Tauranga help ( port one day ovation of the seas March 2019 )

[fvandewouwer]

one day 16 March from ?? till ?? ( the arrival time and departure time is stil a mystery )

would love to to to Rotorua and Waiotapu. Have checked so many tours but I do not seem to find

a combination of those 2 places. Any advice on tours please ? A jeep tour would be nice

off the beaten track to see as much of this beautiful place as we can. no need of fancy restaurants

or shopping. thanks for your input.

good evening from Belgium

 

Edited December 7, 2018 by fvandewouwer

[Tranquility Base]

On the ports of Tauranga site it lists Ovation of the Seas: 16 March 19,  ETA : 0636, and  ETD 1636.

There are no other cruise ships listed for that day.

 

Just in case you are not aware, you are actually docked at Mount Maunganui, a lovely seaside area.

A nice sailaway from there, be on the starboard side for the view.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Tranquility Base

[Tranquility Base]

Further to the above timings.

I see the Royal site shows timings as arrive at 10:15 am and depart as 9:15 pm

So, back to your mystery ??? as to timings.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Tranquility Base

[Sallyandtex]

Maybe a private tour would suit, especially if you get a small group together to bring the cost down.

A number of companies will tailor your day.

We have used Cruise Tauranga twice very happy.

[MicCanberra]

Another independent site also has the Tauranga visit as 16 Mar 10.15-21.15.

[The_Big_M]

Are you happy to rent a car? A fair few people do that to see the places they want there to suit.

[fvandewouwer]

2 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

Are you happy to rent a car? A fair few people do that to see the places they want there to suit.

I would be happy but my husband is a pussy no driving at our ",wrong" side of the road he said... 

[MicCanberra]

LOL, 😹

[Tranquility Base]

On 12/8/2018 at 6:00 AM, fvandewouwer said:

would love to to to Rotorua and Waiotapu. Have checked so many tours but I do not seem to find

a combination of those 2 places. Any advice on tours please ?

This is not a personal recommendation as I have not done their tours, but I have seen this company mentioned favourably a few times on this forum.

Have you looked at Zealandier Tours ?

 

One of their cruise ship tours out of Tauranga is listed as Wai O Tapu Geothermal Wonderland Combo Tour.

It is a private tour, can be booked for only 2 persons, with an eight hour duration....timings to suit your ship.

Edited December 8, 2018 by Tranquility Base

[fvandewouwer]

14 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

This is not a personal recommendation as I have not done their tours, but I have seen this company mentioned favourably a few times on this forum.

Have you looked at Zealandier Tours ?

 

One of their cruise ship tours out of Tauranga is listed as Wai O Tapu Geothermal Wonderland Combo Tour.

It is a private tour, can be booked for only 2 persons, with an eight hour duration....timings to suit your ship.

I did check them out  as we have booked another tour with them and they are very helpful, in this case their tour is very expensive and yes a private one ( husband also do not like private tours, for just the 2 of us,  as he believes with the only 2 and a guide there is no privacy...., yep I married a strange man ) We were looking at the Te Puia tour but we are afraid this will be very commercial which …. yes dh does not like either

any advice on Te Puia ??

thanks and have a marvellous Sunday

[possum52]

It's Monday morning here in Australia  fvandewouwer. Te Puia is quite commercial but very interesting but we did enjoy our visit there. We did a tour with Zealandia in a minibus - 11 of us, which was quite well organised. We visited a kiwifruit farm and a Manuka honey place on the way to Rotorua. As well as visiting Te Puia, we drove through the Redwoods, and through Government Gardens and stopped for an ice-cream before the drive back to Tauranga which was a different route to the one we travelled there. 

 

Whatever you choose to do ion your visit to Tauranga, enjoy it.

 

Leigh

Edited December 9, 2018 by possum52

[Aus Traveller]

We have been to Te Puia a few times and have enjoyed it. I wouldn't call it "commercial" but it is well-organised. The Maori cultural show is good. We have been to the kiwifruit farm and the manuka honey place when we were on a Princess tour, but I suggest they could be missed and you would not be missing anything important. We have also been to a thermal valley south of Rotorua. It was good and also different from Te Puia. Their 'cultural show' was very short and held while we were all standing just after we arrived.

[mr walker]

we can thoroughly recommend Zealandier Tours also. We went on small group tour from Tauranga to Hobbiton (we had been to Rotorua previously). We had a great day, visiting a honey place on the way to Matamata, and a waterfall on the return leg. The driver/guide was great - we had a very enjoyable day. Note: we booked this tour online ahead of time.