Paku Drive, Tairua

Paku Drive, Tairua

Overnight Freedom Parking

34 Rankers Reviews

7 Tairua

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Paku Drive, Tairua

Freedom Camping at Tairua, Paku Drive opposite the surf club.

Site to be vacated by 9am.

All freedom campers must be certified self-contained.

Maximum stay of two consecutive nights, departure by 9am.

Park only between the freedom camping signs.

Location: South end of the formed car park.
Size: 20m starting at the south end of the formed car park heading north.

Details

Feature Value Info

Organisation

Thames-Coromandel District Council

Council organisation

Location

North IslandCoromandelTairua

Categories

  • Activity__freedom_campingFreedom Camping
  • Free

Directions

To Coordinates

Coordinates

-36.9956726509165

175.860736274719

Latitude
-36.9956726509165
Longitude
175.860736274719

Nearby

Reviews

    ✓ Stunning views

    ✓ Close to Mt Paku hike

    ✓ Clean toilets

    ✓ Quiet at night

    ✓ Safe feeling

    𐄂 Limited parking spots

    𐄂 Some road noise

    • Nice spot!
    • Cute little resting point with a nice view.
    • Great view over the harbour.
    • Clean toilets and site.
    • I liked this spot a lot, interesting landscape.
    Rating Count Percentage
    10/10 11
    32%
    9/10 10
    29%
    8/10 5
    15%
    7/10 4
    12%
    6/10 1
    3%
    5/10 1
    3%
    4/10 0
    0%
    3/10 0
    0%
    2/10 0
    0%
    1/10 2
    6%
  • 4.5/5

    Felt like we lucked out just to snag a spot (there’s only 3 of them), as all of the other nearby freedom camping spots were filled up (rolled in around 6 pm).

    Right on the water with picnic tables and beautiful sunrise view. Very quiet little park. You do have to be packed in pretty tight with other vehicles but otherwise, a nice little spot.

    Reviewed 4 days ago

  • 4.5/5

    Fantastic spot but you have to arrive early and need to vacate the marked freedom camping area until 9am.

    Good thing you can just re-park 5 m to the left and can have your late breakfast there.

    Reviewed about 1 month ago

  • 5.0/5

    Great spot for over night.Nice views and very quiet at night .You can go and see the needle rock formation 👍 and a bar just down the road.Tolets are good.

    Reviewed about 1 month ago

  • 4.5/5

    Great spot overlooking the water with another beach just yards away.

    Toilets basic but fine. It's worth climbing the mound for fantastic views.

    Reviewed about 1 year ago

  • 4.0/5

    Lovely quiet site for small number of campers.

    Clean toilets, access to beach and walking trail.

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 4.5/5

    Great little stop overnight with a lovely view over the estuary.

    Toilets nearby and were clean. Felt safe

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 5.0/5

    Beautiful spot/view Picnic table Toilets very clean Very quiet

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 0.5/5

    Would be a great place to stay for night but there were a bunch of teenagers hanging around (on a wednesday night) who pooped in the women’s sink, we’re peaking into campers during the night.

    We left in the middle of the night when realizing what they were doing. Felt very unsafe

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 0.5/5

    No freedom camping signs so no longer can freedom camp here.

    Reviewed almost 2 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    I liked this spot a lot, interesting landscape.

    Easy access to the Mt Paku hike for sunset and a lovely ocean beach is a short drive away. I had a great morning swim there.

    Small lot, I got the 2nd to last spot at 16:45 on the eve of Anzac Day.

    Toilets very clean 🙌

    Wardens checked our certs, watch out.

    Reviewed almost 2 years ago

  • 3.5/5

    Clean toilets and site.

    Nice view of the bay and good access to the Mt Paku hike! There is a bit of road noise and as it’s a parking lot you’ll be right next to other campers.

    There is a wifi connection here for Freedom Campers, but I couldn’t use it because it requires a password >:(

    Reviewed almost 2 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    Few spots by residential road near ocean, with a view of bay.

    Clean bathrooms right there. We dad really bad rainstorm the night there so there was little traffic.

    Reviewed about 2 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    Felt like we lucked out just to snag a spot (there’s only 3 of them), as all of the other nearby freedom camping spots were filled up (rolled in around 6 pm).

    Right on the water with picnic tables and beautiful sunrise view. Very quiet little park. You do have to be packed in pretty tight with other vehicles but otherwise, a nice little spot.

    Reviewed 4 days ago

  • 4.5/5

    Fantastic spot but you have to arrive early and need to vacate the marked freedom camping area until 9am.

    Good thing you can just re-park 5 m to the left and can have your late breakfast there.

    Reviewed about 1 month ago

  • 5.0/5

    Great spot for over night.Nice views and very quiet at night .You can go and see the needle rock formation 👍 and a bar just down the road.Tolets are good.

    Reviewed about 1 month ago

  • 4.5/5

    Great spot overlooking the water with another beach just yards away.

    Toilets basic but fine. It's worth climbing the mound for fantastic views.

    Reviewed about 1 year ago

  • 4.0/5

    Lovely quiet site for small number of campers.

    Clean toilets, access to beach and walking trail.

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 4.5/5

    Great little stop overnight with a lovely view over the estuary.

    Toilets nearby and were clean. Felt safe

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 5.0/5

    Beautiful spot/view Picnic table Toilets very clean Very quiet

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 0.5/5

    Would be a great place to stay for night but there were a bunch of teenagers hanging around (on a wednesday night) who pooped in the women’s sink, we’re peaking into campers during the night.

