Where is Papamoa Beach?

Papamoa Beach is a coastal Tauranga suburb running east from Mount Maunganui to the Kaituna River, around 12 km southeast of the Tauranga CBD. One of the longest beach suburbs in New Zealand.

How long is Papamoa Beach?

Papamoa Beach itself is around 16 km long, running from Mount Maunganui in the west to the Kaituna River entrance in the east. One of the longest continuous sandy beaches in the North Island.

Where is the Papamoa Beach Tavern?

The Papamoa Beach Tavern is on Domain Road, central Papamoa Beach, near the surf club. A long-running pub and restaurant with a beachfront location, popular through summer and on rugby test nights.

Is Papamoa Beach safe for swimming?

Papamoa Beach is an open Pacific surf beach with consistent breaks and rip currents. Generally safe at patrolled flagged areas in summer, but check conditions before swimming. The surf club patrols a section of beach over peak summer.

How do I get from Tauranga to Papamoa Beach?

By car, around 20 to 30 minutes via the Tauranga Eastern Link toll road and Papamoa Beach Road. Bus services run regularly from central Tauranga via Mount Maunganui to Papamoa Beach.

Which schools are in zone for Papamoa?

Children living in Papamoa are in zone for Golden Sands School, Papamoa College. Living in a school's home zone gives a guaranteed right to enrol.

How do I check my school zone in Papamoa?

Use the School Zone Checker on this page — enter your address to check your school zone and see which schools you have a guaranteed right to enrol at.

Papamoa, Bay of Plenty | Schools, Lifestyle & Local Guide

Living in Papamoa

Papamoa Beach is the long sandy stretch east of Mount Maunganui that has been Tauranga's fastest-growing residential area for most of the past 25 years. The beach runs for around 16 km from the Mount in the west to the Kaituna River in the east, with mostly flat coastal residential development running along Papamoa Beach Road on the inland side.

What started as a holiday-home and bach community through the mid-20th century has been comprehensively built out into a full residential suburb. The population has roughly doubled since 2010, and the new subdivisions are still arriving. The suburb is now where a substantial part of Tauranga's working population actually lives.

The beach is the suburb's main feature: a long open Pacific surf beach with reasonably consistent breaks. The Papamoa Beach Resort, the Papamoa Beach Tavern and a steady run of cafés and restaurants on Domain Road serve the holiday-maker traffic in summer.

Schools include Papamoa Beach School, Tahatai Coast School and Papamoa College. The Papamoa Bypass (the newer section of the Tauranga Eastern Link toll road) has cut commute times to the city noticeably. Hot in summer, breezy in winter, full to the brim either way.

Is Papamoa a good place to live?

Papamoa is home to roughly 34,524 people across 30.4 km². On Suburb's overall livability scale, Papamoa scores 68 out of 100, with a safety score of 57/100 and 17% green space.

Schools: Papamoa has 7 schools in or near the suburb, spanning early-childhood through to secondary education. See the Schools tab below for the full list.

Housing: The estimated median value is around $1.05M, and weekly rent typically sits around $650.

Lifestyle: Papamoa has cafés, shops and things to do nearby. The current temperature is 10.1°C. See the Weather tab for monthly averages.

Whether Papamoa is right for you depends on what you’re looking for. Use the data and community tips below to decide if it suits your lifestyle, family and budget.

Map

Livability Breakdown

Safety57
Amenities100
Schools88
Housing Affordability36
Green space57
Community100
Transport30

Property & Economics

Est. Median Value: $1.05M
Median Weekly Rent: $650/wk
Median HH Income: $121K/yr
Pop. Growth (5yr): +117.9%
Data Year: 2023

Key Financial Indicators (NZD)

† Est. Median Value is suburb.co.nz's own estimate, modelled from available public data. We aim for accuracy, but where data is limited, estimates may be imprecise.

