Mount Maunganui

Surf, Sand and Sea.......for a great holiday!

While Tauranga is a popular place to live......it is Mount Maunganui that draws the majority of visitors to this city.To have such a wonderful surf beach right in the city is a rarity and treasured by all who love the sea and surf.Many of the homes in the area are beach holiday homes.

Shopping - There is a good strip of shops in Maunganui Road and Bayview Shopping Mall has the comprehensive mix offered by an expansive shopping complex including a Food Hall.

There is plenty of choice in activities suited to all ages and levels of fitness.

• Walks
• kayaking
• surfing
• boogyboarding
• cycling
• fishing

With both a Harbour beach and a surf beach all ages and swimming competencies are also catered for.

Mount Maunganui Walks

There are plenty of seats to sit and admire the view which looks across the channel to Matakana Island. You will invariably see Navy ships, containers and any number of boats coming through this narrow, sometimes wild channel.

For those who are fit, you can also climb UP the Mount ....... the trig station marking the highest point. You will note the track which goes off the base track suggests this walk is only for those with a reasonable degree of fitness. Overhead, you may see hang gliders, who often use the top of the mountain.

Rabbit Island – is the small premonitary to the right of the cafes facing the ocean. There is a track out to the end with some great views back to the Mount and the beach.

Mount Drury – can be accessed from the corner of Pacific Parade and Maunganui Rd or opposite the path to Rabbit Island. It is a short but steep climb to the top for some lovely views back to the city and over Pilot Bay.

Swimming - Beaches

Mount Manganui Ocean Beach -

There are lifeguards over the summer months and it is wise to always swim between the flags. As a surf beach, safety rules need to be observed as at times the surf can be big. The annual National Surf Lifesaving competitions are held here at the Mount, along with National Beach Volleyball championships.

Papamoa - is an extension of the ocean beach located further south along this coastline. Best accessed from the camping ground.

Mt Maunganui SaltWater Hotpools

• a warm pool for fitness swimming
• a pool heated to 40 degrees, with 4 pressure jets to ease the aching muscles, and plenty of seating
• two small pools heated to 41-42 degrees with strong pressure jets around the seating for massage

For a real treat you can have an excellent massage with a choice of different kinds to choose from. The price of $40 for half an hour or $70 for an hour includes a swim in the pools. I enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing massage with Lisa, leaving me with no aches or pains from my 20 kilometre cycle during the day......despite not having ridden a bike in nearly 37 years!

Fernland Natural Spa is only 5 minutes from Tauranga centre on the Cambridge Road. It has camping for campervans. Surrounded by native bush, there is a public pool and several private pools.

BayWave Tect Aquatic Centre – Bayview – Mt Maunganui

BayWave Tect Aquatic Centre has a hydroslide, indoor wave pool and 4 pools making this a great spot for the family to spend some time.

Mount Maunganui Accommodation

• motels
• backpackers
• B&B’s..... from luxury to average
• rental apartments and houses
• camping grounds.

Look for your Mount Maunganui Hostel Accommodation HERE

Camping Grounds

For campervan or camping travellers, there are a few small camps,including:

• The Cosy Corner Holiday Park on 40 Ocean Beach Road and across the road from the beach.
• Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park - 1 Adams Rd situated at the base of the Mount, and right on the Ocean beach, yet only metres to the harbour on Pilot Bay, with Salt Water Hotpools next door and a string of cafes across the road ...........can not be bettered .
• Papamoa Beach Top 10 Holiday Resort - 535 Papamoa Beach Road - Moter Camp - An excellent motor camp located right on the beach about 16kilometres from Tauranga.
  
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  Recommended Mount Maunganui Restaurants and Cafes

  

  There is a wide selection of cafes covering different ethnic cuisines, as well as the usual cafe selections, bars, takeaways etc. The main street has many, as does the strip opposite the camping ground by the mount itself.

  Listed below are some of our favourites in no particular order. Several we have visited over many years.

  Ajo’s Restaurant and Bar – Central Parade – Maunganui Road BYO - This is a well priced cafe a little out of the main strip so you need transport. On Wednesdays they have special $10 pasta night – not recommended personally, but they have excellent wood fired pizzas and on Thurday nights you get one large pizza with one free small pizza.Good for a family meal.

  Mount Maunganui Fish and Chip Takeaway –Maunganui Rd - opposite Bombay Restaurant. These were some of the best fish n’ chips we have had in many years. Highly recommended.

  Tay Street Cafe – Cnr Tay St and Marine ParadeBYO - is new and on the ground floor level of a new apartment block. We were disappointed with coffees we had during the day here and at $4 they were very expensive. However, the evening meals are to be highly recommended. Excellent prices at $16-19 dollars, delicious with a good menu selection. We loved our pork belly stir fry. The desserts were also excellent – a little pricey at $12 and as they give the menu verbally you rather expect the prices to be in synch with their meals.Overall the food was excellent....the drinks including a black coffee and mocchachino not memorable.

  Cafe A Taste of Asia – Thai Restaurant – Maunganui Rd BYOThis is a popular restaurant...........if the front is full or noisy............with all hard surfaces the group sitting behind us drove us out to the courtyard at the back which was warmed with heaters and very pleasant.

  The meals were excellent – my husband tried a vege puffs which were very good, and a novelty for the restaurant...........Thai Lamb Shank Curry. He declared it worked very well with all the traditional Thai flavours, and the meat just fell off the bone.

  I had a soup, very tasty..........and a more traditional Thai pork and vege meal with pineapple and a very generous serve of cashew nuts.

  We left feeling very well fed after a most enjoyable meal and excellent service.Highly Recommended.

  Bombay Brasserie and Licensed Restaurant – Cnr Pacific Parade and Maunganui Road – The meal we had here was excellent. It was a year or so ago, but judging by the Dineout Reviews....... this restaurant which has been around for some years continues to please.

  Volantis Cafe – Maunganui Road BYO – This cafe has been at the Mount for many years and still seems to be popular. With average to cheap preced meals we found the Seafood Chowder in a bread bowl very good – although I would have preferred more chunky fish pieces. We have eaten there many times over the years and never had a bad meal. It is a good choice for lunches or dinners.Recommended.

  Side Track Cafe – Shop 3 Marine Parade – Mt Maunganui - This is one of several cafes all in a row in a prime spot across the road from the ocean beach on Marine Parade at Mount Maunganui. With several awards for their coffee, we have always gone here and never been disappointed. The many breakfasts we have had over the years have been excellent whatever we have chosen, and the coffee is the best you could ask for.You can sit outside, enjoy the views of the beach, the Mount and on occasions watch the latest bunch from an iron man competition or cycling competition whizz past. Highly Recommended.
  
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