Turakina Beach Camp / Koitiata Camping Ground
Reviews
Get the best out of it. Here's how…
MissRed
Ranking: 7/10
Cheap little campsite at $10/night for an unpowered site. Showers are $2 and flush toilets, although no toilet paper for over 24 hours while I was there and it could all do with a really good hose out and clean. Tent sites were nicely mowed and rubbish bins available. Also a coin operated gas bbq further down the reserve, along with a playground. The surrounding landscape of wetlands means the water table is very high and as a result the unpowered sites were a bit soggy in places but still ok to use, just be aware if it’s been raining. A short and pleasant walk to a lovely beach with plenty of driftwood and pumice treasures to find and plenty of bird life to see in the wetlands area. I stayed 2 nights and enjoyed my time.
Stell
Ranking: 10/10
Lovely camp warden! Were super friendly.
Boardwalk Blss
Ranking: 7/10
Basic older first come small campground with only one functioning flush toilet; shower $2; powered site $16 for 2 pp -cash; dump station and water; minimal cell signal; WiFi can be purchased online. Across the road from the longest sand beach in NZ - strewn with lots of huge tree logs, wild and worth the 5 min stroll. OK for overnight July 2020 but other (more expensive) choices in the general area.
Kat Warnicke
Ranking: 8/10
Stayed in Sept 2020. Cheap option for one night, great for taking the dogs but don't expect any luxury. Campground consists of a square lawn, sites are at a first come / first served basis. There's one toilet and $2 shower each for male and females. There's an outdoor kitchen bench with warm water under a little roof. Price on the board out front is still $12 for a powered site but on the envelope it says $16, cash only. Still very cheap. Lawn got very soggy after rain when we were there.
Achim
Ranking: 10/10
Great place, good value for money
Jenny
Ranking: 10/10
Loved this campsite, it is right by the beach and facing west so as long as the night is clear you get a cracking sunset! Powered sites are by the kitchen area and unpowered is across the road on a grassy reserve, both equally as good!! Excellent price and a beautiful location! The beach is covered in old dead trees - watch your feet!!!! Paid through an honesty box in tge kitchen area
Phil
Ranking: 10/10
Very nice Spot close to the beach and a Playground. We were the only ones.
Olsenwood family
Ranking: 8/10
Nice spot, cheap as chips, pricing as of july 2019 $12 powered site plus $2 per person $6 unpowered plus $2 per person, fill in evenlope and put in box in wall provided, man comes and checks so please do it to keep this great spot running. $2 hot showers and free toilets, drinking water and a donation washing machine, simple but great spot for an overnite.
Brian
Ranking: 8/10
A lovely and inexpensive campground. There ia a toilet and shower for each of the two main genders, a kitchen sink, bench space and a washing machine. BBQ tables are scattered around. There are no cooking facilities except for a BBQ next to the playground about 100 meters away.
I. Ionescu
Ranking: 8/10
Nice small campsite, facilities adequate.
Behind the sand dunes, you have to take a 10 mins walk through an eerie river estuary full of dead tree logs to reach the sea. Dark grey sand, beautiful views. Recommended!
Luke Thomson
Ranking: 9/10
Cheap. Quiet. Didn’t use the showers but hot showers available for $2 extra. Unpowered sites on fairly large patch of surprisingly well kept grass. Nice play park and this bizzare beach which is worth a visit. For the price highly recommended.
MaryCC
Ranking: 10/10
Best value for money I’ve seen. Small campground for powered and separate camp area for non powered. Fantastic location by the beach, wild and natural, great walks along beach and around estuary with lots of bird life.
Campground had toilet, great hot shower just $2, kitchen area with hot and cold drinking water plus hot & cold dishwashing sink. All this for $6 per site and $2 per person. Great value.
I will be back. Highly recommended if you’re looking for natural environment camping.
Jakob Simons
Ranking: 10/10
Though a little hard to find, this campsite right next to the beach (behind the dunes) with clean facilities and a nice little „cellphone reception and nice view“ post on top of the dunes was really worth the money and a perfect place to stay. Benches with tables are provided for the unpowered sites!
We were unpowered but the powered sites were inside a little yard. Maybe 5-6 places and not too spacious...
Payment is made by putting an envelope into a postbox next to the lavatory. 6 for the unpowered site, 2 pp and 2 per hot shower.
Washing machine provided donation based.
Avoid Camping Fines!
Each camping location is approved by a regional council in NZ. So if it shows on the map, you’re allowed to stay.