Nearby Suburbs

Browse all suburbs in Tauranga City →

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Papamoa Beach?: Papamoa Beach is a coastal Tauranga suburb running east from Mount Maunganui to the Kaituna River, around 12 km southeast of the Tauranga CBD. One of the longest beach suburbs in New Zealand.
How long is Papamoa Beach?: Papamoa Beach itself is around 16 km long, running from Mount Maunganui in the west to the Kaituna River entrance in the east. One of the longest continuous sandy beaches in the North Island.
Where is the Papamoa Beach Tavern?: The Papamoa Beach Tavern is on Domain Road, central Papamoa Beach, near the surf club. A long-running pub and restaurant with a beachfront location, popular through summer and on rugby test nights.
Is Papamoa Beach safe for swimming?: Papamoa Beach is an open Pacific surf beach with consistent breaks and rip currents. Generally safe at patrolled flagged areas in summer, but check conditions before swimming. The surf club patrols a section of beach over peak summer.
How do I get from Tauranga to Papamoa Beach?: By car, around 20 to 30 minutes via the Tauranga Eastern Link toll road and Papamoa Beach Road. Bus services run regularly from central Tauranga via Mount Maunganui to Papamoa Beach.

Schools & Enrolment Zones in Papamoa

Schools in zone for Papamoa

Children living in Papamoa have a guaranteed right to enrol at these schools, based on Ministry of Education home zones.

Golden Sands School
Contributing · roll 492 · decile 9
Papamoa College
Secondary (Year 7-15) · roll 1885

Check your school zone

School Zone Checker

Enter your address to check your school zone in Papamoa. School enrolment zones (home zones) decide which schools your child has a guaranteed right to enrol at.

Address matching is approximate and based on OpenStreetMap geocoding — confirm an exact result near a zone boundary directly with the school.

Other nearby schools

Schools close to Papamoa that you may be able to enrol at under open enrolment or by application (outside your home zone).

Suzanne Aubert Catholic School
Contributing · roll 206 · 0.5 km away
Te Manawa ō Pāpāmoa School
Contributing · roll 481 · 1.2 km away
Pāpāmoa Primary School
Contributing · roll 581 · decile 6 · 1.9 km away
Te Akau ki Papamoa Primary School
Contributing · roll 483 · decile 5 · 4.1 km away
TKKM o Te Kura Kokiri
Composite · roll 257 · decile 2 · 4.2 km away

Explore Papamoa

Things to do(53)

Anytime Fitness

Topaz Drive Reserve

Parkdale Park

Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club

Strong by Susan

Red Dragon Thai Boxing

The Little Big Markets - Papamoa

The Cycle Studio

Papamoa Rugby Club

Hartford Avenue Reserve

Papamoa Sport and Rec Centre

Alice Johnson Oval and Gordon Spratt Reserve

Snap Fitness Papamoa

Waterford Downs Reserve

Snap Fitness

Victoria Leonard - CRUSH Fitness

The Wellness Zone

Snap Fitness 24/7 Papamoa Beach-Tauranga

Papamoa Pony Club

Papamoa Tennis Club

Waimana Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Hakanini Surf School

Drill HQ Personal Training Studio

NIMBLE Fitness

Papamoa Taekwondo

Bella Barre Fitness

Pāpāmoa Bulldogs Rugby League & Sports Club

Fit Nation Papamoa 24/7 GYM

ReDefined WellBeing Hub

Te Maru Jiu Jitsu

Crossfit Papamoa

Diamond Studios

The Padel Club NZ

Gillian Moore School of Dance

BOP Taekwon-Do Academy

Absolute Weights and Fitness

Discipline Performance Centre

F45 Training

Papamoa Goju Ryu Karate

Papamoa Dance Studio

Bout Hybrid Papamoa

Fit Kids Papamoa

Byron Boxing NZ

Bout Fitness Papamoa

Simpson Reserve

Rise Dance Company

Taylor Reserve

Fitness On Fire

Evolution Muay Thai

Lift Lounge Strength

Show all 53 businesses

Motiti Reserve

Oceanblue Health and Fitness

Papamoa Cricket Club Inc

Parks & green spaces(8)

