Escape Auckland for a day of turquoise water, golden beaches, and some of New Zealand’s most spectacular coastal scenery. Travel into the Coromandel Peninsula to experience Cathedral Cove and, when the tide is right, dig your own natural spa at the famous Hot Water Beach. Your itinerary is carefully planned around the tides, with an alternative Coromandel highlight included when Hot Water Beach isn’t accessible. Add a picnic lunch, a small-group experience, and a day of stunning scenery, and you’ve got an easy way to experience one of New Zealand’s most beautiful coastal regions without worrying about the driving. While the destinations you will be visiting are spectacular, we at Cheeky Kiwi Travel believe it is our small groups, our guides, the journey and the little details that set our tours well apart.
Your tour starts in New Zealand’s largest city. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventure today but also point out and guide you past some of the city’s top highlights.
Exiting Auckland we travel south through the stunning Waikato countryside, the most extensive farming area in the world, encountering beautiful scenery, mighty rivers, great photo opportunities, impressive mountains and several farm animals along the way.
The exact itinerary is based on tidal conditions. Only tours where Hot Water Beach aligns with tide times will include a visit here, and if you're booked on our Coastal Adventure tour, you'll instead visit other key Coromandel Peninsula Highlights!
Time for lunch to refuel! We'll stop in Hahei where you can enjoy a delicious picnic lunch (Picnic lunch - ordered on the day by your guide), before we continue our adventure.
Visit Cathedral Cove, one of New Zealand’s most iconic natural landmarks. The walk to Cathedral Cove takes between 30 - 45 minutes, but the reward is well worth it—stunning coastal views and the opportunity to explore this breathtaking beach. Acess to Cathedral Cove is weather-dependent. For safety reasons, the track may be unsuitable after or during heavy rain. In such cases, alternative arrangements will be made to ensure you still have an incredible experience.
Dig you own hotspring in the soft white sand (if tide allows). We provide the shovels :)
Sadly after this day in paradise we must start to head north again but your day is not over with a fully guided return trip to Auckland including secret stops along the way.
*If no pickup is selected at time of booking, you will be allocated our default meeting point (SkyCity Hotel). You are welcome to update this at any time. If your location isn’t listed, please choose your nearest available option & meet us there. *Pick-ups can begin up to 20 minutes before the tour departure time, depending on location. To ensure a smooth start, please be ready and waiting outside 5 minutes prior to your specific pickup time. *Pick-up locations are carefully planned for each tour and may vary by day. If your pick-up location changes, kindly inform us in advance. *Our guides make multiple stops and may arrive within a 10-minute window. We are unable to wait for late guests.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cathedral Cove & Hot Water Beach Small-Group Tour with Lunch lasts about 12 hours. The itinerary has 7 stops.
Prices start at $114 per person for this Coromandel experience, booked through Viator with the price shown before checkout. There are 2 booking options, so the final price depends on the option you choose.
Yes. Cancel at least 1 day before the start for a full refund. Later cancellations are non-refundable.
Yes, pickup is offered. *If no pickup is selected at time of booking, you will be allocated our default meeting point (SkyCity Hotel). You are welcome to update this at any time. If your location isn’t listed, please choose your nearest available option & meet us there. *Pick-ups can begin up to 20 minutes before the tour departure time, depending on location. To ensure a smooth start, please be ready and waiting outside 5 minutes prior to your specific pickup time. *Pick-up locations are carefully planned for each tour and may vary by day. If your pick-up location changes, kindly inform us in advance. *Our guides make multiple stops and may arrive within a 10-minute window. We are unable to wait for late guests. Pickup points include M Social Hotel Auckland, SkyCity Hotel Auckland.
The experience is available in EN.
It is a small-group experience with a maximum of 15 participants.
Specialized infant seats are available
A high level of fitness and good mobility is required, including a challenging 40-minute walk to and from Cathedral Cove over uneven terrain and stairs. Not suitable for guests with mobility difficulties.
Was a great experience. Completely shattered my expectations. Was helped by a great tour group, perfect weather and a great tour guide (Simon). We seemed to go at the perfect time as there was hardly anyone at the Hot Springs and, most importantly, Cathedral Cove. Highly reccomend going if you get the opportunity to go(try to get a sunny day) as it really adds to the experience.
Fantastic experience with Cheeky Kiwi Travel! Excellent service, comfortable transport, knowledgeable guide, and a very well-organised tour. Highly recommended!
Matt was fantastic. Very knowledgeable and chill. Couldn't have asked for better weather! Seamless communication with pickup details. Great pitstops with delicious food. Lovely group of people to go exploring with. 10/10 would do the exact tour again! Cathedral cove is absolutely stunning!
We had a great day with Simon. He was extremely friendly and informative. Cathedral Cove and Hot Beach were very unique experiences. Loved it. We had a great small group. Simon was the best. Thank you!
Had an excellent Coromandel Peninsula excursion with Cheeky Kiwi! Matt took us to so many great spots beyond just Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove—we even got to see freshwater eels and a kiwi nesting habitat. The trek down to Cathedral Cove was a tiring 40 minutes each way, and as a bigger guy, I honestly doubted whether I could manage the full 80-minute round trip. The stunning views made it completely worth it! A huge shoutout to Matt for making it such a wonderful day. We couldn't have asked for a better guide, especially on a rainy day.
Terrible experience. They cancelled my tour a couple hours before travelling to Auckland without giving any solution or caring about the money I payed for the hotel and buses. I recommend Expedigo Tours to do this same trip. They have more frequecies and better prices
We had a great day! This is a really nice day trip - we enjoyed our group and had a fantastic guide, who made everything smooth and enjoyable. The activities were beautiful and fun. We were really glad we went.
Sam was great and made sure we made the best out of the day! Also it was a good trip overall, would recommend the hot water spa even if it was crowded.
Thanks so much for the feedback! Sam is an awesome guide and totally passionate about giving guests the best day on the Cathedral Cove Tour. At Cheeky Kiwi we're proud to have the best tour guides in the industry. We're stoked you loved it and hope to see you back again :)
From start to finish this tour was well thought out to make for a fantastic day. Weather was on our side and made for fantastic views at Cathedral Cove and a quick sampling of hot water beach. Also really appreciate Cheeky Kiwi’s change to have lunch included— simplified the planning and the options were delicious!
It was a really nice trip! Cathedral cove was beautiful and I went for a winter swim at hot water beach. It was awesome! I’d definitely recommend this tour.
| Tour | Duration | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral Cove & Hot Water Beach Small-Group Tour with Lunch | 12 hours | 4.8 (317) | $114 | |
 Cathedral Cove 2 Hour Guided Tour Explore Marine Wonders | 2 hours | 5.0 (18) | $93 | View |
 Adventurous Zipline Tour in Coromandel | 2h 30min | 4.9 (183) | $85 | View |
 Captivating Railway Journey in Coromandel | 1h 15min | 4.7 (82) | $33 | View |
 Coromandel Adventure and Wildlife Boat Tour to Aldermen Islands | 2 hours | 5.0 (38) | $113 | View |
 Creative Wheel Throwing Pottery Class in Coromandel | 1h 30min | 4.0 (2) | $39 | View |
 HMNZS Canterbury Wreck Dive Charter | 1 day | — | $191 | View |