Waikato River Jet Boat Ride from Taupo
Recommended by 99% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Taupo, New Zealand
- 35 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Zoom along the Waikato River on a jet boat during a speedy, thrilling excursion. With a guide in the lead providing commentary on the local sights, surf the Nga Awapurua Rapids, shoot through canyons, and admire the purity of the clear waters. This small-group tour can accommodate 11 people per boat.
- Explore the Waikato River on a jet boat
- Surf rapids and admire picturesque scenery
- Several departure times to fit your schedule
- Small group of just 11 people
What's Included
- Experienced Professional Guide
- Fitted Life Jackets provided
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
- Parking and Bathroom Facilities Available
- Souvenir photos (for purchase for NZ$45)
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 3 Nga Awa Purua Road, Rotokawa 3378, New Zealand
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
Rapids Jet
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Minimum age is 5 years or 1 meter tall
- Family Pass includes 2 Adults and 2 Children
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Service animals allowed
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 11 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Barry_M
Found Rapids Jet last year and had the most incredible time. This was a return visit and it was even better than before. Well organised and Shannon was a very skilled, knowledgable and funny! Can’t recommend this enough!
Reviews
4.9
based on 1,458 reviews
Neil_R, Mar 2026
An absolute blast! Thanks to Taylah for her expert driving and giving us such a great experience - jet boating on the rapids is certainly thrilling and different from the more conventional ‘flat and shallow’ runs we’ve done elsewhere.
We did the Huka Falls Jet too and if you only have time for one of them, Rapids Jet gets our vote!
Carol_P, Feb 2026
Great driving and commentary. Plenty of thrills through stunning scenery. Wet but not completely soaked!
Barry_M, Jan 2026
Found Rapids Jet last year and had the most incredible time. This was a return visit and it was even better than before. Well organised and Shannon was a very skilled, knowledgable and funny! Can’t recommend this enough!
Shey_D, Dec 2025
This was one of the best experiences we had on our vacation! We had an 8 year old and 73 year olds with us and I was a bit nervous if it would be ok for them but it was great and we all had such a fun experience. Thrilling and crazy fun but also safe and professional.
Alfred_G, Dec 2025
The whole crew work hard to make sure you have a great experience. Our boat driver Taylah was awesome!
Nerida_J, Apr 2025
I would recommend this experience as I found it fun & our guide Jacob, although a kiwi did a wonderful job of explaining the area to us Aussies.
Kay_M, Mar 2025
Fun and informative about the river. Jacob was a great driver. Photos that were taken are terrific.Thanks guys.
David_C, Feb 2025
Prepare to have a great time. Everything is done well and you will not be disappointed. Very informative.
Richard_W, Jan 2025
Easy peasy fun & fast thrill ride. Capt. Shannon made it all worthwhile. Seemed that we did a bit more time than what the description said.
Marlis_W, Jan 2025
It was great fun! Very exciting, but we felt absolutely safe with Jacob! Great professionell pics were made, wonderful memories!
Time_T, Dec 2024
100% thrills. I've come back for more.
Scenic, exciting, informative and you get a little bit wet 😉
Spencer_G, Dec 2024
It was about as much fun as you can have in half an hour. Our pilot Jacob was highly skilled and entertaining both as a jet boat pilot and guide. My whole family loved it.
Lewis_A, Nov 2024
So much fun on the boat and learning about history of the lake and the people were so lovely and helpful
Paul_M, Mar 2024
Jacob the driver was unreal and friendly
He made the boat give us the best ride ever!!! He had good information about the river and ensured it was a great experience
Shirleen_C, Mar 2024
Fun and exciting! Even though the weather was not great we still had a lot of fun. I will recommend this to anyone.
Jacquey_P, Mar 2024
Well delivered boat ride, great fun, great staff. Busts of speed and turns, over rapids several times, stationary river facts were given at appropriate points.
Edward_O, Jan 2024
The friendly staff, great facilities and they're willingness to accommodate our small group was amazing.
Robert_K, Jan 2024
Jacob's knowledge about the river and his amazing 360 turns and jumps. Interesting movie set stories and scenery were amazing. His ability to handle tight turns and speed of the 550HP motor was exilerating.
Alison_R, Aug 2023
Having compared 2 companies on Viator, we went with this company as there were more reviews and great comments. It is slightly down river than the other company, which (apparently) is more commercial and doesn’t go to the Huka Falls. We benefited from the small business enthusiasm and dedication to giving us the best experience possible!
Jacob, our guide and driver, was knowledgeable and skilful. He stopped and gave us information about the river and area but also filled our time with exhilaration and fun! There have been several films shot along this stretch of the river, which we will be looking out for.
We all had a brilliant time and we did buy the photos as they showed how much fun we all had on the rapids! If you have the opportunity, this is not to be missed!
Afterwards, we drove to the Huka Falls, and so we enjoyed it that way! We also were recommended to watch the dam opening, which it does every 2 hours and this was an amazing spectacle. We could see the effects on the river during our jet boat ride.
Anita_H, Jul 2023
It was really good.
A young driver has a very nice skill and even played a little bit for us.very very nice !
JohnDouglas_a, Jun 2023
Awesome experience. Jacob the host and boat driver was great had so much fun and would recommend doing it again thanks team at rapids jets
John_W, Apr 2023
Would highly recommend this, it was so much fun, everything was well organised and the driver was excellent
Ali_R, Dec 2022
Just an overall amazing experience. For those who have never done this before it’s a MUST do. The rapid were thrilling. Just a not to be missed experience. Got drenched with all the “fingers up in the air” turns but all,part of the fun experience.
PuiChi_I, Jan 2020
It was our first time to ride a jet boat. The river was beautiful. A lot of bumping and spinning. 35 minutes was quickly passed. It was fun, and also safe. But please note that this ride does not go to the Huka Fall. If you want to reach the fall, you need to look for another operator.
From $84.52
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Waikato River Jet Boat Ride from Taupo
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