World Famous
Hot Water Beach

Hot Water Beach is NOT a secret! It is known around the world!

Hot Water Beach is located along New Zealand's Pacific coast just south of Mercury Bay at the northeast tip of the Coromandel Peninsula (map).

If you're coming to Hot Water Beach, you need to know ...

When to arrive
What to bring
How to get here
How much does it co$t
How to survive the common rip tide

What is it?

Some volcanos develop huge underground reservoirs of superheated water. Over time, this water will escape to the surface — cooling on the way. There are two fissures at Hot Water Beach issuing water as hot as 64ºC (147ºF) at a rate as high as 15 litres/minute. This water contains large amounts of salt (NOT salt water), calcium, magnesium, potassium, fluorine, bromine and silica. There are other hot water springs nearby but the location of these two springs on the beach make them unique.

Hot Water Beach
Daily Low Tides

03 Dec 2023

Valid dates: 1 Sep 2007 -- 31 Dec 2025

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HIGH tides | Low tides

Show/hide high tides

Time	Tide (msl mm)
Sun, 2023 Dec 03
05:29	-760
11:55	774
18:10	-603
Mon, 2023 Dec 04
00:07	546
06:15	-684
12:40	723
18:59	-572
Tue, 2023 Dec 05
00:57	491
07:01	-610
13:26	673
19:48	-549
Wed, 2023 Dec 06
01:48	450
07:50	-544
14:13	630
20:38	-541
Thu, 2023 Dec 07
02:42	430
08:42	-494
15:01	598
21:27	-550
Fri, 2023 Dec 08
03:36	435
09:34	-465
15:50	582
22:16	-579
Sat, 2023 Dec 09
04:29	468
10:28	-459
16:38	583
23:03	-626

Time	Tide (msl mm)
Sun, 2023 Dec 10
05:20	524
11:20	-477
17:25	600
23:48	-687
Mon, 2023 Dec 11
06:09	598
12:10	-513
18:12	630
Tue, 2023 Dec 12
00:33	-758
06:56	682
12:59	-562
18:59	668
Wed, 2023 Dec 13
01:18	-829
07:42	767
13:48	-617
19:46	707
Thu, 2023 Dec 14
02:04	-893
08:29	844
14:37	-672
20:34	741
Fri, 2023 Dec 15
02:51	-940
09:16	905
15:26	-719
21:24	764
Sat, 2023 Dec 16
03:39	-964
10:05	945
16:17	-755
22:15	771

Tide times are LOCAL (NZST or NZDT).

Tide height in mm from Mean Sea Level.
The lower the low tide,
(the more negative the tide height),
the more time that the thermal spring
on the beach will be "uncovered."

Database created, maintained and
Copyright © 1998-2023 by Data Koncepts
All rights reserved.

Database content
Copyright © 2007 - 2023 by NIWA
All rights reserved.

Printable tide data for this month.

Get more Hot Water Beach info.

When?

The short answer is: ONE hour either side of low tide (okay, up to two hours but only if the low tide is REALLY low). Plan to arrive BEFORE low tide to (a) stake-out a place for digging your 'spa' (Hot Water Beach DOES get crowded) and (b) allow for some relaxation in your 'spa' before the tide rises and reclaims the beach, 'spas' and all.

A table of low tides is displayed to the right. The low tide table starts TODAY (as defined on our server) and provides two weeks of low tides so you can plan your visit to Hot Water Beach. If you're not interested in the next two weeks, update the day, month and year and you'll see the low tides from that date -- within the range from 1 Aug 2007 to 31 Dec 2025. Now you can plan your visit to Mercury Bay -- and Hot Water Beach!

What?

Beach gear, of course! Bathing suit (tops ARE optional 8·) and sandals
Access -- plan on walking through the small stream which separates the car park from the 100 m of beach you need to cross (sorry, there is NO mobility impaired access).
Towels and sunscreen are necessary in the summer.
Spade and bucket -- the spade (or a plastic milk bottle cut as a scoop) will help you dig your spa but the bucket is just as important! It will allow you to bring the cooler ocean water to keep you from scalding your feet (or whatever else you put in your spa!-)
Camera! If you arrive in our winter, it will be cool but the water can be HOT!
Despite Kiwis' love of their dogs, please plan on NOT bringing your dog here. They are not prohibited but dogs MUST be on a lead and you'll have to "police" any mess.
If you're planning on staying at Hot Water Beach, be advised that there is NO camping on the beach. However, there is ... Auntie Dawns Place!
WARNING: Despite the volunteer lifeguards (only at the height of the season), Hot Water Beach's rip tides have claimed many unwary visitors. Know how to swim in rip tides before you venture into the ocean!

WARNING!

Beware of the rip tides common to Hot Water Beach!
(Most prevalent near the offshore rocks - don't try to swim to them!)

If you feel yourself being taken from the shore by a current, DO NOT try to swim back to the shore - you will NOT succeed! Swim parallel to the beach until the current subsides THEN swim back to shore.

Hot Water Beach has seen many drownings for the failure of visitors to heed these simple precautions and we don't want to lose any more!

How to get here?

There's only one way. Take State Highway 25 to Whenuakite where the only notable junction is the road to Hot Water Beach, Cook's Beach and Hahei/Cathedral Cove. Stay on the main road until you see the (right) turn to Hot Water Beach (~8 km). Please pay attention to the speed limit on this road as it gives a good indication of the road condition -- which is paved right up to the car park.

Of course, NO visit to New Zealand would be complete without sitting on the beach in your own private hot pool at the world renowned Hot Water Beach!

How much does it co$t?

Sorry, the New Zealand government has yet to tax the natural thermal springs such as this one on the beach (all New Zealand beaches are open to the public) so there is NO CHARGE! Of course, if you'd like to have an ice cream, drink or sandwich at the shop (conveniently located at the car park), those are not free. It's true that there's "no free lunch," but ...

Hot Water Beach is FREE!

World Famous Hot Water Beach