The Rankers Camping NZ app, is also in association with…
Gab and Anna
Ranking: 10/10
Great value for money , nice place , fantastic facilities for the low price. Short walk to beach hot and drinking water available. Well recommended.
Jill McGrath
Ranking: 8/10
This spot was surprisingly cool. $10 for 2 adults in a non powered site. It is set back from the ocean, but we still heard the waves. Nice walk down to a bizarre but cool beach. Someone else described it as “the elephant graveyard in the Lion King”, we agree. Not sure if any post apocalyptic movie scenes have been shot here, but they should be! Driftwood galore, black sand, HUGE beach and low blowing sand, creepy and cool. My husband took a shower, $2/4 minutes, old & keep your flip flops on, but fine. It is a bit older but has a kitchen space and a fun well kept playground and barbecue. Kids would love it here! Zero bugs, noise, trash or issues. The people in the town are super friendly, and the camp owner is sweet. We’d go again.
Happy Camping 🌿
Alyson Reid
Ranking: 10/10
One of our favourite camp sites in New Zealand. The town is picture perfect and the beach is a dream. Only $10 for two people is well worth a stop here.
Annina Jarvinen
Ranking: 10/10
Drinking water, showers for cost, toilets and very little and cute campground. Cooking shelter, washing machine and sink for dishes. The town is a bit odd, little tired but still very proud and well taken care of. Strange mix and worth the visit. A beach that feels like the elephant graveyard in lion king but nice and not scary. I would recommend a trip out there. A very nice playground also for kids just by the campground.
Kathrina Handschuh
Ranking: 9/10
Only $8 for a non power site for one person ($6 site + $2 per person). Hot shower $2, donation for laundry. Close to the beach, nice swim. No kitchen, but a couple of sinks. Only one toilet for the whole campground. The low price makes the 9.
Dalton Howden
Ranking: 9/10
Really cheap $4 per adult for non powered. Has toilets and showers. Showers cost $2.
Susan Boyton
Ranking: 9/10
A great find. This all weather area is adjacent to the beach. A powered site is $6 plus $2 pp and $2 for the shower. There is a washing machine for use for a donation and sinks for washing up. There is a dump station but no water for topping up your water supply. The elderly gentleman who runs the park lives across the road out the back gate. No shops in this area so have all you need with you. Well worth the short drive off the highway.
Denise Hall
Ranking: 10/10
Brilliant little campsite near the beach, $10 for 2 adults with power and a nice old chap managing the campsite definitely worth visiting even if the toilet and shower are a bit tired the campsite is well maintained.
Tani Richards
Ranking: 10/10
One of the best value for money campsites we stayed at in our entire 2 month tour of both islands. Decent sheltered, flat campsites with flushing toilets and shower available. The beach is a short walk away and very rugged and beautiful, with amazing sunsets. Laundry available, water available, power available, selection of books and has BBQ available. Thoroughly enjoyed our stay! 2 people on a powered site for just $10 total!
Lucia
Ranking: 9/10
The campsite was great, small place and good value for money. Very close to the beach which is an amazing place with beautiful sunset. The campsite hosts were so friendly. It was quite windy when we were there, another family gave up on trying to set up their tent and left. Other than that it was a nice and quiet, remote place to spend a day at the beach.
Aaron Cox
Ranking: 9/10
Great location off the beaten track, camp site is cheap, very clean and tidy. Plenty of drift wood on the beach for the kids to play in. Nice safe and sheltered tidal estuary 5min walk from the camp site. We had the whole place to ourselves until early evening when the tourists started arriving. Very friendly camp warden.
Tanja Laube
Ranking: 9/10
Great for all who like to avoid the very touristy places and find something special. Very good value for the money. Lovely hosts.
Dorota Tataruch
Ranking: 10/10
Nice spot close to a beach, a few km from the highway. Toilets, $2 hot shower, a washing machine for a few $ donation, a dump site. Easy, low key place that offers a lot for its price.
Max Brunner
Ranking: 9/10
Very good value for money. Showers cost extra. You smell iron in the water but overall it is a nice place at the beach.
Camping NZ App
Every camping site on your iPhone™, iPad™ or Android™ phone or tablet. Avoid camping penalties using this council approved app. Featuring offline maps.
