Tamaki Tours Review

Definitely worth doing the overnight if you can manage it. Wonderful people with amazing stories!

I enjoyed the respect and seriousness given to their cultural heritage. The entertainment was fun and the food good. You ride a bus into the hills to go to the location. Our bus driver was very entertaining and we all sang songs on the bus on the way back. There is a small souvenir shop next to the dinner banquet. I would recommend this experience.

We did the tour last night , July 11th. Our driver Wallace was such a charismatic person, so suited for the position he's in. He made us sing songs from our homelands on the bus ride back, we sang O Canada. No one wanted to get off the bus, we were having so much fun with him! Excellent dinner, excellent cultural event!

Evening tour is a bit expensive... But still very interesting and interactive

This was one of the best highlights of my brief holiday to the North Island. Made all the more special by one of the most amazing staff members any company could possibly have. AROHA you are an amazing lady and full of kindness and love, your name says it all. I will always treasure the time I spent at Tamaki Maori Village.

whakawhetai ki a koutou mo te wheako m haro ka mau ahau tou aroha i roto i toku ngakau ara katoa

Lynda

Great way of providing information about the Maori culture. However, you are part of a big group and don't really feel special. The actors can also break character quite a bit, and the staff got a bit too pushy about getting involved.

Convenient transportation to cultural center for dinner and show. They give you info along the way.

I feel like this would have been a fantastic evening if it wasn't as overcrowded. We had 5 coaches worth of people (~200 total), which were split into groups of 30 for the activities.

Most activities took 3-4 volunteers so the majority of the group didn't partake in any of them.

Still a nice insite into a fascinating culture it just really needs to cut back on the amount of people!

I've been to another village but this one was better. Excellent food, fabulous performance and I loved the educational component.
Our bus driver Davey was hilarious also. Would definitely recommend visiting. Very accommodating to kids too

People who run it really care and want to impart knowledge on those who want to learn.

Best Maori experience you can find in NZ. Great dinner in the end which you eat as much as you like.

Must have done, $ 90 is already worth it. All you can eat was delicious, exotic preparation.

Must-do, worth the $ 90. Very tasty all you can eat buffet, unusual preparation of food.

It's important to learn about Maori culture as NZ is a bicultural country. Been to this place twice and I have to say it's getting worse and more commercialised. The intros were brief and the program changes according to the staff mood. The hungi was not real hungi. The chickens were cooked before placing to the ground just to show it to the visitors. The final performance was way shorter than before. The food was terrible as hungi could be way better if putting some hearts into. Next round starts right after each other and no wonder why they had to rush things. Overall, as an International visitor you might find this place worth going, but as a NZ local, this place is no longer the place to go. It's tuned for visitors, heavily tuned for that.

Amazing food, storytelling and guides. Fun time for the whole family.

It's a show that shows you part of the Maori culture. Very friendly people, including the bus driver who picks you up at the hotel. Very nice performances and very good food. Very friendly and smiling staff.

Amazing experience. The tribe was incredibly warm and friendly and allowed everyone photos at every opportunity. Interactive fun with learning the Haka and other Maori traditions. And the food was to die for!

Kia ora.
What an amazing evening. first of all the bus driver was just amazing. would probably never get a driver better than this. The evening was good. Learnt a lot about maori culture and the performances were nice too. Food was good. could maybe have a wider spread of dishes. But overall i was very happy.

10 Oct 2016
My husband and I attended and very much enjoyed our evening. We were taught and shown about the culture, and participated in some of the traditional rituals. Dinner was delicious, and the gift shop had some great souvenirs for friends back home. Highly recommend!

One of the best experiences you can have in Rotorua. The tours are designed to be fun and interactive. I was worried this would be a cheesy depiction of Maori culture, but it was actually very informative and I ended up really enjoying myself. The traditional dinner at the end was a great way to end the night!!

Sensational ... Paradise place .. lots of attractions !!!

The history and way of life was well explained followed by a lovely Maori meal with singing and dancing. Excellent evening out.

Fun look into their history. The show + dinner was fun, but was longer than I had anticipated. A bus picked us up from our hotel and dropped us back off after. The driver was really crazy, but in a fun way.

Great cultural experience! We loved the audience participation learning the words, dance, games, cooking of the Maori. Takaki Maori Village is a must see. The meal was very good too! Great job!!!

We were with a group of 9 people, hoping to learn more about the Maori culture. It was a total tourist trap!

The most fake experience I ever had. Very disappointing. This company wants only one thing and that's money. They'll bring you to a fake Maori village with lots of other people (4 big touringcars). There was one guy ending the show with the question "do you want to hear more?" "Well, in that case you can come back tomorrow and pay again lol".

Think twice, I would spend your time and money elsewhere as NZ is beautiful and there's so much other stuff to see. Enjoy!

The place to go for a Maori cultural experience. Informative, educational and entertaining. Learn the haka, eat a delicious hangi, walk through the Rotorua forest while enjoying the native tradition. Worth going to and worth going back to.

