Kuirau Park
Kuirau Park
4.5
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Kuirau Park and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
254 within 5 kms
Attractions
47 within 10 kms
See what travellers are saying
- Cat J AMelbourne, Australia420 contributionsGeothermal freebieOnce you adjust to the everpresent smell, this free park is an excellent chance to experience the geothermal magic of Rotorua. We parked in a small car park off the main road and wandered through to the main lake. Lots to see and a bonus is the foot bath hot pool where the brave can dangle their aching feet in the warm. Beautiful gardens and lots of green space.Visited September 2023Travelled with familyWritten 30 September 2023
- Louise HSydney, Australia49 contributionsFree activity in RotoruaWandering around this park is free and it’s amazing!! The hot vents are fenced off, so you can’t fall in or anything. Each enclosed area is different, so I’d encourage you to really take a long walk around the site. Half way around, you can detour to Patrick’s bakery on the hill under the hospital for a lovely coffee and a cake before continuing your walk and capping it off with a free hot water foot soak. So much fun. Beaut way to spend a morning.Visited October 2023Travelled with familyWritten 13 October 2023
- LRadfordPerth, Australia49 contributionsHighly recommend this free park!This park is free and well worth a visit!! If you have the time I'd visit here first and then decide whether you want to see more geysers/geothermal activity and then look at one of the paid tours. Well maintained, clean park, lots of steam pools, a huge one at the end of the park and in the middle a hot spring pool you could dip your feet in. Lots of parking, toilets and a children's playground..Visited March 2024Travelled with familyWritten 6 March 2024
- Michael CDerby, United Kingdom1,981 contributionsStabge and unusualWe enjoyed an afternoon in this beautiful park. It is a rather weird area with thermal pools scattered around the whole park. Most of the area is a traditional urban park but the geothermal sectors make it a very exciting and strange experience.Visited October 2023Travelled as a coupleWritten 13 March 2024
- Explorer24596278101Christchurch, New Zealand7 contributionswell worth the visit, smelly and FREEWhat a smelly and amazing and FREE park to go and explore with your loved ones. Such a beautiful park just almost downtown . We just stumbled across it and had such a great time, talking and laughing and making memories!!!Visited April 2024Travelled with familyWritten 15 April 2024
- TheLeongOhanaUnited States7,505 contributionsWalking Distance From DowntownIt was a rainy day when we wandered through the park. There were different groupings of pools from bubbling mud and steaming water. Due to the cold weather and rain it created a thick fog that was quite warm and a little stifling the closer we got to one of the larger pools. The foot baths were closed in May so did not get to try them. Overall the park was a good intro to the thermal activity in Rotorua, close by our hotel/downtown and free.Visited May 2024Travelled with familyWritten 23 June 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
1,195 reviews
Excellent
569
Very good
472
Average
134
Poor
17
Terrible
3
DavidRRyan
Mairangi Bay, New Zealand266 contributions
Apr 2021 • Couples
I guess it’s the original Rotorua but minus the geysers. Wandering around the park along well constructed paths you can see bubbling mud, very hot streams and imbibe the famous fumes. We chose a late sunny winter afternoon for maximum effect and...it’s all FREE.
Written 27 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Claudia10229
Dallas, TX492 contributions
Feb 2020
The park is free and has many walking paths to steam vents, mud pits and a bridge that crosses over a large steam vent. But the bridge was closed in February due to the excessive steam that was coming up. There is also an area where you can sit and soak your feet in the mineral water. I asked our local Maori guide about sharing water with the group of 15 people and he said that the water is constantly refreshing itself and clean. And there were signs around that concurred. There were also gorgeous flowers blooming. Enjoyable area and nice walk from the hotel.
Written 21 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ktb6023
Wellington, New Zealand25 contributions
Dec 2020 • Family
Lovely rambling park to explore with heaps of little pockets of thermal activity, including the big lake at one end. Playground for the kids and the foot bath was fun for a sit down.
Don’t miss this.
Don’t miss this.
Written 30 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kent
5 contributions
Jan 2021
Travelling on a budget, it was a nice walk with enough geothermal activity to see that we would have otherwise not been able to afford. They have done a great job making it all very tidy and accessible. Make sure you walk right down to the end where the main lake is.