Jeremy Little
Ranking: 10/10
Quiet beach town off the main road. Has a toilet block and $2 showers. The site itself was $10 for the convenience of power, less without. Well looked after and very friendly wardens. The town itself has a nice park for families but not much else, we loved the simplicity. We went for a jog up the road and locals were very friendly. Not a swimming beach as there was no sand on the beach, it had a lot of rocks. Good for a safe and quiet night's stopover.
Ron Web
Ranking: 8/10
A good place to stay for $10 (powered site for 2 adults and a child), the facilities are okay. You get what you pay for. Toilets are simple, but clean. The iron water smells a bit. Large playground outside the door.
Ahmed Mohsen Aly
Ranking: 8/10
Very cheap. The showers aren't included in the price and it's $2 for just 4 minutes. The warden didn't really bother with welcoming us. The most memorable thing about the place is the village itself honestly. The people are incredibly friendly!
Peter Pan
Ranking: 8/10
Stayed here for only one night but it was perfect. Arrived in the dark but the campsite and office were both easy to find. Not much of a welcome from the owner, but for the price we couldn't complain - $6 for the site and then $2 extra per person, so only $10 for a powered site. Probably the cheapest site we'll ever stay in! Quite a small campground with only 8 sites, but we were the only ones there. Very close proximity to the houses on both sides, so there isn't that much privacy. Facilities were average - only two toilets and two showers (one male / one female) which were all very basic. We didn't try the hot showers for $2, but they looked fine. Nice covered area with table, sink, fresh drinking water and even a washing machine you can use for a small charge! We had thought it would be closer to the beach, which is actually about a 5 minute walk away, but the beach was so beautiful all covered in driftwood, with views up to Mount Egmont, that we couldn't complain! A lovely little campsite if you want to escape for a night or a weekend. Bear in mind there are no shops in Koitiata so stock up before you get there.
Sibylle and Nadine
Ranking: 10/10
You pay $6 for an unpowered site and for a 4 minute shower you pay another $2. The shower is nice and good though, plus the site for unpowered vehicles is beautiful.
Graeme Knox
Ranking: 10/10
This place is great, $10 for 2 on power is fantastic. Nice place to get away for a weekend and enjoy a really wild New Zealand west coast beach.
van Linda Werner
Ranking: 6/10
Nice campground, only the water for the shower smells because it contains iron. Near the beach and playground.
arnaud paquet
Ranking: 8/10
4$ for the unpowered site and 2$ per person, so very cheap for what you get : hot shower, clean toilets, tap water, cooking shelter, picnic tables. Small but nice, a few minutes away from the sea.
Just a 8 because the water from the shower smelt iron and that smell follows you for a couple of days afterwards.
Simon Wagner
Ranking: 9/10
Basic campsite, but beautiful located. Cannot see the ocean, but you can hear it. Owner is a lovely old man across the street. Didn't talk that much, but friendly.
Facilities are basic.
GN100
Ranking: 9/10
Excellent site in small community. The powered sites are in a nice grassed section, while the non powered are beside the road, albeit the end of the road. Good kids playground 100 metres away, and beach access is from the playground. A bit of a walk (10 minutes) to the beach as you follow the Turakina river to the mouth. A wild black-sand beach. Toilet and shower block a bit gloomy. There is a dump station for campervans. Friendly custodians across road.
Johannes J
Ranking: 8/10
Basic campground but good value for money. Sheltered sink and water taps with a little light that stayed on over night, toilets not very clean but okay, good hot shower but a little bit gloomy.
Not far away from the sea but you can't see it from the camp.
Price: 4 $ (non powered) / 6 $ (powered) per site + 2 $ pp
David Restell
Ranking: 7/10
We stayed here for 2 nights on power.
+ Cheap. $10 for 2 adults on power,
+ Clean tidy little spot,
+ Shower, washing machine as well as normal facilities.- Toilets very basic and unkept,
- No welcome at all from wardens.
Will and Taylor
Ranking: 7/10
$8 for two people for a non-powered site - great deal. Sealed road all the way from the highway. Friendly owners who came around in the morning and get you to sign their guestbook. A short walk to the beach. No stores around so stock up before heading here.
Toilets, coin-operated laundry and showers are included. The shower is a bit funky, but loads of hot water. Drinking water is available but shower water is non-potable, most likely iron which had a slight smell to it.
Feels a bit like you're camping out in someone's backyard...has a sort of homey-type feel to it.
irishpaulqueenstown
Ranking: 8/10
Right by the beach, sealed road from the main highway, and super-cheap ($10 for 2 people in a powered site) with toilets and showers! Awesome!