I loved the village. The performances and the food was delicious.

value for money. fantastic cultural experience on history, protocal etc and interactive. Great execution of events from tour bus ...venue and return

I did Tamaki last Saturday with 2 friends and we had an absolute blast! The check in was super easy and quick and the bus ride out to the village very comfortable.
The driver was HILERIOUS and made a 20 min bus ride seem like a 2 minute one! Cracked us up with lots of jokes and it was a fabulous way to start a great night :)

The village itself was super nice and we got shown around different "stations" where we were told information about the arts& craft, the Haka, etc. which was very interesting. After that we were able to witness a great performance with amazing songs and dances. it was the first time for me to see the Haka performed life and not just on TV and totally gave me the chills :)

The dinner was just insanely delicious and I wish I could go back every single night just for that!!!

Thanks a lot for hosting us and I will be back at some point for sure.

The receptionist was in don't care attitude mode as she was busy checking her computer screen and not caring less to our queries!!

Great Experience. Our group did the night tour and we all enjoyed the tour very much. It s a very touristy affair but I guess this is as close a Maori experience as one can expect these days. Very informative and fun villagers, great performance and entertaining bus drivers. The feast at the end of the show is incredible.

Really interesting tour. Thoroughly informative about Maori culture and history actually making you want to know more. Sincere, knowledgeable guides and a great meal and performance at the end. Would probably go again if I was out in NZ again.

Wonderful place. Great display of some Maori culture

An amazing cultural experience. Had an insight into the Maori culture and a traditional meal. The whole evening was great fun for both myself and my 8 year and at the same time educational. Would highly recommend and if i was ever in Rotorua would go again - great value too!!

4 of us went to night and we all absolutely thoroughly enjoyed the show loved it!!! The food was awesome and our bus driver Dennis the Menace thoroughly entertaining and a very nice man, will highly recommend this to all our friends and family back home in Australia. Kia ora!!

Great cultural experience, definitely worth the time and money. I learned a lot about the Maori culture and the food was very good.

Learned a lot about Maori culture and the show is cool. Also it's interesting to see how they make the traditional food - hangi, and it was really good!

Brilliant experience from start to finish!! Such friendly and welcoming people!! The food was also brilliant!! Travelled both the north and south islands and this was definitely up there with the highlight of the trip!! Would recommend to anyone!! 5*!!

One of the best experiences one can do in New Zealand!

Right from the start, the entertainment is top quality. The experience is as realistic as possible. One of our highlights while travelling New Zealand.

A wonderful visit. Friendly people and we learned a lot about Maori culture. Fabulous food to round off the evening.

Tamaki Maori village throws a light on the ancient Maori culture. They greet you traditionally and let you participate in the traditional Haka Dance which is called a Warrior dance. You find it mostly in Rugby games. At the end you get to eat their hangi dinner which is a Maori traditional dinner with wines and spirits. Definitely worth the money.

A wonderful show and an extremely well organized trip worth its price.

it's peaceful. Marae looks impressive from the outside. There was a sign on the left side hence the partial shot.

Really to do if you want to discover and understand Maori culture. Everything is very well organized and you eat well. Do not hesitate !

You can't visit Rotorua without coming here
So beautiful park

A fantastic cultural experience and delicious hangi meal!

Picked up from motel and return back to motel. Interactive host on bus very polite and well explained instructions. Enjoyable and entertaining workshops performance and the food yummmmmmy.

An informative and friendly experience. The food at the end was very good and plenty.

We loved this maori experience,
and recommend this place! 6 stars!!!

I have read many reviews about the possibility of going to lunch but I found it closed. It only does evening shows with an attached dinner

First I wasn't sure if I should give four or five stars but at the end I need to give the five stars. It was amazing. The people. The costumes. The music. The atmosphere. THE FOOD. AND THE BUS DRIVER!!!! Everthing. We were like 200 people and they managed the bus tour and the activities very well. We had to dictate a chief in our bus and that was totally funny. The songs the maoris sung and the dances they danced were amazing. I've never seen something like that before. You need to go there when you are in New Zeland. And my final words I want to dedicate to our bus driver. It's a long time ago that I laughed that hard in my life. Just go there and see what happens on the bus ride. Have fun

Very well. Tourist but we learn a lot about Maori. Good meal.

Amazing and learning visit , staff were professional and warmly hosting, food was great

Amazing experience friendly people and a great way to learn about thr Maori culture.

We were a small group of 8 people and were lucky to had booked this day as it was the birthday of one of the owners so we actually got to meet a part of the big and extended family as well. The food was delicious and there was plenty but more importantly the experience felt genuine and realistic - I didn't feel like a tourist. I had been waiting one year to see the haka live and it definitely was my highlight of this trip. I would recommend this 100% to anyone who is interested in maori culture (stories, songs, dances). Thank you from the bottom of my heart.