, reds, yellows, and even a neon yellow/green combo. This was cool to see but obviously stinky due to the sulfur. I'd recommend going here.

Amazing place that I would recommend to anyone that was visiting. I've truly never seen anything like it.

We have visited here three times in the past 40 years and the facilities for the tourists has certainly improved over that time. The geothermal activity is always interesting and the "talks" provided at various points around the pathways are good. Be prepared for any sort of weather and give a day to walking around. There are little picnic places if you have bought your lunch and don't mind the sulphur or you can go back to the shop and have something to eat there. Charge the camera battery as you just can't take a bad picture in this place. Lady Knox Geyser is part of the park but you need to drive there. They soap it up at around 10am to get it going but you need to get your ticket from the shop (prob 9:30am) then drive to the parking area. We were running late and bought our ticket at 10:00 then rushed to the geyser only to find that we were standing behind some really tall people. However, it gushes for a while and you can eventually move down to see it close up.

Tip: I purchased a discount ticket off Viator, which I recommend because it's around $10 less than a normal priced ticket. Unless you're really into science, in my mind as a normal tourist this place is a bust for the most part, with the exception of the multicolored Champagne Pool and the lime green Devils Bath (2 out of 25 attractions). It made for good pictures on social, but not sure if it's worth the money. Just go in with your expectations tempered. There is free parking which is a plus!

This place was a once in a lifetime experience! With over 20 different pools around to look at, I viewed mineral deposits ranging in color from pristine white to neon green and orange! This was at the top of my list of things to do when visiting Rotorua, and I am so glad we were able to stop by. I highly recommend this natural attraction!

One of the absolute MOST STUNNING AND INCREDIBLE PLACES you will ever see on our planet!!! If you're wondering whether you should go or not, this is a MUST-SEE!!!! Pictures don't do it justice.

Being that this was my first visit to Wai-O-Tapu "Thermal Wonderland" (plus the fact that I wasn't exactly sure what a "Thermal Wonderland" was), I really didn't have anything to compare it with. Having said that, this place was incredible. Basically, it's place to view natural, geothermal activity - geothermal sightseeing so to speak: steaming (and stinky) pools of water, sulphur deposits, bubbling mud pits, etc. The colors and the landscape seemed otherworldly - almost martian. Very cool experience. Well worth the effort of finding. FYI it's a short drive from Rotorua

Awesome! Awesome experience. We were sent to the Geyser first, bad idea, arrived just as it finished and met about 100 cars and people rushing to get out! Only one way in and out of this area! We were able to wander around the springs at our own pace and take photos as we went. Extensive diverse areas of thermal activity with amazing colours. Clearly defined tracks for walking although not much in the way of barriers for anyone falling in! Gift shop and cafe at the entrance.

You see the brochures and you go and are like . It's as beautiful as you were hoping for. I would definitely recommend going when they open at 8:30 and doing the 75 minute route. Then rush over for the 10:15 geyser showing. It seemed tons of people came for the geyser viewing and probably went to the rest of the park afterwards. But since I got there early, I got to see the various thermal pools without too much commotion around.

Once in a life time natural wonder of the world. This is a must see! Never seen anything like it. Only issue I have is the prices, it's very expensive, especially if you have a small family.

I'd never seen natural thermal activity before - this place was interesting to walk through! There were 3 levels of trails, ranging from about 45-90 minutes, each one progressively longer and a little bit harder to walk (but most people can do all). Highly Recommended to Bring: - Good walking shoes (lots of gravel and up and down paths) - Water bottle (stay hydrated!) - Hat (only half of the paths are shaded) - Camera Random Things to Know: - It smells like sulfur...found myself breathing through my mouth a lot, lol - It's worth doing the entire trail if you can - These aren't ones that you can actually bathe/swim in - incredibly hot, for viewing only - It's close to Rotorua (known for thermal pools)

Great views and plenty of geothermal information. Guided tours are informative and entertaining. Lady Knox Geyser goes off at 10:15am so get in early as there is limited seating in the viewing area. Worth spending a few hours here walking around. Also has picnic facilities and mud bathing areas to enjoy.

What an amazaing place to visit in New Zealand! I highly recommend stopping here!

I think we were lucky when we came here in the afternoon on a Wednesday in early May there were VERY few people in the grounds. I would imagine that coming here when it's crowded would be a huge bummer because a lot of the viewing stations along the pathway were pretty small and definitely only about ten max people at a time can get a good view. But that being said if you come in the off season this is definitely the place to go. A lot of really incredible craters, lakes, streams, pools, terraces, two small waterfalls, this place had it all. Plus the free map they give you has a lot of information about the geology and history of the place and their book for sale is only $14NZD and had lots of good information too. The gift shop didn't have much to interest me (no books ) but seemed to have a lot of jewelry and some clothing options? The cafe was really small with few options but their barista coffee was pretty good and their little pies were also really good. They had some sandwiches and desserts too but no salad options which was sad. Overall probably one of the better places to check out in overly touristy Rotorua.

If you're in New Zealand, make the trip down to visit this area. It's amazing.

I've seen some pretty cool places in my life, but nothing was even close to this experience. The volcanic activity over the millenia have created so many insane color combinations that it's like a palette of colors throughout this park! Some are orange, others green, one was a flourescent color that looked like gatorade, but it's all natural from the minerals and gases forming with one another. Add to that a ton of vapors, and you have a smelly sulfur atmosphere smoking around you, it's amazing that this place is real! And they have really great signs directing you along the route to see everything, so it's a fun walk around, like a mini-hike. While visiting, definitely worth a visit are two connected things: 1. Lady Knox Geyser which they set off at 10:15am each and every day. So try to visit when you can also watch them set off this geyser, that only requires a few minutes of your time. 2. The mud pools. Imagine looking down at a huge swamp of mud, but instead of it just being stagnant it is bubbling and making farting noises. It's hilarious to watch and you can't look away, I've only seen things like that in the movies! Great overall experience visiting these places, pay for the park and all three are included.

Pleasantly surprised to enjoy the self-guided trail walks through all the natural geothermal structures and processes. Amazing colors, I even enjoyed the stinky smells.