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Beach townsNew Zealand2026

New Zealand Beach Towns

Tauranga, Waiheke and Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community were the most booked of the 28 beach towns in New Zealand on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 23,488, 14,691 and 14,398 stays. January is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 4.6 nights.

Source: AirROI Reviewed by Jun Zhou, Founder @ AirROI Updated November 4, 2026

Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made

Among the 13 towns with 200+ homes

Most booked of these 13: Tauranga 23,488 stays
Highest revenue per home of these 13: Waiheke NZ$54,314 a year
Lowest nightly rate of these 13: Nelson NZ$294 a night
Longest typical stay of these 13: Devonport-Takapuna 7.1 nights

Ranking

New Zealand Beach Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays

Every one of the beach and coastal towns in New Zealand with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.

New Zealand Beach Towns ranked by Airbnb stays, with homes, typical stay, busiest month, nightly rate, occupancy, revenue per home and guest rating

1	Tauranga, Bay of Plenty	23,488	1,194	5.4 nights	January	NZ$356	38%	NZ$31,707	4.86
2	Waiheke, Auckland	14,691	648	3.9 nights	January	NZ$607	36%	NZ$54,314	4.84
3	Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community, Northland. Includes Paihia, Russell and Kerikeri.	14,398	689	4.3 nights	January	NZ$394	36%	NZ$34,653	4.84
4	Nelson	12,002	558	5.8 nights	March	NZ$294	45%	NZ$29,424	4.89
5	Raglan, Waikato	10,419	356	4.4 nights	January	NZ$345	40%	NZ$38,177	4.89
6	Kaikōura, Canterbury	9,050	251	2.4 nights	February	NZ$375	42%	NZ$47,360	4.82
7	Whitianga, Waikato	5,684	254	3.6 nights	January	NZ$373	37%	NZ$30,990	4.87
8	Hibiscus and Bays, Auckland. Includes Orewa and Browns Bay.	5,638	338	6.5 nights	February	NZ$297	39%	NZ$28,907	4.88
9	Papamoa, Bay of Plenty	4,876	270	5.2 nights	January	NZ$416	37%	NZ$32,848	4.89
10	Gisborne	4,362	244	4.8 nights	January	NZ$347	34%	NZ$24,080	4.88
11	Waitākere Ranges, Auckland. Includes Piha, Karekare and Bethells Beach.	4,114	179	4.3 nights	January	NZ$258	38%	NZ$28,452	4.84
12	Devonport-Takapuna, Auckland	3,840	235	7.1 nights	February	NZ$323	43%	NZ$31,004	4.88
13	Mangawhai Heads, Northland	3,345	204	4.8 nights	January	NZ$407	34%	NZ$30,784	4.85
14	Paraparaumu, Wellington	3,273	144	4.4 nights	January	NZ$297	39%	NZ$31,339	4.88
15	Picton, Marlborough	3,180	112	3.3 nights	January	NZ$294	47%	NZ$40,398	4.82
16	Whangamatā, Waikato	3,092	205	4.5 nights	January	NZ$416	32%	NZ$27,766	4.87
17	Waihi Beach, Bay of Plenty	3,076	143	4.3 nights	January	NZ$418	36%	NZ$37,633	4.87
18	Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty Region	3,062	171	5.6 nights	December	NZ$421	40%	NZ$37,437	4.88
19	Oamaru, Otago	3,054	131	2.4 nights	February	NZ$256	45%	NZ$35,405	4.82
20	Porirua, Wellington	2,815	123	5.4 nights	January	NZ$217	43%	NZ$28,763	4.88
21	Hahei, Waikato	2,668	112	3.9 nights	January	NZ$479	42%	NZ$49,684	4.85
22	Coromandel, Waikato	2,604	109	3.3 nights	January	NZ$277	37%	NZ$28,046	4.86
23	Mangawhai, Northland	2,520	153	4.6 nights	January	NZ$452	32%	NZ$34,213	4.87
24	Cooks Beach, Waikato	2,367	113	4.2 nights	January	NZ$392	38%	NZ$32,513	4.84
25	Tairua, Waikato	2,317	142	4.8 nights	January	NZ$370	34%	NZ$27,672	4.87
26	Kaiteriteri, Tasman	1,943	105	4.2 nights	January	NZ$565	39%	NZ$41,976	4.83
27	Ōhope, Bay of Plenty	1,822	117	6.2 nights	January	NZ$357	36%	NZ$28,706	4.88
28	Pauanui, Waikato	1,091	101	3.9 nights	January	NZ$495	25%	NZ$23,227	4.82

Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5. Airbnb data files some places as one district or township, so Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community and rows like it cover several towns.

Money figures on this page are in New Zealand dollars, converted from US dollars at NZ$1.72 per US$, the typical rate from November 2025 to October 2026.

By region

Stays and Top Town by Region

New Zealand Beach Towns by region: towns, Airbnb stays and the top town in each
Region	Towns	Stays	Top town
Bay of Plenty	4	33,262	Tauranga
Waikato	8	30,242	Raglan
Auckland	4	28,283	Waiheke
Northland	3	20,263	Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community
Nelson	1	12,002	Nelson
Canterbury	1	9,050	Kaikōura
Wellington	2	6,088	Paraparaumu
Gisborne	1	4,362	Gisborne
Marlborough	1	3,180	Picton
Bay of Plenty Region	1	3,062	Mount Maunganui
Otago	1	3,054	Oamaru
Tasman	1	1,943	Kaiteriteri

Town by town

Where the Top Towns Stand Out

5 of 8 are busiest in January. Kaikōura and Hibiscus and Bays peak in February, and Nelson in March. Among guests who left a review, New Zealand is the top home country in all 8. Houses are the largest home type in all 8. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the 8 most booked towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.

