Tongariro Alpine Crossing: 8-Hour Guided Trek through Majestic Volcanic Landscape

Embark on an 8-hour guided trek through the majestic Tongariro Alpine Crossing, exploring the volcanic landscape and stunning natural wonders of Tongariro National Park. Discover the secrets and history of the area while enjoying personalized service and safety. Book now!

Duration: 8 hours
Highlights
  • Tongariro Alpine Crossing - A great one day walk
  • Mt Ruapehu - Stunning volcanic mountain
  • Tongariro National Park Visitor Centre (Whakapapa Visitor Centre) - Interesting information
  • Adrift Tongariro - Our base
  • Mount Ngauruhoe - A steep volcanic mountain showcased on Lord of the Rings as Mt Doom
What's Included
  • Professional and qualified guides
  • Up to NZD40 allowance for footwear and clothing
  • All necessary winter equipment provided
  • Crampons and ice axes included for winter tours
  • Transport between tour points and Adrift Tongariro base
What's Not Included
  • Beverages, bottled water, or snacks
  • Lunch
  • Return accommodation transfers from Taupo CBD, Turangi & Whakapapa Villages available at a surcharge
Additional Information

Experience the majestic Tongariro National Park and feel the crisp mountain air as you follow your expert guide across the Tongariro Alpine Crossing for a view of the volcanic landscape during this 8-hour trek. Soak in the snowy white expanse in winter or the lush, blooming beauty during summer on your 19km hike. Learn about the secrets and history of the landscape around you. Travel through volcanic craters, mountain springs, and vivid emerald lakes - natural wonders that leave you inspired and breathless. Notice the gradual change in flora as you climb higher in altitude. Witness the grandeur of Mount Ngauruhoe, which lies between Mount Tongariro, Mount Ruapehu.

Your guides are well informed and keep you safe by constantly assessing the weather and track conditions, timing for your personalised pick-up, and other little details to maximise your enjoyment.

