Coromandel Peninsula is approximately 2 and a half hours plus, south, then weirdly north-ish of Auckland, depending where on the Coromandel you stay. Since kids, both Mike and myself have been holidaying here with our families, as it’s one of the quintessential summer holiday spots in NZ. Every year we still do at least one trip to the Coromandel, each time ticking off new beaches and rediscovering old faves. Whether you’re wanting an ideal road trip route, or a weekend away from Auckland, the Coromandel has a spot for it. Here’s our guide to Coromandel and its best bits, starting from the bottom, working north.
Whangamata
Whangamata gets really busy over summer and it’s not surprising why, with it’s long stretch of white sand and good waves. There’s a town with a range of places to eat and shop, even boasting it’s own New World supermarket to give you a chance to load up on supplies (and wine).
When we stay here we’re generally with mates and hire a holiday house, but we’ve also stayed at the camping ground which is located pretty close to the beach, perfect for over-night accommodation if you’re beach hopping.
Opoutere and Onemana
Just one beach over from Whangamata is the lesser known Onemana, and then you’ll find Opoutere next along. These places are quieter, and more of a locals spot, with just holiday houses to stay in Onemana and apparently a small camping ground in Opoutere, although we haven’t stayed there ourselves (but we’ve heard good things from mates). Both beaches are lovely, but may not be as safe for swimming as Whangamata, although Opoutere has a lagoon, which is pretty beautiful. If you are looking for holiday accommodation, we hit up bookabach as our first point of call. 
Tairua
I haven’t stayed in Tairua since a kid, but have past through a number of times and recently stopped to admire the gorgeous twilight time at the beach with a feed of fish ’n chips. It’s got everything you need for a couple of days away, with a small town, plenty of accommodation and ok options for food. If you’re driving, make sure you head up Mt Paku to get a decent view of the place, it’s pretty good. Also the little bakery when you’re driving out of town does a pretty decent croissant and flat white.
HaHei, Hot Water Beach and the stunning Cathedral Cove
These bad boys get all linked in together, as if you stay at either Hahei or Hot Water Beach, you’ve got a good base for visiting the other spots.
Hahei has a camping ground on the beach, plus plenty of other holiday home accommodation, a couple of places to eat and a store for buying the essentials. You can either drive up the hill to park for the Cathedral Cove walk, or what we’ve done before is to start the walk from the end of the beach to save ourselves the hassle of facing the carpark, which gets really busy at times. On a good day, Hahei beach looks about as tropical as you’ll get in NZ, so it’s definitely worth a visit.
The beautiful Cathedral Cove – You’ll have seen it in the pictures, but you won’t have seen the walk to get there, which is about 40-1hr of reasonably hard going along a track, particularly if you’ve chosen the hottest day in Summer to do it! To then get to the beach, you make your way down a few flights of stairs before stepping out onto a stunning sheltered bay. The Cathedral part is the hole in the rock which takes you through to a second bay. Make sure you get a photo! 
Given it’s name because of the natural hot springs on it, Hot Water Beach is a true kiwi experience. It’s just one section of the beach that has the hot springs under the sand, and you’ll find this simply by the crowds of people gathering half way along the beach. While it’s advised to take a spade to dig yourself a pool to sit in, people are pretty friendly and you can bunk in with someone else or grab a hot pool when someone’s done. The best time to go is 2 hours either side of low tide, so check the tides before turning up.
Whitianga
Whitianga is one of the main towns in Coromandel, (the other being Coromandel Town on the other side of the peninsula), and is therefore usually full of holiday makers. While I’ve stayed here a couple of times before, I prefer to pass through or visit from other spots when it’s raining to keep ourselves entertained. In saying that, the beach is still respectable and worth a look.
Kuaotunu
This place has to be one of my faves, after camping here every year growing up. The camping ground isn’t quite what it used to be, but the beach is pretty and the place has the best food you’ll find in the Coromandel. Head to Luke’s kitchen for Breakfast, lunch or dinner and order the pizzas, the fish n chips or just one of the delicious cocktails.
Otama, Opito and Matapaua Bay
Over the winding Black Jack Road from Kuaotunu, you’ll find Otama, Opito and then Matapaua Bay, in that order. Otama Bay is a hidden gem and our favourite beach in the whole wide world. That’s a big claim given some of the amazing spots we’ve been to. But there’s something about this beach which makes us feel at home and so grateful we’re from New Zealand. We usually spend the day at the far end of the beach under a Pohutukawa tree, but there’s also a lagoon half way along the beach which might be worth checking out too, pretty good especially at high tide.
If you’re feeling particularly active, you can take a walk over the hill at the far end of the beach. From the top of the hill you’ll get spectacular views back over the beach and if you go keep going, you might even make it to the next beach over – we didn’t scramble down to the beach itself, as we didn’t fancy the climb back up the cliff, but it looked like a little piece of private paradise.
Opito Bay is a little more well-known, with a line of holiday homes lining the beach front. Again, there’s Pohutukawa trees to sit under and shelter from the searing sun, or golden sand to sit bank on and enjoy. There’s another good hill to walk up at the end of the beach, plus a short walk over to Crayfish Bay, a sweet sheltered cove (if you don’t mind a pebbled beach). You’ll find the entrance to this walk almost at the end of the beach, if you make it to the Historic Pa walk (the walk up the hill), you’ve gone too far.
From Opito Bay, head up Matapaua Bay Road towards Matapaua Bay, you’ll find a secluded beach perfect for a snorkel. We like the fact that no-ones ever heard of this place, and each time we’ve gone, there’s only a handful of people we’ve had to share the beach with.
Matarangi & Whangapoua
Back up the cost from Kuaotunu, you’ll turn off to Matarangi, one of the more built up areas in Coromandel. There’s no camping ground here, but the one on your way to Whangapoua is perfect for an over-night or two.
Whangapoua boasts a gorgeous beach, but is maybe better known for being the start of the walk around to New Chums beach, once named one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. While I’m not going to advise you not go, you should, every time we’ve been there lately we’ve battled weather or post-storm seaweed issues meaning we haven’t rated it quite as highly as others might have done.
Waikawau Bay
Last on our list, mainly because it’s way way up north is Waikawau Bay. Here you’ll find a Department of Conservation camping ground and the entrance to a beautiful beach that stretches for miles. There’s not much here at all apart from the beach, so this place is perfect for winding down and enjoying the sunset skies.
Hope this list of some of our fave spots inspires and helps you plan one of your must-do road trips in New Zealand. If you’re headed to the South Island too on your trip, check out our guide to Queenstown, we’ve called her the jewel of the South.