From Whitianga you can enjoy beaches, water sports, scenic flights and boat excursions of Mercury Bay. Indulge in great seafood and enjoy forest walks.
If you’re exploring The Coromandel, you’ll soon come to Whitianga – the main town on Mercury Bay. When native forests were being harvested on the peninsula in the 1800s and early 1900s, Whitianga was a timber port. Ships from Europe sailed in to Whitianga's deepwater harbour to load up with valuable kauri. Today, the township depends on fishing, farming and tourism for its prosperity.
If you're in Whitianga during September, don't miss the Whitianga Scallop Festival - a weekend of indulgence with more than 60 food and wine stalls, seafood cooking demonstrations and competitions including scallop shucking.
Accommodation is plentiful for much of the year, but the town gets busy over the Christmas holiday period. You’ll find a great choice of places to eat and drink. Dolphins live in the bay and sometimes frolic around the wharf. A passenger ferry provides a link with the Cooks Beach side of the harbour.