  • It is essential all clients phone the Adrift Tongariro base between 10:00am - 5:00pm the day prior to trip date to confirm tour departure time and discuss exact timings. +64 7892 2751. Each participant to fill out a waiver prior to arriving on site. Look out for your link or QR code in your inbox 3 days before your tour date.
  • A minimum of 2 people is required for this tour to operate. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
  • If you are traveling alone please book as the tour does generally meet minimum numbers, especially on good weather days
  • Tour starts and finishes at the Adrift Tongariro Base. Transport between the Adrift Tongariro base (53 Carroll St, National Park Village) and the activity are included in the price.
  • All transfers meet at the Adrift base the morning of the tour where our guides will check everyone in, go over the days trip conditions and assess and provide the required equipment, and additional clothing and boots if needed.
  • Transfers from Taupo CBD, Turangi and Whakapapa Village are available on request for an additional charge. All transfers require a minimum of 2 people.
  • Summer Gear List: Water (1.5-2 litres), Lunch, Personal medications (e.g. Asthma Inhaler, blister protection etc), sun hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, backpack per person, hiking boots/shoes, walking trousers, 1 light top and 2 warm top layers (wool, merino, thermals, fleece, soft shell etc. are good layers), Waterproof raincoat.
  • Winter Gear List: Water (1-1.5 litres), Lunch, Personal medications (e.g. Asthma Inhaler, blister protection etc), sunscreen, sunglasses, backpack per person, hiking boots, thermal longs and/or walking trousers & over-trousers, 3 warm top layers (wool, merino, thermals, fleece, soft shell etc. are good layers), Waterproof raincoat, Warm hat and gloves.
  • A reasonably good level of fitness is required. If you are concerned about your fitness please let your guide know before commencing the walk
  • Minimum age is 12 years.
Location
53 Carroll Street
Carroll Street
Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(119 Ratings)
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Oldcrow22
Aug 15, 2024
Big thanks to Phil, our tour guide - Great, maybe, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Would definitely recommend, especially for Lord Of The Rings fans. The track is a bit challenging, requires good physical form, but it definitely worth it
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christinepn3723jr
Jul 25, 2024
Wonderful Trip - The view was breathtaking. It was a wonderful experience for me, thanks to the great guide and team. The weather was very changeable, snow, rain, wind and sunshine, but a real adventure on the volcano.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brandon_m
Jun 2, 2024
Excellent experience! - Beautiful mountain crossing! The tour company supplied me with everything I needed. I was comfortable the entire time.
Review provided by Viator
Hamaash
May 22, 2024
Must-do experience - Had an amazing day. Stu, our guide, did a great job of looking after us. He ensured that we were as safe as possible and also gave us a lot of insight about the history and geography of the Tongariro national park.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
665samanthab
Mar 27, 2024
One of the best experiences of my life - Martin was our guide and he was more than fantastic and very supportive when I start freaking out about the wind on the way to the summit. Once we made it the westher cleared up and turned out to be a beautiful experience with abit if adventure. I will remember this journey for a life time. Will recommend this company to everyone. Staff and your guide was friendly supportive and will do they best to give you an adventure
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ahteadphillips
Mar 25, 2024
A truly memorable day. - I had an amazing day with Adrift Tongariro on the Tongariro Crossing. Adrift thoroughly checked our preparation, ensuring everyone in the group had the correct clothing and footwear for what started as a cloudy, wet and very windy crossing. Our guide was superb - she judged the pace of our crossing perfectly, so that the group overall didn't struggle on the steeper sections. Around 11.30 the weather miraculously cleared, giving us fantastic views of Mt Ngauruhoe, the Red Crater, the emerald lakes and Lake Taupo . Thank you Adrift Tongariro for a fabulous highlight of my four weeks in New Zealand.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Claudia
Mar 11, 2024
Awesome guided tour a must do hike! - Our guide Stew was spectacular, caring and full of interesting knowledge of the area. We had a wonderful day hiking the crossing with 9 others in our group. We were the youngest in the group at 58 years old. It is a long hike but the pace is slow and doable. Only one section with a steep rocky descent was a little difficult but Stew helped us struggling. He was an awesome guide. The full day hike is well worth the effort because the scenery is unbelievable. Blue lake, red rock and the whole volcanic area will leave you speechless. A must do if visiting the north island in NZ..
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cornishem
Feb 27, 2024
Competent and confident guides - I was really impressed with Adrift. Their website makes it really clear about the equipment that you need and they state on there that they check you have suitable clothes etc with you when you check in. They were thorough in checking that each person had appropriate clothing and footwear and water with them. They were also helpful in the days before the walk advising me to change my original day if I could due to the weather forecast when I contacted them. There were high winds on the day that I switched to and our guide made it clear that we may not be able to go ahead with the while walk until we had reached the deciding point and she was able to assess the conditions and how the group was coping with them. The visibility was poor in places and it was very windy on the higher part, so I was reassured at being part of a group led by people who knew the trail well. Fortunately the clouds cleared on the descent and we were all able to enjoy the views. I really recommend Adrift if you want to do the crossing as part of a guided group.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cruiser04623964026
Feb 22, 2024
A challenging walk but amazing views around every corner - I actually only signed up for the half day as I wasn't sure if I was fit enough and I knew my husband wasn't. At the separation of the 2 experiences however I was able to choose to do the whole day experience while my husband went back. It was an incredibly beautiful walk with so many fantastic views. It was challenging but the guides were very encouraging and even gave out sweets! They were obviously very experienced and loved what they were doing which made it even better for us. I'm so glad to have done the whole thing. We were also lucky to have perfect weather - clear views and sun.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adventure402341
Apr 4, 2024
Feedback, it's a gift. - The guide we had (Chris) was very safety conscious regarding the walk and made sure everyone had the right equipment. So we got off to an assured start. We didn't complete the walk due to the weather conditions and turned back before the half way point. Ironically, despite being so risk adverse, he was looking at his mobile phone while driving the van back to the pick up point; a complete no no from a safety perspective. Not a big issue but, despite all the walkers engaging with Chris, he made no effort to talk a about anything else apart from himself and his experiences. An opportunity missed, particularly with the children who were there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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October 2024
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