If you have a tight schedule I honestly wouldn't include Hot Water Beach. The idea that you can dig your own little hot pool is cool, but be aware that the area where you can do this is actually quite small. Me and my boyfriend went on a weekday in October, so not even peak season, and there were a lot of people there in the hot water area so not enough room for us to dig our own pool. The further away you have to go from the "Danger Hot Water" sign, the deeper you have to dig to actually get the hot water, and by about 10m away from the sign the water is just cold. If you're not doing anything else on the Coromandel Peninsula then I wouldn't say it's worth the time it takes out of your schedule to drive up to HWB. Hope you have a great time whatever you decide! :)

It changes every day. Search online for low tide at hot water beach and the date you'd like to go. 2 hours before or after are perfect. if you go in the second 2 hours you can often take over an already dug hole. ;)

Google 'New Zealand Hot Water Beach Tides'. We went early, 3 hours before low tide. There were people already at the hot spots and it just went on getting busier (and cooler as the hot water was spread around further).

There is a public car park near the beach which you have to pay for. If you don’t want to pay you can park long way from the beach and walk.

the thing with Hot Water Beach is that you need to go there 2 hours before to 2 hours after low tide. the natural underground springs are at the low tide mark. it's not too cold in May to visit as the springs are really warm.

Not worth going there. It’s overcrowded and overrated. The drive is too tiring to even think about it. Rather go to a nice hot pool somewhere and relax in the spa!

The beach will be crowded for about 2.5 hours either side of low tide; even then its only the bits that have hot water underneath. The rest of it will be almost deserted!

There is a lifeguard hut at the far end of the carpark where they rent out shovels for $5. Not sure if they require a deposit.

Tides are different every day. Just look the tide times up.

We've definitely seen people walking their dogs on Hot Water Beach and if we recall correctly there is something about dogs mentioned on a sign at the surf beach parking - they must be on leads, clean up afterwards etc. Just bear in mind that many NZ beaches have different rules for dogs depending on the season, with more restrictions during the summer months. Hope that helps.