Cathedral Cove & Coromandel Peninsula Small-Group Day Tours
Overview
Available languages
12 hours
Mobile ticket
Discover the Coromandel Peninsula your way with two unique small-group tours.
Cathedral Cove & Hot Water Beach Tour – Operates only when tide times allow, giving you the chance to dig your own spa at the world-famous Hot Water Beach (bring a towel & swimwear!).
Coastal Adventure Tour – Runs on alternate days, following the same stunning coastal journey and highlights—including Cathedral Cove—without Hot Water Beach.
Tours operate daily, with itineraries based on tidal conditions. If your preferred tour is unavailable, check the alternate option— both tours include Mautohe Cathedral Cove, one of the world’s Top 50 Beaches!
Whichever option you choose, enjoy breathtaking scenery, secret stops, and the Cheeky Kiwi Travel difference: small groups, passionate guides, wildlife encounters, and thoughtful little touches that make our tours unforgettable.
Access to Cathedral Cove is weather-dependent; alternative stops may be arranged in poor conditions.
Additional Info
Public transportation options are available nearby
Specialized infant seats are available
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have a high level of physical fitness
To ensure everyone has an enjoyable experience, we kindly ask that you consider your fitness and mobility before joining our tours. This helps maintain a smooth pace for the group and ensures a positive experience for all.
Guests must wear reliable, closed-in footwear suitable for walking on various terrains.
For safety reasons, the track may be unsuitable after or during heavy rain. In such cases, alternative arrangements will be made
Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund.
Children aged 7 years and below are required to travel in a child safety car seat. You can provide your own or one can be provided for $20 NZD (with 24 hours notice).
Hot water beach is not always available due to the tide not being compatible with visiting this location for safety reasons.
Bring some clothes you can swim in and a towel
Not recommended for travelers with severe mobility difficulties, a large amount of walking over uneven surfaces is involved.
Guests must have a high level of fitness and be capable of completing the challenging 40-minute walk to and from Cathedral Cove.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Spades for Hot Water Beach (if booked Hot Water Beach option)
Intimate fully-guided tour
Water available & snacks provided
Lunch (opportunities to purchase at own expense)
Towels & Swim wear
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
What To Expect
Auckland Central
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.
Options
Coromandel inc Hot Water Beach
Hot Water Beach : Only dates where Hot Water Beach aligns with tide times will include a visit to this location
Pickup included
Coromandel Coastal Adventure
Pickup included
Reviews
203 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Poor weather condition
Madel C,
Nov 12, 2025
- Review from Viator
2.00Our tour to Cathedral cove was utterly disappointing. Unfortunately, as heavy rain and rough swells completely obscure. The area's famous turquoise water and pristine views. Our journey was cold and wet. Requiring us to spend most of the time huddled under the cover instead of enjoying the scenery. Given the word class natural beauty of this destination, the trip would have been absolutely spectacular on a clear day. Our tour guide/driver , Ms. Pearl, did her best to make our trip enjoyable despite the circumstance. I want to give her 5 stars and the 2 stars is for the weather.
Stunning views and humourous tour guides!!
dcJ6921RT,
Nov 9, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Kim and John were amazing tour guides! They were super fun! Kim’s humour kept me laughing! 😆 The beach views were absolutely stunning! I would highly recommend this tour! It was the highlight of my New Zealand trip!
Excited prior after reading reviews but very POOR tour !!
Mariusz K,
Nov 8, 2025
- Review from Viator
2.00Experienced traveler. Disappointed in this tour. Ok was notified day prior that hot water beach would be skipped due to tide levels. That’s fine. Tour guide-driver didn’t give any information throughout our long drive. Could share info about New Zealand and region. Nothing ! Basically we paid @500nzd for 3 persons for a Roundtrip to cathedral cave and a lunch stop. That’s it. Would never recommend.
Awesome Coromandel day trip!
601charissek,
Nov 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I was able to book jusg the night before thr trip without any troubles. The trip was really well-paced and relaxing. We left hotel at 6.30am, had breakfast at Thames around 8am, visited Cathedral cove at 10am-12pm, lunch , hot water beach around 1pm, and back to hotel around 6pm. Hanoz was our guide. He was knowledgable, great safe driver, and punctual. Along the way, we had several toilet breaks and opportunities to top up snacks at local supermakets.
Physical strength is necessary
hisakos518,
Nov 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Visiting Cathedral Cove was the main part of this tour for me, as a movie fan of the Chronicles of Narnia, but I also enjoyed the hot water beach in fine weather. Cathedral Cove is about 45 minutes away from getting off the bus, and hot springs felt great on my legs, although I realized that hot water required a lot of physical strength either way, as I needed to dig sand.
My great experience at Cathedral cove and Coromandel peninsula
7amadaa,
Nov 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Coromandel peninsula is amazing place to visit especially the cathedral cove.I booked the cathedral cove boat tour including the islands and it was great experience because I've seen the second largest sea cave in New zealand where in you can see the momo fish and a lot of snappers. I'm a nature lover and enjoyed the different rock formations and passing by the channel. I'm very thankful to HANUS the tour guide for last minute offer of the boat ride. My suggestion is please offer the boat ride to cathedral cove . Kudos to Hanus because he was really inserting his effort to dig into the sand to locate for a hot water to make our pool for our HOT WATER BEACH experience.
Great day out
elisakK9350DP,
Nov 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The tour was super fun and locations awesome. Our guide Cam was funny and knew a lot of details and stories about New Zealand. Sadly the microphone on the bus broke so we couldn’t get more stories on the way back, but good music and great views made up for it. Each location had enough time to explore and walk in our own pace. Highly recommend this tour, everything worked as described, the small group had a great vibe and the day was super relaxing.
Great day to discover Cathedral Cove
mariepJ2334XZ,
Nov 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The small group format and the fact that we adjust the program according to the tide and time was great! Cam was a great guide and as we had time we made one more stop to discover the wonders on the way home. I highly recommend that you be accompanied or solo!
Absolutely amazing experience!
idelineb,
Nov 4, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Best experience ever. Honaz, our guide was incredible, super friendly, even helped us dig our perfect spot in the sand! Length of the visit was perfect. We never felt rushed, and the small group made it personal and relaxed. Every stop was stunning, from Cathedral Cove to Hot Water Beach. Good snacks, good music, right price for that experience. I couldn’t recommend this tour more — if you want to discover the Coromandel in the best way possible, this is it!
Do it!!
Ideline B,
Nov 4, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Best small group experience ever! Our guide guy, Honaz, was incredible. He was super friendly and knowledgeable. He even helped us dig our perfect spot in the sand! We never felt rushed, and the small group made it personal and relaxed. Every stop was stunning, from Cathedral Cove to Hot Water Beach. I couldn’t recommend this tour more. If you want to discover the Coromandel in the best way possible, this is it!
From NZ$265.00
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