Onsen Hot Pools

Lacking the North Island's geothermal activity, most of the South Island's hot pools are heated artificially - Maruia and Hanmer being the exceptions. If you're travelling around the South Island by road, be sure to plan your route to take you past each opportunity!

Click the links below the map to visit the websites for each business.

Hot Tubs Omarama In summer or winter by day or night, your private tub is cleaned and filled with fresh mountain water just for you, with no chemicals are added, adjust the temperature to your comfort, sit back to relax in the Omarama landscape. A real oasis set on the edge of the Mackenzie Basin under the big Mackenzie sky. Landscaped mounds with plantings of native flora separate the tubs which are self-contained, including a changing room and shower. Enjoy watching the birds on the pond and the gliders surfing the wind currents. The kiwi version of Onsen is the perfect way to unwind.

Glacier Hot Pools is the latest visitor attraction on New Zealand’s rugged West Coast.Nestled in lush rainforest, the Glacier Hot Pools is a haven of natural tranquillity and the perfect way for visitors to unwind and experience a blissful state of pure relaxation after travelling along the coast or enjoying one of its many attractions. The three invitingly warm main pools and three secluded private pools are surrounded by native bush and fed with pure local glacier water. An evening under the stars, sheltered by nature’s leafy canopy at the Glacier Hot Pools, is a truly enchanting, rejuvenating and unforgettable experience.


Hanmer Springs At Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa you can unwind the way you want to: from relaxing in the natural environment of our thermal pools, to splashing your way through some serious waterslide fun. Unwind in one of our many thermal mineral pools, surrounded by native landscaping. The thermal waters contain a wide variety of minerals including sulphur, sodium chloride, calcium, carbonates, magnesium, potassium and others. Our waters are reported to offer great relief to those suffering from arthritis and similar ailments.


Maruia Springs Set beside the soothing waters of the Maruia River, the hot pools come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and temperatures, but each is a perfectly formed tarn, built from smoothest rocks, tumbled and gathered from the river. Due to its high mineral content, the thermal water has healing properties, and it\'s thought to be particularly beneficial for detoxifying and softening the skin. No chemicals are added to change its composition, so the colour palette of the pools changes daily. Today\'s hot spring water fell as rain more than 100 years ago.


Alpine Springs & Spa Alpine Springs offers three adjoining main Hot Pools landscaped in local greywacke rock and surrounded by the region's native alpine plants to create a natural setting. Pool temperatures range from forty to thirty six degrees Celsius. The pools have benched seating around the edges so you can sit back, relax and soak. Each pool offers something different in the latest technology - massage jets to assist in taking away any aches and pains and fountains. Each of these three pools are forty square meters of surface area and a metre deep at their deepest point.