Start from 33 curated places around Coromandel, NZ, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Peppertree Restaurant & Bar
Long-running Coromandel Town fixture in a wooden colonial building, courtyard built around the century-old tree it's named after. Local oysters, mussels, market fish and a decent regional wine list — the default nicer dinner in town.
UMU Cafe
Daytime cafe and dinner spot just off Coromandel Town's main strip, with a leaning towards craft beer and shared plates. Garlic mussels and the lamb dumplings are what regulars rebook for.
Trails & outdoors
Mautohe Cathedral Cove Walk
The clifftop track winds from Grange Road through pohutukawa-shaded saddles down to the limestone archway. About 2.5km each way; allow 90 minutes return and time to swim.
New Chums Beach Walk
Forty-five minutes one way from the north end of Whangapoua Beach, scrambling over a rocky headland into a chunk of unbuilt coastal bush, then down to one of the best beaches in the country.
Things to do
The Lost Spring
Adult-only geothermal complex built into landscaped lagoons a few minutes from central Whitianga, with a spa and a restaurant attached. The water is real (drilled to a deep mineral aquifer), the setting is tropical-cosplay, the result is restorative.
Driving Creek Railway
Narrow-gauge railway hand-built by the potter Barry Brickell up the side of a hill of native bush north of Coromandel Town — switchbacks, tunnels and a viewing tower at the top. Add the zipline circuit through the same canopy for a half day.
Landmarks & sights
Mautohe Cathedral Cove
The limestone archway that Narnia made famous, at the end of a clifftop track in from Grange Road that's the way most people see it. Arriving by boat from Hahei dodges the walk and the parking lottery.
Hot Water Beach
Geothermal water bubbles up through the sand at one specific stretch south of the rocky outcrop, and visitors dig their own shallow tubs in the two-hour window either side of low tide. Strange ritual, surprisingly fun.