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Whakapapa resort snow
Lat Long: 39.23° S 175.55° E
Ski New Zealand

Whakapapa Resort Reviews

Weather Forecast for Whakapapa at 1962 m altitude

Issued: 5 am 06 May 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Next snow in Whakapapa: 2.0 cm on Sat 9th  (after 3 PM)

Visitor reviews for Whakapapa Ski Resort

Whakapapa Ratings

Overall: 3.3. Based on 52 votes and 59 reviews.

Rate this resort

Snowsure: 3.2

  • Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
  • Is often closed due to a lack of snow
  • Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
  • Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
  • Whakapapa is snowsure even in the poorest seasons

Variety of pistes: 4.2

  • The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
  • The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
  • Whakapapa has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain

Off-piste: 4.1

  • No off-piste worth mentioning
  • Off piste is out-of-bounds
  • Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
  • A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days

Scenery: 4.2

  • An ugly resort in a bland setting
  • Average mountain views and resort
  • A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town

Access: 3.3

  • At least one overnight stop
  • Requires a whole day
  • Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
  • Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
  • There is a main airport within an hour of Whakapapa

Public Transport: 3.1

  • There are no buses or taxis to Whakapapa
  • There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
  • Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections

Accommodation: 3.5

  • No places to stay in/near Whakapapa
  • A few places to stay in the resort
  • A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets

Cheap Rooms: 3.4

  • No budget accommodation available
  • Just one or two hostels so book ahead
  • Several cheap hostels and pensions available

Luxury Hotels: 3.5

  • No luxury accommodation available
  • Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
  • Several up-market hotels in Whakapapa

Ski in/Ski out: 3.2

  • The ski area is located far from any accommodation
  • A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
  • Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available

Childcare: 2.8

  • There are no child care facilities at Whakapapa
  • The resort has limited child-care facilities
  • the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche

Snowmaking: 3.7

  • Whakapapa relies entirely on natural snow
  • There are just a few snow cannons
  • There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes

Snow Grooming: 3.6

  • There are no snow groomers at Whakapapa
  • Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
  • All the runs at Whakapapa are groomed daily

Shelter: 2.0

  • There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
  • There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
  • Whakapapa is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close

Nearby options: 2.7

  • If snow conditions are poor at Whakapapa, it will be poor everywhere nearby
  • There are good alternatives within an hours drive
  • Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions

Regional rating: 3.6

  • Whakapapa usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
  • Has average conditions for the region
  • Usually has the best snow conditions in the region

Lift Staff: 3.6

  • The staff at Whakapapa are rude or unhelpful
  • Lift staff at Whakapapa are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help

Crowds/Queues: 2.9

  • The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
  • It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
  • It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare

Ski Schools: 4.2

  • No ski schools available
  • One or two ski schools but local language only
  • A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
  • Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
  • Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors

Hire and Repairs: 4.0

  • Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
  • There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
  • Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible

Beginners: 3.6

  • Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
  • A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
  • Vast areas of gentle terrain

Intermediates: 4.1

  • No intermediate terrain at Whakapapa
  • Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
  • Vast areas of cruising runs

Advanced: 4.3

  • Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
  • Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
  • Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week

Snow Park: 2.7

  • Not even a kicker at Whakapapa
  • Average sized park quite well looked after
  • Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails

Cross-country: 2.5

  • There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Whakapapa
  • There are some cross country trails available
  • The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails

Luge/Toboggan: 2.6

  • No designated luge or toboggan runs
  • There are toboggan runs that open quite often
  • Whakapapa has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages

Mountain Dining: 3.2

  • Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
  • Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
  • There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets

Eating: 3.2

  • Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
  • There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
  • A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants

Apres-Ski: 2.6

  • Nothing to do, not even a bar
  • There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
  • Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere

Other Sports: 1.7

  • No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
  • Resort has just a small public swimming pool
  • Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool

Entertainment: 2.7

  • Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
  • The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
  • The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports

Winter Walks: 3.4

  • Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
  • A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
  • Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities

Ski Pass Value: 2.9

  • A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
  • The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
  • Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area

Value (National): 3.5

  • Overall, Whakapapa is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
  • Overall represents average value for money
  • Overall offers the best value resort in the country

Value (Global): 3.3

  • Overall, Whakapapa is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
  • Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
  • Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money

