Rapids Jet

Rapids Jet

Boat ToursWater SportsSightseeing ToursSpeed Boats Tours
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Monday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
About
The Jet Boat is a New Zealand icon, and jet boating is a favourite activity for Kiwis. Set in the beautiful Aratiatia Scenic Reserve is New Zealand’s best white water Jet Boat Ride, Rapids Jet. Conveniently located just 15 minutes’ drive north of Taupo and 50 minutes south of Rotorua, Rapids Jet operates on the biggest rapids for commercial jet boating in New Zealand. Shoot through a narrow canyon, be exhilarated by spins on crystal clear waters, spot a trout and surf the pressure waves of the awesome Nga Awa Purua rapids. Take time to view the amazing surrounds of Aratiatia Scenic Reserve and learn about the wildlife and history of the area. Our 35 minute blast guarantees an adrenaline rush! Since 1993, over 140,000 passengers aged 5-93 years have safely experienced the thrill of real white water jet boating with Rapids Jet. We have thousands of hours experience driving jet boats both in New Zealand and overseas, so you can be sure you are in safe hands with Rapids Jet.
Taupo, New Zealand

Awards
Travellers' Choice
2024

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Tours and Tickets by Rapids Jet
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles2,018 reviews
Excellent
1,884
Very good
110
Average
13
Poor
5
Terrible
6

Marville
Auckland, New Zealand13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Couples
The whole experience is all worth it! You get the thrills, the chills and the lols! Our driver Jacob was very cool and funny! He made sure that all of us are having a BLAST all through the ride! I loved the 360 spins and the speed!! would go again in a heartbeat ❤️
Written 24 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Julia C
Braybrooke, UK14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
What a great way to spend an hour or so. This experience is definitely for thrill seekers. Simon our driver was awesome and took us up and down the river a few times. We shot rapids, did plenty of 360 turns and got pretty soaked as well.
Written 19 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Lisa Waine
15 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022 • Family
Family trip today from 13 to 51 years. It was awesome. Prepare to be wet! Simon (our driver) was great and made sure we all had a thrilling time. Plenty of spinning and going head on into the rapids. A must do when in Taupo.
Written 26 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nicolene R
Auckland, New Zealand3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2021 • Friends
Shannon was an excellent guide and pilot. Going over the rapids was great fun and loved the spins. Also great knowledge about the area and other interesting facts. Was the highlight of our holiday. Highly recommended. Can’t wait to do it again.
Written 5 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora, thank you very much for leaving us such a great review! We are so glad to hear you had such a highly rated experience with Shannon and the team at Rapids Jet. See you next time you're in Taupo! :)
Written 7 February 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Leon1957
49 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2014 • Family
The card advertising the ride we picked up in the hotel read 'a free hat with every booking'.. the hotel guy said 'that is the best jet boat ride to go to..' I think.. 'this is a once in a lifetime experience..so a great ride with my wife and son.. and a nice memento will really top off the day..' So I rang and booked the 3 of us.. We arrive.. pay our $300.. have the ride.. get great thrills.. get great photos.. I buy the photos for another $37 or so.. then mention...'on the card it says about the free hat....' Rusty says 'did you bring the card in?' I say 'no..its back at the hotel..' he says 'bad luck.. you have to bring in the card to get the hat..' I say 'so we book for 3, buy the photos.. and you're saying we have to drive the 5 k back to the hotel and back again to get the hats..' He says 'Life's tough like that isn't it..?' I say 'you're kidding me...' He says 'no I'm not..'
I'm angry... I drive back to the hotel.. look at the card... Nowhere does it say 'bring in the card to get the hat..' I DON'T WANT THE HAT.. I DON'T WANT THE MEMORY OF SUCH RIDICULOUS CUSTOMER SERVICE.. I ring Rusty and tell him nowhere on the card does it say to bring in the card to get the hat... He says 'it's common knowledge... bad luck..'
NOTE TO FUTURE USERS: if you want the hat... take the card... If you want to receive the kind of disappointment we did.. don't take the card.. Alternatively... go to their competition...
PS: in all other parts of NZ we had terrific, friendly customer service. Rusty let his fellow countrymen down with his desire to keep his 3 x $5 hats.. You got our $337 Rusty... you kept your hats.. Hope you thought you had a good day.. People remember first and last impressions... and my last impression of this place is I will never go back and I will be telling my friends the same..
Written 23 January 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

StandStrong
Odense, Denmark39 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2012 • Couples
Went there with my girlfriend after reading all the nice reviews on TripAdvisor and was really looking forward to it, as we both love extreme sports, and this looked like something that needed to be tried.

First of all the boattrip only takes about 45 minutes to an hour. After doing the first crazy turns you quickly find out that this is all you do. Making quick 180's. Half way through the trip you get to the rapids where you do all the jumps. A guy is standing on shore taking pictures of the ride (you are not allowed to bring your own camera) So you go back and forth, back and forth over the exact same jump. After that a little more saling and 180's and it's back again.
Just to mention it, the driver of the boat (can't remember his name) was a really nice guy and was the only reason why the trip wasn't all bad.

Sadly it's not all that extreme and for 109 dollars pr. person i expected more. Keep in mind that if you want photos of the experience you can purchase a cd with the photos afterwards for 35 dollars for about 30 photos. Thats was the most extreme thing i tried that day. For a 109 dollars for what was mostly just a photosession in a jetboat on the river, pictures should be included in the price.

I really felt that the whole trip was of really bad value and you should consider what you are seeking. I could imagine that if you are a family with small children, they would have fun doing it. If you are looking for thrills I would not look elsewhere.
Written 20 January 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Roel v
Lima, Peru3 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2017 • Friends
Its fun but not 110$ fun. I had a gopro strapped to my head, guy says its not allowed, i asked why, 'because we dont allow it', but i have my hands free, 'we dont allow it'. They just want you to buy their 40$ photo's... they say they drive 35 minutes, no way, more like 15 and the rest the boat is stopped and the guy is talking about kids movies that are filmed there... they advertise the boat going between narrow spots on the river, that doesn't happen either. If you are looking for adrenaline dont go. In the end i would say 50$ would be a fair price, not 110$ and another 40$ if you want a photo.
Written 24 September 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

AndyP80
Scarborough, Australia371 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2019 • Couples
Did our trip on a beautiful warm February afternoon and really enjoyed the whole experience. Some nice info from our driver must most importantly good fun.

You feel the speed and power as you literally fly down the river. The drivers really known how to play in the most crazy parts of the river. We smiled the whole time!

We would do this trip again it was so good.
Written 7 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wow, sounds like you came jet boating on a perfect summers day Andy! Those drivers are a little crazy, but super fun! We would love to have you again!! :)
Written 7 June 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jocelyn W
4 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
It was almost like a boat ride with some useful info about (though quite soft from the back row) the surroundings but I would not go there again if I'm looking for some thrill.
Written 23 June 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Smaug_11
Johannesburg, South Africa140 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
We had such an amazing experience with Rapids Jet. Simon our driver was very skilled and knowledgeable. He was able to give us some information on the river and surrounding area which was interesting. The entire ride lasted 35minutes and we whizzed up & down the Waikato River.
Written 28 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kia ora, we are so glad to hear you enjoyed your Rapids Jet ride with Simon! The team love being able to share the lesser known knowledge and history of our beautiful surroundings, while having a blast speeding up and down the Waikato River! We hope to see you again in the future!
Written 28 December 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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