Whitianga Travel Guide
Whitianga accommodation, Whitianga activities and attractions, Whitianga maps, transportation to and around Whitianga - the Jasons Whitianga Destination Travel Guide is your complete visitor guide for Whitianga.
This vibrant holiday resort on the shore of Mercury Bay is the main town of the
Coromandel Peninsula's eastern coast. The town has a busy marina complex, art and craft outlets and fashionable waterfront eateries. Whitianga provides easy access to the peninsula's many attractions and makes a superb base for exploring the region.
More than 40 beaches and almost 40 islands are readily accessible, and Mercury Bay – a boating paradise – offers good sheltered anchorage. Fishing is excellent and the town is a key centre for big game fishing during the summer months. Buffalo Beach, with its 4km stretch of sand, is ideal for swimming, and there are also some fine beaches across the harbour.
A passenger ferry operates from the wharf to nearby Ferry Landing. From here, it is a short walk to lovely Front Beach and, a little further on, Flaxmill Bay.
Cooks Beach, another magnificent sweep of sand, is 2.5km from Ferry Landing. The area around Whitianga was once rich with kauri forest but this fell victim to the timber millers who arrived in the early 1800s. Displays at the Mercury Bay District Museum include relics from this era. Other activities in the region include shellfish gathering, diving, kayaking, windsurfing and horse riding.
