The winners of the Herald Travel ‘s annual Best Beach competition have been revealed - and the results may come as a surprise. Bay of Plenty hotspot Ōhope has been pipped to the post, despite securing a gold and silver in 2024. Instead, a new champion has risen through the ranks to take not one, but two categories - so which beach is New Zealand’s new favourite? The Herald’s annual search for Aotearoa’s Best Beaches is over for another year, concluding a month of hotly contested voting from thousands of beach bums across the motu.
We asked our loyal readers to vote for their favourite slices of paradise in five categories: Best Family Beach , Best Surf Beach , Best City Beach , Best Camping Beach , and Best Hidden Gem . We narrowed down the entries to a top 10 in each category , and now, the votes have been tallied – and we can reveal your winners for 2025. While a few old favourites made the podium, a new champion ultimately prevailed – securing an impressive two titles after not placing in a single category last year.
So who is our ultimate winner? Drum roll, please ...
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