Rotorua Cultural Afternoon Tour: A Close Encounter with New Zealand's Maori Culture

10 Ratings

Rotorua

Save

View Gallery (12)

Immerse yourself in New Zealand’s Maori culture on a guided tour of Te Puia and the stunning lakes district. Discover ancient traditions, visit geysers and mudpools, and learn about the history of Mt Tarawera volcano.

Duration: 4 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

learn more

Highlights

Te Puia - Experience a guided tour with an expert Maori guide at Te Puia and the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute.
Discover traditional Maori customs and explore how the culture is being preserved through contemporary methods and technology.
Visit Te Puia’s on-site Kiwi house to gain insight into New Zealand’s national bird.
Get up close…

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off included
Expert driver/guide service
Dedicated tour escort/host at Te Puia
Enjoy live commentary during the tour
Comfortable travel in an air-conditioned minivan

What's Not Included

Gratuities
Food and drinks

Additional Information

Arriving in Rotorua later in the day?
No worries! Explore the region’s breathtaking lakes and enjoy the amazing Te Puia Maori cultural attraction on this half-day, small-group afternoon tour.
Guests will be picked up from their Rotorua accommodation between 1:00 PM and 1:15 PM. At Te Puia, a guided tour will showcase its highlights, including the famous…

Location

Rydges Rotorua

Tryon Street

Please meet our guide outside the Rydges hotel at 1:00 PM. You'll find plenty of free parking available around the hotel for your convenience.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.9

(10 Ratings)

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Franiellio

Oct 3, 2025

Great afternoon tour - Really enjoyed this tour - it was perfect for a short stay such as ours. Picked up from the hotel and taken to some interesting local areas by our knowledgeable guide. The Māori cultural centre was fascinating - again, our hosts couldn’t have ben more engaging and knowledgeable. Would certainly recommend.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Sofia_w

Sep 21, 2024

Sights and education - Great little afternoon tour. Our driver was very knowledgeable and gave us a ton of information before handing us off to the tour guide at the art institute. Also a great guide. Amazing craftsmanship. The Geothermal Reserve is very interesting and they have a kiwi reserve too! Great afternoon.

Review provided by Viator

172jos_d

Feb 16, 2024

Visit to Te Puia - The excursion was well organized, Trent was a friendly guide with a lot of knowledge. We enjoyed this excursion 👍😃

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Murtyc

Feb 8, 2024

A Perfect Half Day Tour - I took this half day tour because I had limited time. It turned out to be a very informative and pleasant tour. Our guide, Trent, is of Māori heritage and proved to be extremely knowledgeable about Rotorua and Māori /New Zealand culture & history. He was also punctual, patient, and had a modern minibus (with good air conditioning, which proved valuable on the warm day). We visited principally the Te Puia, which combines a Māori cultural institute with geothermal geysers and a Kiwi conservation center and a gift shop. We also visited the grounds of the Tudor-style Rotorua Museum and the Blue and Green Lakes. It was a perfect outing for me , and I enjoyed lots of interesting conversations with Trent. I am sure that the full day tour would be even better and I highly recommend this company.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Aspicer89

Nov 1, 2019

Cultural Tour - Booked the cultural tour through our travel agent and it ended up just being my husband and I. It was our honeymoon so we welcomed the private tour. From the get go Trent was welcoming and personable; not your regular tour guide. He was knowledgeable about more than just the tour. It was more like a friend showing you around and telling you the history. I highly highly recommend.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Jm_w

Mar 6, 2018

We wondered how this tour would be... - We wondered how this tour would be as it started fairly low key, but as the tour progressed we found it well worth while. We enjoyed it, particularly seeing the volcanic geyser and the Maori carving. Glad we found it and chose it.

Review provided by Viator

Judy_a

Feb 1, 2017

The tour guide was extremely... - The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable. All aspects of the tour was well covered and very good value for money.

Review provided by Viator

Robyn

Nov 21, 2014

I was lucky enough to have an... - I was lucky enough to have an individual tour - as I was the only one booked in! The Tour Guide was amazing. He took me to see the small indiginous villages, telling me local stories all the while. We saw the rest of Rotorua township then visited Te Paui, where my guide showed me everything there was to see there, providing a wonderful commentry. At the conclusion, I was dropped back at my hotel.

Review provided by Viator

Isobel

Feb 21, 2008

I enjoyed the village and we were given... - I enjoyed the village and we were given plenty of time to look around. We also enjoyed the friendly and knowledgeable driver.

Review provided by Viator

Ellen_r

Mar 4, 2025

It was interesting but... - It was interesting but not exactly what I thought it would be. We never went to the blue and green lakes in the description. We got a Rotorua city tour which was nice. The cultural center was interesting but not enough about their life. It was more about the training school. The geyser is unpredictable so we only saw a small eruption. We saw 2 kiwi in the conservation center. It says small group which is true about our group, but then we are put into a large group at Te Puia. The best part was Linda, our driver. She was so nice and relatable.

Review provided by Viator

Check Availability

From $104

up to 9 guests

1 - Adult