Topaz Drive Reserve

Parkdale Park

The Little Big Markets - Papamoa

Hartford Avenue Reserve

Waterford Downs Reserve

Simpson Reserve

Taylor Reserve

Motiti Reserve

Healthcare(5)

My Pharmacy

Coastal Wellness

The Doctors Papamoa

Unichem

Month	High (°C)	Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm/day)	Sunshine (hrs/day)
☀️ Jan	22.83	16.22	8.64	9.84
☀️ Feb	23.14	15.39	7.44	10.14
🍂 Mar	21.45	12.14	2.95	10.42
🍂 Apr	19.63	12.25	3.64	8.42
🍂 May	16.76	9.51	5.37	7.82
❄️ Jun	15.33	8.75	5.72	7.07
❄️ Jul	14.51	6.58	3.35	7.54
❄️ Aug	14.53	5.35	2.45	8.69
🌸 Sep	16.88	8.48	4.16	9.69
🌸 Oct	18.06	9.9	3.8	10.6
🌸 Nov	20.09	11.62	3.2	11.2
☀️ Dec	22.85	14.68	4.53	11.17

Living in Papamoa

Is Papamoa a good place to live?

Map

Livability Breakdown

Property & Economics

Key Financial Indicators (NZD)

Nearby Suburbs

Frequently Asked Questions

Schools & Enrolment Zones in Papamoa

Schools in zone for Papamoa

Golden Sands School

Papamoa College

Check your school zone

School Zone Checker

Other nearby schools

Suzanne Aubert Catholic School

Te Manawa ō Pāpāmoa School

Pāpāmoa Primary School

Te Akau ki Papamoa Primary School

TKKM o Te Kura Kokiri

Explore Papamoa

🎯Things to do(53)

Anytime Fitness

Topaz Drive Reserve

Parkdale Park

Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club

Strong by Susan

Red Dragon Thai Boxing

The Little Big Markets - Papamoa

The Cycle Studio

Papamoa Rugby Club

Hartford Avenue Reserve

Papamoa Sport and Rec Centre

Alice Johnson Oval and Gordon Spratt Reserve

Snap Fitness Papamoa

Waterford Downs Reserve

Snap Fitness

Victoria Leonard - CRUSH Fitness

The Wellness Zone

Snap Fitness 24/7 Papamoa Beach-Tauranga

Papamoa Pony Club

Papamoa Tennis Club

Waimana Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Hakanini Surf School

Drill HQ Personal Training Studio

NIMBLE Fitness

Papamoa Taekwondo

Bella Barre Fitness

Pāpāmoa Bulldogs Rugby League & Sports Club

Fit Nation Papamoa 24/7 GYM

ReDefined WellBeing Hub

Te Maru Jiu Jitsu

Crossfit Papamoa

Diamond Studios

The Padel Club NZ

Gillian Moore School of Dance

BOP Taekwon-Do Academy

Absolute Weights and Fitness

Discipline Performance Centre

F45 Training

Papamoa Goju Ryu Karate

Papamoa Dance Studio

Bout Hybrid Papamoa

Fit Kids Papamoa

Byron Boxing NZ

Bout Fitness Papamoa

Simpson Reserve

Rise Dance Company

Taylor Reserve

Fitness On Fire

Evolution Muay Thai

Lift Lounge Strength

Motiti Reserve

Oceanblue Health and Fitness

Papamoa Cricket Club Inc

🌳Parks & green spaces(8)

Topaz Drive Reserve

Parkdale Park

The Little Big Markets - Papamoa

Hartford Avenue Reserve

Things to do(53)

Parks & green spaces(8)

Healthcare(5)

Places to eat & drink(109)