    We left in the middle of the night when realizing what they were doing. Felt very unsafe

    Reviewed over 1 year ago

  • 0.5/5

    No freedom camping signs so no longer can freedom camp here.

    Reviewed almost 2 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    I liked this spot a lot, interesting landscape.

    Easy access to the Mt Paku hike for sunset and a lovely ocean beach is a short drive away. I had a great morning swim there.

    Small lot, I got the 2nd to last spot at 16:45 on the eve of Anzac Day.

    Toilets very clean 🙌

    Wardens checked our certs, watch out.

    Reviewed almost 2 years ago

  • 3.5/5

    Clean toilets and site.

    Nice view of the bay and good access to the Mt Paku hike! There is a bit of road noise and as it’s a parking lot you’ll be right next to other campers.

    There is a wifi connection here for Freedom Campers, but I couldn’t use it because it requires a password >:(

    Reviewed almost 2 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    Few spots by residential road near ocean, with a view of bay.

    Clean bathrooms right there. We dad really bad rainstorm the night there so there was little traffic.

    Reviewed about 2 years ago

  • 4.0/5

    I loved the public toilets and the great view the spot offered.

    Although your spot will be next to a street and a walkway it‘s very peaceful and quiet at night.

    The best part about it that when we were visiting, it also had WIFI.

    Reviewed over 2 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    Amazing view from the front beach, and ocean behind the carpark.

    Bench in front of the carpark to take a breathtaking breakfast.

    Toilet 24h.

    Only 5 places now and in the opposite of what it said in the previous review the places are really narrow. If you have 2 motorhomes, only a small van can fit in between and you'll need to squeeze yourself every time you go out of your vehicle.

    Reviewed over 2 years ago

  • 3.5/5

    Cute little resting point with a nice view.

    Toilets are old but fairly well maintained and clean.

    It is a small roadside car park with only 6-7 spots available.

    Very safe neighbourhood feel to it

    Reviewed over 2 years ago

  • 4.5/5

    (Feb 2022) 7/8 spots available.

    Clean toilets right next to the spaces. Views of an estuary and less than 2 mins walk to beach behind. Picnic tables close by. Felt safe throughout the night. Only a couple of us, it was a Wednesday night.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago

  • 5.0/5

    Very pretty beach view, has wooden tables/chairs and clean toilets.

    We stayed here for one night during Christmas holiday period, arrived at 6pm and got the last designated spot. There’s only about 5-6 freedom spots, so get in early (must park between blue sign posts).

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in December 2020

  • 4.0/5

    Nice spot!

    Very quiet night and toilets 24h just next to it

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in September 2020

  • 5.0/5

    Absolutely great spot plenty of room and very clean toilets

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in August 2020

  • 5.0/5

    It has a very spacious place for big Campervans and picnic tables around it.

    The toilet is next to eat so very convenient. The view of the harbour is another plus to wake up to and very safe area as well.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in July 2020

  • 3.0/5

    Good place to overnight right close to Tairua's beach.

    There are few places for self-contained vehicles, but it is bad indicated. We arrived around 18.00 and we did not see any forbidden signal; in the morning, ranger came and advise that we stayed at wrong place which is allowed for cars. Anyway, he was so kind and we did not take any fine.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in December 2019

  • 4.5/5

    Great views, clean toilets nearby and lots of fellow campers!

    We showed up at 7pm and there was still plenty of space available

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in September 2019

  • 5.0/5

    We arrived relatively early and found one of the five spots to park our self-contained motorhome.

    There is a public toilet nearby without direct light for a night run, but at least its clear enough. A very quiet place to spend the night (maybe it was not peak season in July)

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in July 2018

  • 3.5/5

    It’s just alright.

    The site is actually a parking lot (be careful, there is like 25 spaces for parking but only about 8 of those are designated for Freedom Camping); park between the signs or you’ll get tolled!

    Toilets are ok and just next to the parking. The place has nice views and a couple of picnic tables.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in February 2018

  • 4.0/5

    Stayed at this place for one night.

    It was a beautiful place to visit. Lots of parking spaces and a toilet available. By dark parking spaces were full. So do get there early. PLEASE note location can get very windy.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in November 2016

  • 2.5/5

    We were stranded in Tairua by highway flooding so didn't really plan to stay here but it looked pretty enough, overlooking the water.

    We had a fairly terrible sleep though, as we stayed during a storm that buffeted our motorhome quite badly, so this is quite an exposed site with no shelter. We also found it very noisy with cars coming and going along the road all night and we could hear music from nearby venues quite loudly until late. We did enjoy the pleasant walk around to the marina in the afternoon (before the storm started).

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in July 2016

    AUSTRALIA
    Nic's avatar

    Nic

  • 4.0/5

    Great view over the harbour.

    Sandy beach close by and ocean beach just across the road. Lovely walk along the harbour edge to the entrance, as well as walks up Paku Hill, and back into Tairua town. There is room for 4-5 campers and it was full the night we stayed in May.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in June 2016

  • 5.0/5

    Great spot!

    Note that you are allowed to park between the arrows, hence also on the yellow fade away lines in the end.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in February 2016

  • 4.5/5

    The only thing wrong with this site is you are in a car park!

    Great position, the beach is beautiful and only a two minute walk. The view from the walk up the hill is stunning, makes it well worth the effort. Not many spaces though and all were taken the night we were there.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in November 2015

  • 3.5/5

    Nothing special, but clean toilets, nice view.

    Don't stay outside the marked area for free camping, 5 campers who arrived just minutes after us got tolled and left quite unhappy the next morning.

    Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in April 2015