Piha Beach

Very nice beach, or various beaches, depending on whether is high tide or low tide. Black (hot) sand. I was there on Saturdays and it had quite a lot of visitors (not as much as in Rimini ;) ) But even then it is worth a visit it could be difficult at most to find a parking space. Access to Lion Rock is closed, you can no longer climb up.

Piha Beach is breathtaking—black sand, rugged cliffs, and powerful waves. Perfect spot for a scenic walk or just soaking in dramatic New Zealand coastline vibes.

We visited Piha Beach, renowned for its dramatic black volcanic sand, roaring surf, and iconic Lion Rock vista—it was the perfect backdrop for our own spontaneous adventure. The rugged cliffs and waves make it a surfer's dream, while the scenery is astonishingly photogenic—truly more stunning than many other black sand beaches we've seen.

We went on a tour from Auckland that took us to the Phia Beach, a beautiful black sand beach with an awesome rock formation called Lion Rock. It was well worth our time to go to this beach. Our guide did us a little demonstration with a magnet, showing that there was a significant amount of bits of iron in the sand. He explained that it is carried in and deposited by the action of the ocean on the lava rock. The ocean waves were beautiful at this location. We were warned not to go into the water as there were rip tides and currents that could be very dangerous. It was a very windy day, and I don’t know if that causes this type of tides. This was an interesting location and we had a great time taking pictures of the ocean, beach and surrounding rock formations.

A very unusual beach. The strong current, choppy waves and black sand makes a very picturesque although windy place. Be careful if you are near or at the waters as there were cases of the strong currents pulling people out to sea.

Had an amazing time visiting Piha beach and Mt. Eden with Brett as our guide. Brett was a great guide. Would definitely recommend this tour.

A short drive from Auckland CBD, you get to this wonderful beach that has several spots to explore. Waves can get aggressive so must be careful. There is also a small strip of food and beverage places - would highly recommend packing a picnic basket!

Thank you Brett for a fantastic tour of Piha Beach, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Would highly recommend Brett to other travellers. Very friendly and accomodating.

Fantastic trip. Incredibly beautiful and scenic beach. Loved the walk through the rainforest. Driver was very knowledgeable of the area. Great pictures. Wonderful experience.

This tour was wonderful! Brett took us to Piha beach and a nearby rainforest. The whole time he shared history and interesting facts about New Zealand while showing us the beautiful scenery. We walked around Piha beach and the cove and then had lunch in a village on the way back into town. It was a great experience!