Haast Beach

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Haast Beach.  Waiatoto Restaurant serves amazing seafood, meat, and poultry dishes.  The Hard Antler serves delicious salads, burgers, sandwiches, meat, seafood, and poultry dishes.  Crepe&Snow serves amazing crepes and shaved ice.  Hannah’s Beachside Dining serves incredible seafood, meat, and poultry dishes.  If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant nearby, Haast Eagle Tuck Shop is a small takeaway that serves burgers, pasta, fritters, meat, and poultry dishes.

If you are looking for a hotel in Haast Beach, there are many great options nearby.  If you are looking for an upscale hotel, the 4-Star Haast River Motels & Holiday Park is four minutes away by car and offers many amenities, including a game room, a TV lounge with a fireplace, a  barbecue grill area, and a playground.  A more affordable option is the 3-Star Wonderland Makarora Lodge, which offers a few amenities, including comfortable rooms, a barbecue grill facility, and picnic tables.  Another moderately priced option is the 3-Star Heritage Park Lodge, which has several amenities, including an outdoor seating area and a dining area.  A more reasonably priced option is the 3-Star Heartland Hotel Haast, which offers many amenities, including a game room, a children’s play area, comfortable rooms, and an outdoor seating area.  If you are looking for another affordable hotel, Haast Beach Motel has a few amenities, including comfortable rooms, an outdoor seating area, and a restaurant.

Haast Beach does not have lifeguards but offers several other amenities, including restrooms, hiking trails, a few cafes, campsites, holiday parks, and several hotels.

Haast Beach offers many fun activities, including swimming, sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, watching wildlife, hiking, camping, snorkeling, surfing, boating, and photography.  If you plan to go into the water, swimming is allowed, but we recommend being careful, as water is known to have unpredictable rip currents.  Hikers can enjoy the nearby trails, which offer unique insights into the local biodiversity.  If you enjoy camping, you can book a campsite at Haast Beach Holiday Park, offering an amazing camping experience.  Visitors often spot antails, tui, bellbirds, and kiwis inhabiting the nearby lowland forests.  Also, Hector’s dolphins, one of the world’s rarest dolphin species, are sometimes seen off the coast.  Visitors can also book the nearby Haast River Safari, which is one of the most popular things to do in Haast.  It is a unique jet boat tour that takes visitors through the breathtaking landscapes of the Haast River, which is surrounded by ancient rainforests, snow-capped Southern Alps, and rugged West Coast scenery.  This beach is known for its tranquil environment, pristine waters, and breathtaking vistas, making it a perfect location for capturing photos.  Visitors to this beach can enjoy a temperate maritime climate, with mild summers and cool, wet winters. Dogs are not allowed on the beach, and it is open from sunrise until sunset.

Haast Beach, New Zealand, does not offer an access path for people with disabilities.

Getting to Haast Beach  is easy - the beach has a small free parking lot located near 425 Haast-Jackson Bay Road, Haast 7886, New Zealand, which offers easy access to the beach.

Haast Beach is a popular destination where visitors can relax and unwind themselves while watching the sun setting over the Tasman Sea.  Interestingly, the town of Haast hosts the annual Haast Whitebait Festival, celebrating whitebait, a delicacy in the West Coast region.  This festival is usually held in the month of October, during the peak of the whitebaiting season, and features traditional and unique whitebait-based dishes, music performances, local markets, and community events, including cooking competitions, whitebait fishing, and many more.

There are many attractions near Haast Beach.  Ship Creek Walks has two scenic loop walks through diverse natural landscapes.  One trail leads through ancient Kahikatea swamp forests, popularly known as Kahikatea Swamp Forest Walk, while the other, Dune Lake Walk, leads you to a serene dune lake.  There’s also a lookout tower where you can enjoy panoramic views of the coastline and wetlands. It is an ideal spot for birdwatching and soaking in the natural beauty of New Zealand’s West Coast.  Roaring Billy Falls is a 30-meter-high picturesque waterfall located in Mount Aspiring National Park.  It is accessible via a short and easy walk trail that meanders through lush, fern-filled rainforest.  Visitors can spot this waterfall cascading down a rock face in the distance, which drops into the crystal-clear Haast River.  It is known for its pristine natural beauty, which makes it a great spot for photography.

Knights Point Lookout is a scenic viewpoint along the West Coast of New Zealand that offers breathtaking views of the Arnott Point, which is a resting area for New Zealand fur seals and elephant seals, the Tasman Sea, and surrounding cliffs. The lookout features informational plaques about the area's history and wildlife.  It's a great spot for photography and watching marine life.  Mount Aspiring National Park is a protected area spread over 877 acres, known for its stunning mountains, valleys, waterfalls, glaciers, alpine lakes, and lush rainforests.  It is part of the Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage site and offers many fun activities, including hiking, climbing, boating, and nature exploration opportunities.  If you are looking for another nearby attraction, Thunder Creek Falls is a 28-meter waterfall located in Mount Aspiring National Park that plunges into the Haast River, creating a spectacular sight for visitors.  This waterfall is surrounded by lush native beech forest with a crystal-clear river at its base, making it a perfect place to swim, wade, or capture amazing photos of waterfalls.