Shop a Review

Rotorua is one of the largest cities in the country of New Zealand.

Shopping in Rotorua

In Rotorua, you primarily shop for local wellness products. These are of good quality and are a natural consequence of the tourism efforts that are based on geothermal springs and spa facilities. You also buy handicraft products and jewelry, usually made by Maoris.

Other souvenirs include the ubiquitous Kiwi bird, which is mandatory in all tourist stores and is sold in all materials and forms. In reality, unfortunately, the Kiwi bird is almost extinct.

You do not travel to Rotorua defined by AbbreviationFinder to shop for fashion or branded products. Then a visit to Auckland is recommended instead, where such stores are in abundance. But if you need any clothes or shoes, there are of course shopping malls and specialty shops in the center.

Central Mall Precinct

At the south end of the center of Rotorua you will find the Central Mall Precinct shopping center with shops selling well-known brands as well as being a popular meeting place for hungry people. Central Mall Precinct has entrances at Fenton, Victoria and Amohau streets. Open seven days a week from 0900.

Night market in Rotorua

Every Thursday there is night market in Rotorua. Strategically, it takes place in Tutanekai Street between Haupapa Street and Pukuatua Street. The night market is open from 1700 to 2030 where you can buy all kinds of products from local craftsmen, farmers, artists and souvenir sellers.

Kuirau Park in Rotorua

Every Saturday morning – and regardless of the weather – there has been (and hopefully will be) the flea market in Kuirau Park.

The market is organized by the local Rotary club. And while in New Zealand, be sure to taste rewena bread that is typically Maori food and is always served on the market in Kuirau Park. The market is open from 0700 to 1300 Saturdays.

Special Tips on Shopping in Rotorua

The Rotorua Museum in Government Garden is not just a place to learn Rotorua’s history and see exciting art. It also has a great museum shop where you can easily find gifts for someone you love and who has “everything”.

Eating in Rotorua

The travel plan has had some great dining experiences in Rotorua, and combined with the hospitality of the restaurant staff and a price level lower than eg. in Australia, the superlatives sit loose. Logically, there are plenty of eateries in and around Rotorua, so you basically don’t have to look for a restaurant.

But we definitely recommend that you steer clear of meals at the tourist spots, such as breakfast in the Wai-O-Tapu cafe, before taking a closer look at the geothermal springs and the psychedelic-colored lakes. Such heated baguettes are not something we voluntarily eat again. Then it is much better to have breakfast in Rotorua itself, eg. at the Third Place cafe overlooking Lake Rotorua.

Rotorua’s main street of food is located in downtown Tutanekai Street. For simplicity, they have called part of the street for ‘Eat Street’ so not even the most distant of us should be in doubt where to eat or drink. And the restaurants in and around Eat Street hold very good quality. There are plenty of tough competition venues in between. You should not spend too much on quality, or overeat the food, before tourists and locals find other options.

Rotorua’s restaurants are varied in cuisine, and in addition to typical barbecue and hamburger restaurants, you will find many Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Italian restaurants.

We recommend the following restaurants in Rotorua:

Nuvolari

A stylish Italian / European restaurant is Nuvolari at the bottom of Eat Street (1122 Tutanekai Street). Great food at decent prices, and an atmosphere that lets you lower your shoulders and talk freely about today’s experiences.

As a nice digression, we can inform you that we met a Norwegian who worked temporarily as a waiter at Nuvolari during his backpacker tour in Australia and New Zealand.

Leonardo’s

In a global world, shouldn’t you be surprised to find a small piece of Florence in Rotorua in New Zealand? In any case, the Italian Leonardo has settled here and created a gem of a restaurant.

It’s not particularly cheap, but it tastes so good that we could actually pay more. Here is everything from real Italian pizza to gourmet dishes from Tuscany. The address is Pukaki Street 1176, ie at the intersection of Pukaki Street and “Eat Street”.

Pig & Whistle

Pig & Whistle is a historic pub that offers typical pub food of good quality. There is also hard partying on the weekends and often live performances. Pig & Whistle can be found at the corner of Tutanekai Street and Haupapa Street. This is also the place to watch sports on TV. If the weather is good you can have a beer, wine or food in the pub garden.

Special tips on food and drink in Rotorua!

New Zealand has several breweries, and one of the best is Crouchers Beer. This is Rotorua’s own excellent craft brewery. The Brew Beer bar sells several of their brands and is a great place to visit for a humid evening on the town.

The Skyline restaurant has an “eat as much as you want lunch” (and dinner) at the gondolas just outside Rotorua. Here you get lots of food and a tourist experience in the form of a fantastic view at once.

The address of Skyline and the “gondolas” is 185 Fairy Springs Road.