Tauranga, Bay of Plenty
Of the 13 beach towns in New Zealand with 200 or more homes, Tauranga (Bay of Plenty) had the most Airbnb homes, at 1,194, in the 12 months to October 2026.
Waiheke, Auckland
Of the 13 beach towns in New Zealand with 200 or more homes, Waiheke (Auckland) had the highest nightly rate, at NZ$607, in the 12 months to October 2026.
Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community, Northland
Of the 13 beach towns in New Zealand with 200 or more homes, Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community (Northland) was booked furthest ahead, about 80 days before arrival, in the 12 months to October 2026.
4
Nelson
Of the 13 beach towns in New Zealand with 200 or more homes, Nelson had the highest occupancy, at 45%, and had the lowest nightly rate, at NZ$294, in the 12 months to October 2026.
6
Kaikōura, Canterbury
Of the 13 beach towns in New Zealand with 200 or more homes, Kaikōura (Canterbury) had the biggest share from abroad among guests who left a review, at 70%, in the 12 months to October 2026.

When to go

Busiest and Quietest Months

January, December and February rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the beach towns in New Zealand, and May and June as the quietest. January is the busiest month in 22 of the 28, while Kaikōura and Hibiscus and Bays peak in February, and Nelson in March. Across the 28 towns, nightly rates run lowest in August, at about NZ$342, and highest in January, at about NZ$424. Across the 28 towns, stays run longest in December, at 5.5 nights, and shortest in September, at 3.7 nights.

January ranks first, June last

Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.

Three busiest months
Other months

Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate

Months in New Zealand by rank
Rank	Month	Typical stay	Nightly rate
1	January	4.5 nights	NZ$424
2	December	5.5 nights	NZ$407
3	February	4.5 nights	NZ$406
4	March	4.1 nights	NZ$394
5	November	4.6 nights	NZ$378
6	April	3.8 nights	NZ$390
7	October	3.9 nights	NZ$373
8	September	3.7 nights	NZ$349
9	July	5.3 nights	NZ$349
10	August	4.4 nights	NZ$342
11	May	4.0 nights	NZ$371
12	June	4.7 nights	NZ$352

Who comes

Where Guests Come From

Among guests who left a review, 46% come from abroad. Among those guests, the largest groups from abroad come from Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. The top home cities among those guests are Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Kaikōura (Canterbury) draws the most from abroad, at 70%, among towns with 200 or more homes.

Top countries abroad

Among guests who left a review

Australia 12%
United States 10%
United Kingdom 8.3%
Canada 2.3%

Top home cities

Among guests who left a review

46% from abroad

Auckland 22%
Wellington 5.9%
Christchurch 2.1%
Hamilton 1.6%

The money view

Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate

Among the 13 towns with 200 or more Airbnb homes, Waiheke has the highest estimated revenue per home, at NZ$54,314 a year. Of those 13, Nelson has the highest occupancy, at 45%, and the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at NZ$294. The most booked of the 28, Tauranga, earns about NZ$31,707 per home.

Highest revenue per home of these 13

A year, AirROI estimate

Waiheke NZ$54,314
Auckland
Kaikōura NZ$47,360
Canterbury
Raglan NZ$38,177
Waikato
Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community NZ$34,653
Northland
Papamoa NZ$32,848
Bay of Plenty

Highest occupancy of these 13

Nights booked, AirROI estimate

Nelson 45%
Devonport-Takapuna 43%
Auckland
Kaikōura 42%
Canterbury
Raglan 40%
Waikato
Hibiscus and Bays 39%
Auckland

Lowest nightly rate of these 13

On Airbnb, AirROI estimate

Nelson NZ$294
Hibiscus and Bays NZ$297
Auckland
Devonport-Takapuna NZ$323
Auckland
Raglan NZ$345
Waikato
Gisborne NZ$347

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular beach town in New Zealand?

By AirROI's estimates, Tauranga (Bay of Plenty) is the most booked of the 28 beach towns in New Zealand, with 23,488 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Waiheke is second, with 14,691. This counts Airbnb bookings only.

What is the most affordable beach town in New Zealand?

By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns in New Zealand with 200 or more homes, the lowest are Nelson (NZ$294), Hibiscus and Bays (Auckland) (NZ$297) and Devonport-Takapuna (Auckland) (NZ$323). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.

What are some small beach towns in New Zealand?

By AirROI's count of active Airbnb homes as of October 2026, the smallest of the 28 beach towns it lists in New Zealand are Pauanui (Waikato) (101), Kaiteriteri (Tasman) (105) and Coromandel (Waikato) (109). AirROI's list starts at 100 homes, so smaller places are not on it.

What beach towns in New Zealand offer the strongest Airbnb returns?

Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns in New Zealand with 200 or more homes, the highest are Waiheke (Auckland) (NZ$54,314), Kaikōura (Canterbury) (NZ$47,360) and Raglan (Waikato) (NZ$38,177). Among the same towns, Nelson has the highest occupancy, at 45%.

Method

How These Lists and Numbers Are Made

How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to be on an ocean or sea coast with its own beach, seafront or harbour, or on a Great Lake with a public beach, and within about 10 km of the shore. The town's own listings can back that up, with 30% of its homes listing beach access, or 10% with ocean views, waterfront homes or beach in their titles besides. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.

How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 550,536 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.