Written 14 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KiwiKerry53
Wellington, New Zealand4,910 contributions
Oct 2020
A no obligation, cost free experience of Rotorua, New Zealand's thermal wonderland. If you are happy to see a bit of steam and the occasional mud pool plopping about, you will be happy to visit here, but I really recommend you visit more geothermal areas and scenery. Well worth the visit just the same - but not noteworthy for photo taking if you experience other sites.
Written 15 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
evenstar944
New York City, NY304 contributions
Feb 2024 • Family
For a free activity this is a decent value. It is located in the city center and provides some nice walking paths through a geothermal area. If money is not an issue though I would opt for one of the other geothermal parks such as Wai-o-tapu which has more interesting and vibrant looking sights. There are also some foot baths there that I did not try out. This was one of the few places in New Zealand that I saw trash on the grounds. Overall an average visit.
Written 4 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Clement W
Sydney, Australia72 contributions
Dec 2022 • Couples
COMPLETELY FREE geothermal park featuring a very impressively steamy Lake Kuirau that we thought was comparable in magnitude to the Champagne Pool we saw earlier at Waiotapu (which was not free). Other geothermal pools can also be seen but these are much less impressive. For a free public park we were pleasantly surprised. For those keen in getting their feet’s wet there are also two small dipping pools freely accessible (water is cool however). Recommend for tourists of all ages. There js nothing to lose!
Written 28 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PBPG
Yorkshire, UK7,542 contributions
Oct 2022
Kuirau Park is free to visit and located within an easy walk from the city centre, just off Pukuatua and Ranolf streets. Parking is free. There are a number of bubbling ponds and a couple of bubbling mud ponds. There are a couple of foot baths if you fancy a dabble
Written 21 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LRadford
Perth, Australia49 contributions
Mar 2024 • Family
This park is free and well worth a visit!! If you have the time I'd visit here first and then decide whether you want to see more geysers/geothermal activity and then look at one of the paid tours. Well maintained, clean park, lots of steam pools, a huge one at the end of the park and in the middle a hot spring pool you could dip your feet in. Lots of parking, toilets and a children's playground..
Written 6 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
HapppyTony
Camberley, UK43 contributions
I WOULD SAY...YOU MUST VISIT HERE TO GET THE FULL THERMAL EXPERIENCE FOR FREE. INCLUDING THE PARKING
Jan 2020
We enjoyed our visit here.Strolling along the tracks that lead to numerous areas of vigorous bubbling mud and steam the safety fences keep you away from any danger. It was a pleasant experience sitting and soaking our feet in the special warm baths. We Enjoyed the lovely surroundings and the well kept grounds. There were no crowds or bus loads of tourist. A great place to spend a few relaxin ghours.
admission is free. Rotorua is popular for its geothermal activity and has many naturally occurring hot pools in the region.
admission is free. Rotorua is popular for its geothermal activity and has many naturally occurring hot pools in the region.
Written 12 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Can anyone tell me if this is open all hours or do they lock it up at a certain time each aftewrnoon?
Written 19 April 2022
How long does it take to walk around, in an easy pace of fit and healthy adults?
Written 26 December 2018
We strolled around in about one hour, very easy paced you could do it quicker if you needed to.
Written 30 January 2019
nateekgnel
Singapore, Singapore
How strong is the sulphuric smell in the park and surrounding areas?
Written 11 January 2018
The whole of Rotorua generally has that smell lingering. I wouldn't say its strong but it is very subjective. Some people do get affected by the slightest while I may have a slightly higher tolerance.
Written 12 January 2018
Is this Kuirau Park a free entrance park? Some websites mentioned it's free but some don't.
Written 31 October 2017
Yes, it's free. Free car parking too.
Written 27 December 2017
When you visit Kuirau Park, where is the best place to park, which end of the park is the best start-off point?
Written 22 November 2016
There are plenty of roadside parking spots and there are some carparks that weave in and around Kuirau Park. I never had touble parking in the area because it was a quieter time of the year but the park itself is a nice stroll so don't stress too much where you park.
Written 14 January 2017
Sorry for delay in answering- it's open 24 hours, although i am not sure you would at night time as there are not any lights. It's an easy park to go through during the day.
Written 11 November 2016
Showing results 1-7 of 7
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing