14 Incredible Things to do in Rotorua with Kids

If you’re planning a trip to Rotorua with the kids, you’re in for a great time. This place is packed with activities that’ll keep the whole family entertained, whether you’re after adventure or a bit of relaxation. Read on for our top recommendations for things to do in Rotorua with kids—you won’t want to miss these!

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The Skyline Luge

The Rotorua Luge is such a fun day out for the whole family. We went for Romy’s 5th birthday, the first time I’d visited since I was 11!

Kids as young as two can ride the luge with a grown-up. There are several routes to suit everyone, and you can go pretty fast, even on the scenic path!

You buy your tickets at the Luge base and then ride a gondola to the top of the hill. From there, you zoom down and then ride a chairlift back up.

Different packages are available, so you can choose how many rides you want. Apart from the Luge, there’s also a giant swing and zip-line. The hill also features mountain biking trails, so you can buy packages for that if you wish, with some of the gondola carriages assigned for bikes.

Plus, the cafe at the top is a fab spot for enjoying a meal or coffee with a view.

Rotorua Lakefront playground

If you’re looking for the best playground in Rotorua, head to the Lakefront Playground. It has excellent play equipment for all ages, and it looks like they have more under construction (we think they’re installing twin flying foxes at the moment).

The location is fantastic. You can enjoy the lake views or walk along the boardwalk. It’s a fab spot for a picnic and an easy walk to cafes and shops.

Check out the ‘Hot ‘n’ Cold’ geothermal bathing spot

I have bathed in several geothermal pools over the years, but never had I relaxed in a thermal river! The central North Island boasts some pretty unique landscapes, and I’d highly recommend soaking in a natural thermal river if you’re in the area.

This one is called “Hot ‘n’ Cold” on Google Maps. It’s near the Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland, 29 kilometers from Rotorua.

The tourism industry hasn’t caught hold of it, so it’s completely natural and free. There is no infrastructure except a wooden stairway leading to the water.

It’s not unknown, though. We shared the bathing spot with several foreign backpackers and a few locals and had a lovely time chatting.

When you arrive, you park your car on the side of a small road, change into your swimsuits, and walk down some steps to the hot and cold river. You can hang your towel over the railing or put it on a small grassy bank.

A cool river and a super hot stream converge and create the most divine water to sit in. It’s the perfect combination of hot and cold. When you think it might be a bit hot, a gush of cold will flow through. Everyone can find their sweet spot in the river where the temperature is just right for them.

This is not the place to put your head under the water, but if your kids can keep their heads above water and enjoy the bathing experience rather than splashing about, then hopefully, everyone will enjoy it!

Be careful of hot areas. We found it was very hot at the immediate shoreline but fine after getting a few steps in.

The other thing we loved about Hot n Cold was making mud masks! You can find a few patches around the river and test whether the mud makes your skin feel softer 🙂

Kerosene Creek geothermal bathing area

New Zealand is such a treasure trove of natural wonders waiting to be discovered! Kerosene Creek is one such place, about 27 kilometers south of Rotorua.

Kerosene Creek features a hot waterfall and an amazingly warm thermal river. You can meander along the trail and find a spot to bathe and relax amid nature. Like many nature areas in New Zealand, it costs nothing to visit.

It was hotter than we expected. The spot where we bathed felt about 40 degrees, which is around the temperature of a very warm hot tub. We went on a relatively warm morning, so we mostly sat in a shallow area and got out to enjoy our picnic on the grass when we got too hot. I imagine this would be a brilliant place to visit in winter!

Like the Hot ‘n’ Cold river, Kerosene Creek has minimal facilities—just one very smelly toilet😆. You also need to drive on a gravel road to reach the car park.

Motion Entertainment

Motion Entertainment in Rotorua is one of those places most kids will love to play as long as they’re allowed! I find it a massive sensory overload, but it seemed like a good rainy-day option, and we were looking for somewhere to hang out with our friends.

We went to the trampoline park and got pulled into the video games. None of us had a clue what we were doing, though🤣.

The trampoline park is great, although the kids did say the tramps weren’t bouncy enough😆. Bookings are for an hour. Remember your trampoline socks if you have some!

This place is really a one-stop shop for kids’ entertainment. It has a Chipmunk playground inside, a mini golf course, several escape rooms, and more.

Discover Kuirau Park in the city

Kuirau Park is a fantastic place to visit as a family in Rotorua. There are many geothermal parks in the area, and they mostly have hefty price tags, but this one is completely free!

Ok, so it might not be impressive compared to some of the other geothermal hotspots, but it’s definitely worth a visit.

You can see bubbling and steaming water and enjoy the toasty warm foot baths. We loved putting our feet in them, as our toes were pretty cold from walking across the wet morning grass.

