Hell's Gate Mud Bath & Spas

About This Experience

This is the mud bath and sulphur spa ticket at Hell's Gate, without the geothermal walk, and it is from $52 per person on Viator. You check in at the bathing complex, change, and step into a warm outdoor pool of fine grey geothermal mud, where you can spend up to 20 minutes smearing it over your skin. After a shower you move into the hot sulphur spa pools to soak, and there is a cool plunge pool for the end. Allow about an hour in all.

Hell's Gate sits at Tikitere, just outside Rotorua on State Highway 30, and the bathing pools look out over the steaming reserve. The operator says local Māori have used the mud and sulphur water here for more than 800 years, and describes the mud as gently exfoliating the skin. Expect a strong sulphur smell that stays in your swimsuit until it is washed.

It suits couples, friends and families who want the mud experience itself and do not need a guided walk. Children can join from 2.5 years old in the mud and 6 months in the sulphur spa, so a young family can bathe together. If you also want to see the geothermal reserve and Kākahi Falls on foot, book the combined walk, mud bath and spa ticket instead; walk-only and mud-and-spa tickets are sold separately.

Bring an old swimsuit, because the sulphur smell lingers, and leave silver jewellery at your hotel. Towels and swimwear can be hired at reception. In summer, from 1 October 2026 to 30 April 2027, Hell's Gate stays open until 9pm with last mud bath entry at 7:30pm, which leaves room for an early evening soak. In 551 Viator reviews the ticket averages 4.4, with guests praising the friendly staff and the novelty of a full-body mud bath; the same ticket is also sold on GetYourGuide.

Highlights

• Coat yourself head to toe in warm grey geothermal mud in an outdoor mud bath at Hell's Gate
• Up to 20 minutes in the mud, then a rinse and a soak in the hot sulphur spa pools
• Steam drifting off the geothermal reserve around you while you bathe
• Mud and sulphur water that local Māori have used for more than 800 years
• A cool plunge pool to finish, before you shower off and dry out
• Open late in summer: until 9pm from 1 October 2026 to 30 April 2027

What's Included

• ✓ Outdoor mud bath (up to 20 minutes per person per day)
• ✓ Soak in the sulphur spa pools
• ✓ Complimentary cool plunge pool
• ✓ Changing rooms and showers on site

Not Included

• Food and drinks
• Swimwear and towels (available to hire on site)
• Transport to Hell's Gate (a free shuttle from central Rotorua runs if you book it)
• The geothermal walk, which is a separate ticket

What to Bring

• An old swimsuit you do not mind smelling of sulphur
• A towel, or cash or card to hire one at reception
• A plastic bag for wet, muddy swimwear
• A rain jacket if the weather looks unsettled
• Leave silver jewellery at your hotel; the minerals tarnish it

Good to Know & Caveats

• Time in the mud bath is limited to 20 minutes per person per day.
• Minimum age is 2.5 years for the mud bath and 6 months for the sulphur spa. Children are counted as ages 5 to 15, and under-15s must be supervised at all times.
• Hell's Gate is open 10am to 9pm every day except Christmas Day, with last entry for the mud bath and spas at 7:30pm.
• Remove jewellery before you go in: the mud and sulphur water tarnish most metals, silver in particular.
• Swimwear and towels come home smelling of sulphur and need a thorough wash.
• Hell's Gate recommends that pregnant women do not bathe and that anyone pregnant seeks medical advice first.
• The bathing area is wheelchair accessible and has accessible facilities.
• Free cancellation is available on this Viator booking.

Meeting Point

Hell's Gate, 351 State Highway 30 at Tikitere: drive east from Rotorua on SH30, turn right towards Whakatāne about five minutes past the airport, and the park is 3 km down that road.