Rotorua Flights

By air, Rotorua is well serviced by major airlines with daily links to all the key centres.

When in Rotorua, and you need to move around quite a bit, as most of the attractions are quite spread out. If you do not posses a valid driver's license, there are very few public transport options, and taxis can be very costly. Please give GRUMPY LIMO (aka Rotorua city transfers) a try. I was introduced to this by a friendly staff at the visitor center. She saw me with a large suitcase and will need a good half hour walk to my motel, she suggested I give this guy Grumpy (yes, his real name!) a try. he has about 5 to 6 people working under him. They all use minibus for transportation. He can get you from anywhere to anywhere within Rotorua for NZD5 per person, regardless of the distance, and this also include airport pick ups and drop offs!

I met Grumpy the owner and he is friendly gentleman in his 60s, very punctual and caring. I was going to the Rotorua musem, he even chose a road to give me a good view of the lake before arriving in there. His number is 0800 222 141. In New Zealand, it is a free call number. He works from 8am to 6pm everyday.

Rotorua is a hard place to get around unless you rent a car! I HIGHLY recommend it. We rented a car for an excursion I had planned in advance. We used the car all day prior to the trip. If not for the car we would've spent much more than the rental price on cabs to visit attractions in the area.

Don't forget--- In New Zealand the driver sits on the right side and you drive on the left. So, if are you from the U.S. etc.. you can say it is on the wrong side of the road. I don't say that because I guess they could say the same about us!

This was my first time driving like that and it was very cool. It made things more like an adventure!

If you want to see the glowworm caves in Waitomo, take the Waitomo Wanderer bus. The driver owns the company and is very friendly. He provides pickup from your hotel.

The only other way there is by renting a car!

The bus leaves early in the morning and takes about 2 hours each way.

By road, a wide variety of bus, coach and scenic tour operators connect Rotorua with most North Island towns and cities.

Rotorua is only a one hour drive from the cities of Taupo, Hamilton and Tauranga, a three hour drive from Auckland and a five hour drive from Wellington.

ok the trick to getting around Rotoura is to hire your self a car, almost everything is not with in walking distance, so for ease of transporting your self and seeing more of the place hire a car and your passangers can have a nap between places

There are cheap hire car places every where

Rotorua is actually quite easy to navigate and there are many street signs and tourist signs to show you where the attractions are.

The town is also generally flat and well-laid and the main town area is near the lake. There are also numerous hotels/motels and a few hostels in Rotorua and only in summer peak period, will it be hard to find a place to stay.

We highly recommend staying at a motel with a private hot spa. It's really great and a luxurious way to relax at night. There are many spa motels in Rotorua, all you need to do is check the signs. The price ranges from $65 to $95 and we stayed at the Aspen Motel for $85 per night.

Finding your way around Rotorua is pretty simple, as the streets are on a grid~type layout and there is always the lake to help you get your bearings.

If driving to and around Rotorua, parking is plentiful, but you will need some $2 coins for the parking meters. This will get you a couple of hours before you need to top up. (the major tourist attractions have free parking, so no worries there).