Kuirau Park also has open playing fields, some excellent trees to climb, bathrooms, and a decent playground. Check it out if you’re in Rotorua and looking for things to do with your kids!

Explore the Redwoods Forest

The Redwoods forest is New Zealand’s little slice of California! Along with the Whakarewarewa forest, they offer more than 5,600 hectares of nature immersion, hiking, biking, and horse riding trails.

The Californian Redwoods were first planted in 1901 as part of a trial to see which exotic species would grow well in New Zealand. The New Zealand Government had recently purchased land blocks from Maori landowners and started plans to regenerate forest after European settlers had decimated so much.

Knowing that native New Zealand species take 200-300 years to grow, the Redwoods were planted, thus beginning the forest’s development.

Today, the forest has numerous trails for the public to enjoy under the shelter of these magnificent trees. Part of it is also used for forestry, but the area is very well planned with vast areas for leisure.

The best place to start is at the Visitor Centre, where several walks begin. On our first visit, we only had a short time, so we did the Redwood Memorial Grove Walk (30 minutes; 2 kilometers). Other short walks include the buggy-friendly Mokopuna Trail and the Waitawa Walk (1 hour each).

There are a few walks between 1.5 and 3.5 hours, plus an 8-hour tramping track. You’ll also find the Redwoods Tree Walk and zip-line courses here.

A little further along the road from the visitor center is Eastwood Cafe, which we highly recommend for its delicious food and drinks. It’s also set on a big grass field and right next to the forest.

If you search for the Secret Spot Hot Tubs on Google Maps, that’s a good area to start for mountain biking trails. You can also hire bikes there, enjoy food at the cafe, and maybe soak in the hot tubs afterward.

The hot tubs come with quite the price tag, but a local friend gave us a good tip: Buy some food at the hot tub cafe, and you can have a “shinny dip” for free! (It’s exactly what the name says😀.)

Redwoods tree-top walk

The Redwoods not only offers walks along the forest floor, but also high in the trees! Check out the tree walk for a fun, family-friendly activity.

Choose from a night or day walk along a suspension bridge circuit for a different perspective of this beautiful forest.

It’s an all-ages activity. Although you’re not allowed to carry your kids on the Redwoods Tree Walk, tickets include the use of a custom-made buggy for those who need it. The buggies have a baby capsule and a toddler seat.

The complete circuit takes around 40 minutes, so many young kids will be able to walk it themselves, especially due to the exciting novelty of walking in the trees!

But if you’re unsure how your kid will react, it’s best to get a buggy. The buggies can’t do the high loop extension because it has stairs, but they can go everywhere else.

The platforms around the trees have lots of interesting information about the forest, which is nice to read if your kids don’t insist on running through the circuit too quickly😆.

The daytime tree walk costs $115 for a family pass, but you might find a bargain on one of the discount sites.

Check out one of Rotorua’s family-friendly mazes

Rotorua has a couple of mazes for family-friendly fun. We went to the Wonderworld 3D maze (the wooden one). There’s also aMAZme, the hedge one, with a similar offering.

You get a worksheet to take around the maze. As you make your way around, you can answer the questions and find letters to unscramble a word at the end (keeps older kids occupied).

The maze also has giant board games you can play at the start and finish and a couple of other mini attractions, including a seemingly out-of-place neon cave (looks like a rave room without the music)😆

Hike the rainbow mountain track

The Rainbow Mountain Track is a fantastic hiking trail near Rotorua. It’s an up-and-back trail, approximately 7 kilometers (3.5 kilometers each way), with around 350 meters of elevation gain.

It might take the average grown-up two hours or so to complete. It was 3.5 hours for us, which we were pretty happy with, considering it’s Romy’s longest hike to date.

There were tantrums at the top (isn’t the top meant to be the best part?!), but we made it! And everyone felt fabulous when we reached the end.

Even though the trail is a bit of a drive from Rotorua, it’s pretty popular. I guess that’s because it’s in the Waiotapu area, so it’s very close to the thermal river, waterfall, and geothermal wonderland.

We went on a weekday and saw a few people doing the trail for fitness and several European travelers, including a few families. When we finished midday, a couple of big groups arrived.

The Rainbow Mountain track boasts breathtaking views from the top. It also has unique features like the mineral-rich red clay and steaming geothermal terrain on the mountainside. There are a few nice lookouts on the way up that double as rest spots!

If you’d prefer a shorter trail, you can walk the track along the foothills (which begins from the same car park) to get a nice look over the crater lake. An alternative to the mountain track starts from the same place and leads to Kerosene Creek (the hot waterfall).

Visit a geothermal area

We knew we wanted to visit at least one geothermal area while in the central North Island, and because it was nearby, we chose the Waiotapu Geothermal Wonderland.

The park boasts extensive walkways, diverse features, and incredible colors! The bright green pool at the end is actually cold and has a very radioactive look about it.

One of New Zealand’s most extensive geothermal systems lies below the earth at Waiotapu. It’s over 18 square kilometers, and you certainly get a sense of it as you wander around.

(The Hot ‘n’ Cold and Kerosene Creek geothermal bathing rivers are just along the road, FYI).

The Lady Knox geyser is listed as one of the park’s significant features. Every day, a spray of hot water erupts about 10-20 meters into the air.

Before we went, I assumed this was a natural phenomenon. It happens every morning at 10:15, which is very specific. As a long-term writer about Iceland and all its geothermal features, I know there are reliable geysers (for example, the Strokkur geyser on Iceland’s Golden Circle erupts every 5-10 minutes).

So, it didn’t seem too crazy that a geyser could erupt at a similar time each day. However, I wondered if they adjusted the eruption time for daylight savings twice a year😆.

But nope, this is a manufactured eruption. It was incredible to watch, yet slightly disappointing at the same time!

Many people gather around and wait. Then one of the park’s hosts tells a story (hinting at what’s about to happen), there’s a little song, and then they literally pour soap into the geyser to make it explode🤣.

If you’re not impressed by a manufactured eruption, the rest of the park is worth the entry price. We paid $105 for a family ticket.

Hang out and hike at the Blue Lake

The Blue Lake (Lake Tikitapu) near Rotorua is a great place for families to hang out. It has clearly marked sides for swimming and boating, a small lakefront playground, and a 5.6-kilometer loop track around the lake.

The track is easy, with gentle undulations and a few steps. It apparently takes most adults about 90 minutes to walk. It took us two hours, so we’re getting faster than we once were!

Even if you don’t want to do the walk, you could visit the lookout area, accessible by car or foot. It’s a slightly raised piece of land, just high enough to give lovely views of the green and blue lakes.

Check out the three waterfalls on the Kaituna River

There’s a series of three beautiful waterfalls along a pretty hiking trail that we’d highly recommend visiting if you’re in Rotorua.

About 20 minutes drive from the city lies Okere Falls, Tutea Falls, and the Trout Pools. There are parking lots at Okere Falls and the Trout Pools, but you can walk between them if you want a picturesque short hike.

We parked at Okere Falls and ate our lunch on the benches before checking out the fall’s viewpoint.

These falls are notable because they’re located on the Kaituna River, where many rafting trips go. At both Okere and Tutea Falls, we watched a kayak and several rafts tumble down the falls, which was unique and remarkable. We walk many hiking trails, but this was the first time we’d been able to stop and watch something like this.

After Okere, the easy walking trail connecting them will take you to Tutea Falls in about 15 minutes or less.

At Tutea, you can watch for rafts from the waterfall’s viewpoint and then follow the steps down to a spectacular cave. If you don’t mind ducking a little, you can follow the cave’s U-shape from one end to the other (using a light is helpful).

From the cave, head back up the stairs and continue on the Okere Falls trail for another 10 or 15 minutes to the Trout Pools. Our kids loved playing at the little beach here, and the scenery is stunning.

Then, we returned to the Okere falls car park along the same trail. The full walk, there and back is only about an hour. But allow longer if you want to take your time at the waterfalls. We spent about two hours there altogether and I know our girls would have stayed to play an extra hour or two at the Trout Pools if they could have!

Visit a lesser-known lake, like Rerewhakaaitu

Rotorua has many well-known lakes nearby, such as Rotoiti, Rotoma, and the Blue and Green Lakes. However, there are several lesser-known ones, and Rerewhakaaitu is one of them.

Rerewhakaaitu is about 36 kilometers south of Rotorua, offering a tranquil spot to chill. A few basic campgrounds are also around the lake.

We stopped at the Guy Roe Reserve campground during a summer weekday outside the school holidays. No one was camping, and just two vehicles visited while we were there.

The lake is weedy in places, but there are suitable spots for swimming, and the water is lovely and clear. You do need to boil water for drinking, though.

Rerewhakaaitu is a fab place to take kayaks or just picnic for a few hours like we did. There was even a little floating platform with a tiny slide. Check it out if you’re looking for a quiet place to relax in nature.

Things to do in Rotorua with kids | In conclusion

Rotorua is a place where family fun comes naturally. From racing down luge tracks to discovering hidden hot springs, there’s much to enjoy with the kids. Dive into these experiences, and you’ll leave Rotorua with many great memories that’ll keep you smiling long after the trip.

If you’re heading to the central North Island, you may also want to read about these fantastic things to do with kids in Whakatane, family-friendly activities in Taupo, these tips for walking in the Whirinaki Forest Park, and our experiences hiking the Galatea Foothills Trail.

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