View from Manu Bay

Raglan, a town of 2,700 people, 45km from Hamilton

Raglan is a seaside town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand, best known for surfing and its arts scene.

Get in

By bus

Raglan is served by bus Route 23 from the Hamilton Transport Centre. Buses to/from the rest of New Zealand connect at the transport centre.

By car

State Highway 23 from Hamilton is the main road route to Raglan.

Get around

There is no public transport within Raglan, except that on weekends the route 23 bus takes passengers between Raglan township and Manu Bay.

There's a single taxi service, called Raglan Shuttle.

See

• 1 Bridal Veil/Waireinga Falls (20 km from Raglan, turn off State Highway 23 to Te Mata, once past Te Mata, turn left on to Kawhia Road and continue on until you see the Bridal Veil/Waireinga Falls carpark). 55m falls about 20 minutes walk from the carpark 
• 2 Raglan and District Museum, 15 Wainui Rd, ☏ +64-7-825 7195, info@raglanmuseum.co.nz. 9:30AM – 6:30PM daily. Has a collection of local history from the Raglan area. 

Do

• 1 Walk to summit of Mt Karioi (follow Whaanga Rd from Raglan until you reach the Te Toto Gorge carpark). The summit of Karioi offers great views of Raglan and the west coast. The walk takes three hours each way. Is relatively difficult. 

Raglan's black sand beach

• 2 Walk into Te Toto Gorge (follow Whaanga Rd from Raglan until you reach the Te Toto Gorge carpark). The gorge is reached by a track just down the hill from the car park. It is a steep track. The adventurous can turn left in the gorge and follow an overgrown track round the foot of the cliff to come up about a km further south and walk back along the gravel road (there is another track but it is overgrown and unmarked). 
• 3 Raglan Surfing School, 5b Whaanga Rd, Whale Bay. 
• Walk the 6 km of beach and visit Wainui Reserve. The Trig Point is much easier to get to than Mt Karioi and the view almost as good. 
• Take a 10 min or half hour stroll in the town and learn about its history. Nothing ancient here, but typical development of a mission station from 1834, then small NZ port from 1850. 
• 4 UP Surf Coaching, 27 Rose Street. Learn to surf. Take the 3- or 5-day beginner surf course and learn in small groups of 4 people or less. 2-hour lesson $75, 5-day course $499. (updated Jul 2017)

Buy

• Raglan Creative Market, Stewart Street. The Raglan Creative market is held at least once each month. For sale are a variety of locally made food and arts. 
• Raglan Growers Market, 3 Stewart Street. 5-7 Fridays. This is a market where local growers can bring homegrown produce to the wider community, strengthening community food resilience. (updated Feb 2023)

Eat

• 1 Orca restaurant and bar, 2 Wallis St, ☏ +64 7 825 6543. 
• 2 Wharf Kitchen and Bar, 43 Rose St. (updated Feb 2023)

Sleep

During the summer months, in particular from mid December through to the end of January, accommodation is in high demand. So it is best to have a booking.

• 1 Raglan Backpackers, 6 Wi Neera St (on the edge of Raglan harbour), ☏ +64 7 825 0515. Free use of kayaks, spa pool, bikes and fishing gear. Surf lessons all year round, great local surf advice, full surf board rentals and transport to surfing beach. 
• 2 Raglan Kopua Holiday Park, 61 Marine Parade, ☏ +64 7 825 8283. Offers a varitey of accommodation options. Camp sites, motel units and tourist flats. 
• 3 Solscape (former YHA), 611 Wainui Road (on the coast, about 6 km SW of the town centre.), ☏ +64 7 825 8268. 87-bed hostel with dorms, private rooms and tents in summer. Includes some recycled train caboose. rooms from $111, beds from $43. (updated Apr 2016)

Go next

• Pirongia