Dispelling Fallacies About Rotorua

Fallacies about Rotorua is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at some of the common gripes that visitors have.

Fallacies About Rotorua

1. That stinky rotten egg smell

Puhleeze. That's my town you're talking about. ;) Yes, I know it's not really a fallacy but, if you've lived here for any extended period of time it would be. There is nothing quite like arriving home and being greeted by tendrils of sulphur wafting up the nose. Home sweet home. ;)

Another good thing is, you can pass wind (to be polite) and blame it on the Rotorua sulphur.

Rotorua thermal steam, laden with sulfurous odors

2. Staying one or two nights will be long enough

Wrong. This is one of those fallacies about Rotorua that seems to come up time and again. So many visitors don't realise how much there is to see and do here. They arrive for the standard one day then kick themselves and wish they had allotted more time.

Even a week wouldn't be long enough I would think. Rotorua is central and can easily be used as a base for getting out to surrounding areas like Whakatane, Taupo, Waitomo, Tauranga and Hamilton for example. Travelling this way you don't have to worry about packing up the bags every day.

3. Rotorua attractions are expensive

Mmm, I have to say that I do baulk at some of the prices and that's not putting them down at all. I don't know what's involved in the costings and profit margins of the various businesses so don't presume to say a business is ripping me off. I suppose we've all got this 'gut feeling' that pops up when a price approaches our personal upper limit. And we know what happens when that happens, right?

Rotorua attractions are often perceived as being pricey

Zorbing is one of the many Rotorua attractions

Tourist attractions are perceived like that all over though. I know when I travel (especially if it's to the other ends of the earth) I will research the heck out of a place to decide what I want to do, where I'm willing to compromise, if and how I can get a discount or whether it's something I want to do at all costs, and then I budget accordingly.

I've been visiting a lot of the attractions while building this website so I use GrabOne a lot and quite often get 50% plus off. They have great deals for attractions, food, accommodation and other miscellaneous things.

Check out the daily deals for Rotorua & Taupo. You can alter the filters to include New Zealand or other areas if that's preferable.

Tamaki Māori Village, White Water Rafting and Sledging, Waitomo Black Water Tubing, Duck Tours and Velocity Valley are some examples of deals I have managed to grab. If you do look at GrabOne, sign up about 2mths out from your trip to be notified of deals by email and see what comes up.

Because there are so many attractions here it's a very competitive market. You can also find combos and deals on various attraction websites, at the local iSite (info centre) and also at your accommodation if you want to wait until you're here.

You might also want to visit my page Rotorua Deals with links to various deals websites.

4. Rotorua has no diversity of food

What a cheek! I totally beg to differ on this one. It may have been correct in the past but not anymore. By world standards I think Rotorua is right up there. A number of local businesses have gained international recognition which supports this.

Examples of native NZ fish drying - Te Puia, Rotorua

Maybe people expect to see our food like this?

Along with New Zealand/European cuisine we have Latin American, Mexican, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Italian, Thai, Turkish and probably more I can't think of right now.

Numerous cafes, restaurants, fine dining opportunities, bakeries, pubs and takeaways are sprinkled throughout the city. My dining guide may be a good place to start.

5. Rotorua is a tourist trap

Like most tourist destinations we kind of get caught between a rock and hard place with this one. Saying we're a tourist trap sounds like a person has no choice about what they want to see and do, or do they mean the experience didn't measure up to the dollars invested? Probably that one huh? (see above re discounts)

I have to say, I haven't had a bad experience here yet and the businesses offered value for money. When I've paid a visit to various attractions, I haven't mentioned having this website or that I will be writing about my experience. I feel a bit mean about that actually, like I'm sneaking around. On the whole I've found the operators professional, extremely helpful and passionate about what they do. I do go though, with the express intention of having myself a good time and to learn lots. Maybe that helps.

Can you add anything further to this Fallacies About Rotorua section? Then let's see if we can dispel them huh?