Show all 35 ratings

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August 18, 2008
Stu from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
I note Darryl's comment about skiing to the Chateau. I remember doing that on occasion in the past too. I also remember skiing at Christmas and New Year. And I remember digging the cars out at the top of the Bruce in the morning, then another front coming through and having to dig them out again in the afternoon so they didn't get graded (70's). Whakapapa is great for a challenge and variety - just gets a bit crowded at times, so I try to avoid those times.
August 14, 2008
TiM from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
At the moment there is heaps of snow at Whak (2.9 mts) and whoever wrote the one saying that it needs 1.3 mts of snow is wrong. I did a full run with 1 meter of snow on and that was fine. 2yrs ago me and my bro skied top to bottom and I was only 11yrs and he was only 9yrs
August 10, 2008
darryl from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
It's interesting what Vivienne had to write about top of the mountain to Chateau skiing. It would appear she has not spent many years at Whakapapa. I have spent 30yrs this yr skiing at Whakapapa and have done a top to bottom, gone to the tavern, had a few drinks and then caught the then Mountain Goats back up. It the big dump of the 90's the young kids in our ski club skied to the Chateau using the cars coming up as a slalom course. This skiing has not been down for a while due to the lack of snow, however it can be done. Whilst Whakapapa can be unpredictable, it is a very technical mountain to ski and having skied a large number of ski fields worldwide, you will see the evidence of your ability at these fields. Most ski instructors will tell you, "if you can ski Whakapapa, you can ski anywhere in the world" And as mentioned, the mountain is magic when the sun is out and the snow is perfect,it can't be beaten.
August 07, 2008
David from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
This season is the first season that I have ever been down to the South Island and to be completely honest with you Whakapapa measures up well. If you're from Auckland and wanting to go skiing go to Whaka and save a heap of $$$$$. It's good that they have the Knol ridge and Far West cafes because that means that you don't have to go all the way to the base area to rest up re fuel or "De Fuel". The field does get very busy especially if Far West isn't open but a good rule to follow is if it's busy at the Waterfall go out west. If it's busy out west go to the Waterfall. Out west is the high light of the field and offers rolling natural big mountain terrain which is super fun on a powder day. Rock Garden is always busy so be prepared. Upper Mountain pass is always the way to go.
August 06, 2008
shaun from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Went to Whakapapa on Tues 16 August and what a day! Heaps of snow no q,s and awesome conditions! one of the best days ever!
July 24, 2008
Vivienne from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
I've been skiing Whakapapa and Turoa for the last 8 years. It's good on a good day, but they don't come everyday. It's exposed and both resorts share the most "closed days" out of all NZ resorts. It gets the most snow, but it needs it to cover the rocks. Whakapapa needs about 1.3m and Turoa needs about 1m to get a decent run. Anything below that, you'll need to avoid rocks. No offence, but Andrew (whoever wrote the first review), I seriously doubt you skied from Top to the chateau. you'd be lucky to ski even half that. Please. Don't get me wrong, on a good day, Whakapapa and Turoa are magic. but don't have your hopes too high, and you have to factor in closed days. The features at both ski fields are damn fun and interesting which keep me going year after year. But it's not an American, Japanese, or EU ski field. Don't be fooled. Please.
August 17, 2006
jonny from snowcone from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Here are my tips for riding at Whakapapa: Best days to go are monday-thursday there are fewer people in the lift lines and you get a better carpark. If you go there fri-sat during mid season get a carpark in daypark 4 or 5 catch the shuttle up to the top and at the end of the day you can ski/board down to your car. If the lift lines are packed on the centennial lift take the far west chairlift, then take the 4 man chairlift follow the trail to the left and then proceed down to the bottom of the waterfall lift, ride safely help those learners who are in a spot of trouble, show respect to the old timers, but most of all have fun and watch out for the rocks coz they have the ability to shred you a new poohole.
June 26, 2006
Jenny from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Whakapapa is not only for the skiers and boarders you know. 11 of us went up for a fun day with the kids. We took sheets of plastic etc and the kids and a few adults had a lovely day in the sun throwing snowballs and making snowmen. We were there for over 4 hours and the time went so fast it was sad when we had to pack up and come back to reality...we live in Taupo. We took loads of photos with the trusty digital cameras and once downloaded onto the computers found we enjoyed the day all over again just looking at those and talking about it all. So if you think it is all just for skiing etc go up with the kids and a picnic lunch and have a ball, you won't regret it I promise...
July 11, 2005
Andrew Crang from Ski New Zealand New Zealand
Whakapapa, New Zealand's biggest ski resort and in my opinion-the best!. Whakapapa has an average snow depth of 3.5m in the peak of winter ( august-september) Along with breathtaking scenery of the three volacanoes comes the awesome skiing, great lift acsessed backcountry terrain and those double black diamond runs down the famous pinnacles. My obsession with skiing is all thanks to Whakapapa. Not only does whakapapa have those changelling runs but 5 lifts are dedicated to beginners. I took the famous "walk to the summit" and the breath taking ski down along with six inches of fresh powder. The far west in my eyes is the highlight of this ski area ranging from blue to double black diamond, this area acesses the three glaciers that run on the west side of Mt ruapehus whakapapa ski field. On a good year skiers can ski from summit (2797) to the grand chateau (800m) and the bottom chair is 1600m above sea level I enjoyed that run! all 15km of it! all I can say to you is ive been to america, ive experieced those powder days and I can say to you as an american Whakapapa is up there and with only 2% of the mountain used, who could no, one day there might be in excess of 200 lifts, 150 more than we have now. Come to Mt ruapehu and enjoy what I experienced afterall its in our summer!