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

26 Jul 2014

Valid dates: 1 Sep 2007 -- 31 Dec 2016

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HIGH tides | Low tides

Show/hide high tides

Time	Tide (msl mm)
Sat, 2014 Jul 26
05:54	599
12:09	-732
18:32	704
Sun, 2014 Jul 27
00:41	-579
06:40	608
12:53	-744
19:15	737
Mon, 2014 Jul 28
01:25	-613
07:25	623
13:35	-754
19:57	765
Tue, 2014 Jul 29
02:08	-646
08:08	635
14:17	-757
20:37	781
Wed, 2014 Jul 30
02:50	-671
08:51	641
14:58	-746
21:17	783
Thu, 2014 Jul 31
03:31	-685
09:33	637
15:39	-723
21:57	770
Fri, 2014 Aug 01
04:12	-689
10:16	627
16:20	-689
22:36	746

Time	Tide (msl mm)
Sat, 2014 Aug 02
04:52	-687
10:58	614
17:02	-650
23:15	717
Sun, 2014 Aug 03
05:33	-685
11:41	604
17:45	-614
23:56	692
Mon, 2014 Aug 04
06:15	-689
12:28	603
18:31	-587
Tue, 2014 Aug 05
00:41	675
07:01	-704
13:17	617
19:21	-576
Wed, 2014 Aug 06
01:30	671
07:52	-732
14:11	649
20:16	-585
Thu, 2014 Aug 07
02:24	684
08:46	-774
15:08	702
21:15	-620
Fri, 2014 Aug 08
03:22	716
09:43	-832
16:07	776
22:16	-682

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 © 1998-2014 by Data Koncepts
All rights reserved.

Database content
Copyright © 2007 - 2014 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 2016. 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