Located in the Central Plateau of NZ’s North Island, Mt Ruapehu is an easy drive from the nation’s main centres of Auckland & Wellington and tourist hotspots such as Taupō, Rotorua & Tauranga. The closest airport to both Whakapapa and Tūroa is Taupō's domestic airport.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) has undertaken a transport pre-qualification exercise and awarded a 5 year exclusive supply agreement for the public transport shuttle services Taumata Ikaroa. The new brand Taumata Ikaroa is a partnership between Te Urungi o Ngāti Kuri Ltd, the commercial arm of Ngāti Kuri Trust Board, and Sand Safaris with a placeholder being held for Iwi/Hapu on the mountain.

Taumata Ikaroa will bring its unique Far North transport offering to the ski fields of Turoa and Whakapapa with a fleet of brand new 4WD buses.

You’ll find shuttle timetables and pricing, plus drive times and details on closest airports on the links below.

In addition to our Snow Shuttle service, we also encourage you to carpool, helping us to lower our carbon emissions in the Dual Heritage National Park and also help more people enjoy the mountains.

If you are driving up the mountain and have some spare seats or are looking for a seat, we'd encourage you to use carpool services such as Snowriders.nz! Snowriders.nz will put you in touch with people who can help you get up the mountain or people who need your help to enjoy the slopes. This allows you and others all to enjoy the mountain! Keep an eye on our social media for carpooling incentives this Conservation Week!