Snells Beach
Snells Beach
4.3
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Top ways to experience nearby attractions
Are you currently on your trip?
Help us find experiences available for you.
The area
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
38 within 5 kms
Attractions
19 within 10 kms
Contribute
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
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.3
72 reviews
Excellent
37
Very good
24
Average
10
Poor
1
Terrible
0
Lucy R
3 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
Great motel in a small town with a huge beach. Clean, well-equipped, stylish and very welcoming. Went to a great restaurant over the road, Little and Local, and enjoyed a good walk on the beach at low tide. Recommend!
Written 18 February 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.
Lois G
Auckland, New Zealand523 contributions
Feb 2020
Snells Beach is a very good beach for safe swimming.It doesn't get very deep but at low tide the water goes out a long way. Good for swimming at high tide.
Written 9 February 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.
DavidRRyan
Mairangi Bay, New Zealand260 contributions
Jan 2015 • Family
Your spirits lift as soon as you see the Snells Beach Resort sign. Look out to the blue Pacific and Kawau Island. Take a left down Arabella Lane (passing Brick Bay Vineyard and Sculpture Trail) down the hill and straight down to the quieter northern end of Snells Beach. A lot of the hinterland is becoming residential so you may want to stay for a long time.
Snells is a tidal beach but that gives it a diverse personality. At high tide the water is calm and clear and because it is not deep, is safe for little'uns. At low tide you have a wide panorama and varied bird life. You can walk for kilometres at low tide to say Sandspit or Algie's Bay. If walking is your thing there is a long beachside pathway "Ercegs Way". Unlike many beaches there is plenty of shade under the Pohutakawas (Kiwi Christmas Trees). Ps Beach Cafe coming soon we hear.
Snells is a tidal beach but that gives it a diverse personality. At high tide the water is calm and clear and because it is not deep, is safe for little'uns. At low tide you have a wide panorama and varied bird life. You can walk for kilometres at low tide to say Sandspit or Algie's Bay. If walking is your thing there is a long beachside pathway "Ercegs Way". Unlike many beaches there is plenty of shade under the Pohutakawas (Kiwi Christmas Trees). Ps Beach Cafe coming soon we hear.
Written 10 January 2015
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.
Kea
1 contribution
Jun 2023
I've lived here for almost 3 years and it's generally just gotten worse. It's a pretty flash town with some snobs but some nice ones.
Most of the shops had either left or closed down, leaving us with basically nothing. EVEN THE WAREHOUSE IS GONE.
the warehouse was the ONLY slight source of entertainment we had (other than the beach obviously, which isn't even that good it's only knee height for miles)
Now we have nothing just lots of empty shops and liquor stores.
that's the end of my rant thanks for reading
(please give us poor kids some kind of entertainment in this ghost town)
-sincerely i bored snells kid
Most of the shops had either left or closed down, leaving us with basically nothing. EVEN THE WAREHOUSE IS GONE.
the warehouse was the ONLY slight source of entertainment we had (other than the beach obviously, which isn't even that good it's only knee height for miles)
Now we have nothing just lots of empty shops and liquor stores.
that's the end of my rant thanks for reading
(please give us poor kids some kind of entertainment in this ghost town)
-sincerely i bored snells kid
Written 28 June 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.
MCE
Auckland, New Zealand11 contributions
May 2019 • Family
Used to be a lovely spot, sadly many new houses= more people around trying to get their ways for everything :( Lost a lot the sense of community becoming a "let's point fingers at the others", speacially using binocolars!!!! Sad! ;( ;(
Written 25 May 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.
Ally J.M
Snells Beach, New Zealand8 contributions
Oct 2023 • Family
Living in snells beach for 2 years now and have never regretted the move. Here's why:
1. The area is perfect for families and elderly as the area is mostly inhabited by families, elderly and some retired people.
2. There's heaps of things to do in this small town that involve activities that push you to be more present with your family like taking the kids out to snells beach for walks and playing on either the cute basketball court or on the playground or kicking a ball around. There's also the te whau walkway and goodall reserve which is a great option to take the kids for a walk to learn about their surroundings and what nature can offer. Additionally there's also the highfield garden reserve for families with children which is a great picnic spot at the top and there's also donkeys for the children to visit and learn about. Lastly, the Brick Bay Wines & Sculpture Trail is perfect for the family and even for couples to go to as they have amazing sculptures and a neat cafe.
3. The small warm and welcoming businesses that provide food are super cute and delicious. Al's roast and qiao's chinese takeaway deserves a huge mention.
4. It's one of the safest locations I have ever lived in my life and I can say this for a certainty because I've travelled and lived in alot of places in my life and Snells beach is akin to a town where you can easily leave your doors unlocked and never have to worry about people breaking in.
1. The area is perfect for families and elderly as the area is mostly inhabited by families, elderly and some retired people.
2. There's heaps of things to do in this small town that involve activities that push you to be more present with your family like taking the kids out to snells beach for walks and playing on either the cute basketball court or on the playground or kicking a ball around. There's also the te whau walkway and goodall reserve which is a great option to take the kids for a walk to learn about their surroundings and what nature can offer. Additionally there's also the highfield garden reserve for families with children which is a great picnic spot at the top and there's also donkeys for the children to visit and learn about. Lastly, the Brick Bay Wines & Sculpture Trail is perfect for the family and even for couples to go to as they have amazing sculptures and a neat cafe.
3. The small warm and welcoming businesses that provide food are super cute and delicious. Al's roast and qiao's chinese takeaway deserves a huge mention.
4. It's one of the safest locations I have ever lived in my life and I can say this for a certainty because I've travelled and lived in alot of places in my life and Snells beach is akin to a town where you can easily leave your doors unlocked and never have to worry about people breaking in.
Written 22 October 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.
Kate B
Auckland, New Zealand12 contributions
Sept 2019
Went up for the weekend with a friend and stayed in a lovely place we got through Bookabach. While it was still cold, it was lovely to walk along the beach each day.
Written 6 November 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.
Dave S
Auckland Central, New Zealand15 contributions
Mar 2019 • Solo
I was there for a midweek, midday, swim this week. The tide was high - as it has to be for swimming on this shallow (safe) beach, and the water was flat and warm. Hundreds of meters of shoreline, with great views of the islands of Kawau Bay. The best part was that I had the place to myself.
Written 15 March 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.
George K
Billericay, UK64 contributions
Feb 2019 • Family
A secluded cove on the West Coast of North Island with some good swell. We went on a dull day and the beach was quite deserted. Some interesting walks, including the climb up the rock. Volcanic sand, but great for kids to play in. Attractions in the vicinity include the Sculptureum at Matakana and its vineyard.
Written 7 March 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.
Jo1232016
Auckland Central, New Zealand75 contributions
Aug 2018 • Couples
This area is very tidal so you need to check the tide charts before you go. Great for a walk if the tide is out, and great for a swim when it is in.... but it goes out for miles and miles! Pretty coastal walkway beside a stream and great playing areas for kids.
Written 27 August 2018
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.
No questions have been asked about this experience
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing