{"id":759,"date":"2017-03-12T17:04:58","date_gmt":"2017-03-12T17:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/mount-maunganui\/"},"modified":"2022-08-08T23:22:29","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T23:22:29","slug":"mount-maunganui","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/mount-maunganui\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Maunganui"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mount Maunganui, also know as \u201cThe Mount\u201d to locals, is a popular beach town in the Bay of Plenty \u2013 just 2.5 hours\u2019 drive from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/Auckland.d178233.Destination-Travel-Guides?brandcid=blog.mtmaunganui.sophiechan_030417\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Auckland<\/a> and located on the stunning East Coast of the North Island.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re driving in from Auckland, you\u2019ll want to make sure you stop at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blueberry.co.nz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blueberry Country<\/a> in Ngatea for fresh real fruit ice-cream and blueberry picking, as well as Paeroa, home to the famous Kiwi fizzy drink L&amp;P (Lemon and Paeroa). <em>Blueberry Country, 229 Central Rd S, Ngatea 3576.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Shopping and local craft<\/h2>\n<p>When you arrive at the Mount, you\u2019ll find lots of great shops, caf\u00e9s, fresh produce and beautiful coastline. There are lots of local makers and creatives in Mount Maunganui who sell their goods at stores around town. You\u2019ll find really cool homewares shops, gift stores and clothing stores stocking local and international brands. Make sure to stop at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.neon-gypsy.co.nz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Neon Gypsy<\/a> boutique for beautiful boho clothing, and for homewares check out <a href=\"http:\/\/www.paperplanestore.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paper Plane<\/a> store and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eteatthemt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00c9t\u00e9 at the Mount<\/a> for gifts, books, leather goods and gorgeous home d\u00e9cor. <em>\u00c9t\u00e9 at the Mount, 98 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui; Paper Plane, 99 Maunganui Rd, Mount Maunganui; Neon Gypsy, 176 Maunganui Rd, Mount Maunganui.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Caf\u00e9 culture<\/h2>\n<p>Mount Maunganui has a thriving caf\u00e9 culture and one of my favourites is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cafe-Eighty-Eight-Mt-Maunganui-123864000996611\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Caf\u00e9 88<\/a>, who are known for their sweet treats, great coffee and arty decor. If you\u2019re stopping by, the carrot cake is a must-try, as well as their date and banana smoothie. Other favourites are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Luca\/391316064327618\">Luca<\/a>, a hole in the wall, no frills coffee stop and The Batch for a fresh and seasonal menu with beach-inspired interiors. <em>Caf\u00e9 88, 88 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui; Luca Coffee, 90 Maunganui Rd, Mount Maunganui; The Batch, 108 Maunganui Rd, Mount Maunganui.<\/em><br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/3_2017\/13456_42_HT' \/><\/p>\n<h2>Beach and hiking<\/h2>\n<p>Down by the water, you\u2019ll find Mount Maunganui itself and a coastline that stretches as far as the eye can see. Hiking up Mount Maunganui is a popular hike and is also beautiful at sunrise and sunset. There are two routes up the mountain, a shorter steeper route, and a longer moderate route which both take around an hour return, making time for photo stops. Reaching the top boasts incredible views of the never-ending coastline and vast Pacific Ocean below.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/3_2017\/13456_39_HT' \/><\/p>\n<h2>Refuel<\/h2>\n<p>After the walk, there are so many dinner options in town. Choose to enjoy some fish and chips on the beach or try out my favourite Mexican in town \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/barriobrothers.co.nz\/mt-maunganui\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Barrio Brothers<\/a>, where you\u2019ve just got to try their prawn tacos.<\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of bars and delicious restaurants to spend your evenings at. Mount Maunganui is known for its great food and friendly locals and you\u2019ll experience this wherever you choose to take a seat. <em>The Barrio Brothers, 101 Maunganui Rd, Mount Maunganui.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/3_2017\/13456_32_HT' \/><\/p>\n<h2>Papamoa<\/h2>\n<p>If you follow the coast south, the beach stretches for miles and just 15 minutes away is Papamoa, which is much quieter than The Mount and just as beautiful. If you\u2019re down here, you\u2019ve got to try local cafe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/henryandted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Henry &amp; Ted<\/a>, who have delicious eats. A must-try is their peanut butter latte! <em>Henry &amp; Ted, 5 Golden Sands Dr, Papamoa Beach, Papamoa.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\n<img src='https:\/\/images.trvl-media.com\/media\/content\/expaus\/images\/blog-img\/3_2017\/13456_35_HT' \/><\/p>\n<h2>Markets<\/h2>\n<p>During the weekend, both Papamoa and Mount Maunganui host <a href=\"https:\/\/littlebigevents.squarespace.com\/event-calendar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">craft<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mountmaunganui.org.nz\/markets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">farmers<\/a> markets which are well worth the visit. There\u2019s always live music, seasonal produce and fresh juices and coffee up for grabs. The Sunday Farmers Market at Mount Maunganui are held every Sunday from 9am to 1pm in the Phoenix car park, right in the middle of the main street of Downtown the Mount. Rain or shine!<\/p>\n<p>Whatever you choose to fill your time with, Mount Maunganui does not disappoint and is the perfect place to chill out and enjoy the beach town vibes.<\/p>\n<p><em>Expedia compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site, such compensation may include travel and other costs<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mount Maunganui, also know as \u201cThe Mount\u201d to locals, is a popular beach town in the Bay of Plenty \u2013 just 2.5 hours\u2019 drive from Auckland and located on the stunning East Coast of the North Island. If you\u2019re driving in from Auckland, you\u2019ll want to make sure you stop at Blueberry Country in Ngatea&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/mount-maunganui\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Mount Maunganui<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,6,2,3,14,380],"tags":[89,448],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-destination","category-experiences","category-explore","category-interests","category-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand","tag-sophie-chan","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mount Maunganui - Expedia AU Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.au\/stories\/mount-maunganui\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mount Maunganui - Expedia AU Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mount Maunganui, also know as \u201cThe Mount\u201d to locals, is a popular beach town in the Bay of Plenty \u2013 just 2.5 hours\u2019 drive from Auckland and located on the stunning East Coast of the North Island. 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