Reviews of Shantytown Heritage Park. (Museum) in Greymouth (West Coast).

Shantytown Heritage Park

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361 Comments

Museum

316 Rutherglen Road Rutherglen, Paroa, Greymouth 7805, New Zealand

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Description

Information of Shantytown Heritage Park, Museum in Greymouth (West Coast)

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Map

Open hours of Shantytown Heritage Park

Sunday

9am–4pm

Monday

9am–4pm

Tuesday

9am–4pm

Wednesday

9am–4pm

Thursday

9am–4pm

Friday

9am–4pm

Saturday

9am–4pm

Popular times

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Monday

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Tuesday

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Wednesday

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Thursday

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Friday

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Saturday

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Reviews of Shantytown Heritage Park

The kids loved their morning exploring the town. Their highlight was the gold panning, an absolute must. They were blown away with all the "old" things and the way life was not too many years ago. The staff were so friendly & accommodating. A+ attraction & an asset to the West Coast community & tourism industry. Let's hope it's kiwis can help to keep it going by making sure we visit when we can.

Small little Shanty Town that would suit kids better. The little restaurant closes way too early. We're looking forward tobthe cream scones but found the shop closed at 4.

Awesome day and the Cafe was extremely well priced. Trian ride was a very nice touch.

Great little place to visit with kids, old trains and stuff that you can actually go in makes it exciting for kids and adults alike. Ferrymead heratage park would be so much better if they just copied how shantytown do things!

Worth a visit if you're in the area. Allow a decent time and try to time it for the train ride and gold panning which was great fun. A lot of history packed into a small area.

A well preserved heritage site for a small historical oldtown in NZ west coast, worth visiting to know and undersand how the oldtown looks like in those days during the Gold Rush and Gold mining activities in the past. For overseas traveller, probably a 1 - 1.5 hour site visit should be sufficient, you may want to save some of your time for visiting other places of interest.

Loved it as a kid, but loses its lustre as an adult. Still plenty to see and do, and friendly staff up for a chat. Gold panning is a classic activity that kids love.

Great day. - Plenty to do, for all ages. - Food on site - Bar on site - Train rides - Panning for gold. Found some! - Truck loads of historical notations to read. - The place has it's own interesting history - Fun photo shoot in period costume available - No over-night camping for campervans or freedom camping. (an observation not a criticism)

Awesome. I was 15 last time I was here oh the memories flooded back. A must see for anyone the history is amazingly real. Few novel things to do, old dress up photos, even put my husband in old jailhouse. Lovely food in cafe. You must visit.

The costs of the tickets were a bit much but we did enjoy our visit. We paid for the admission as well as the meals in the village. The train ride was free but we had to pay for gold penning. Given the costs of the admission, it would be a great gesture if gold penning was free. That might attract more visitors. :)

This is a great place for everyone keeping the old times alive for us today. We do think its entry price should include the gold panning having to pay another $7 each. It makes it a very expensive walk around old buildings and a short train ride. Web page says nothing of extra charges.

Great to visit again. I think I enjoyed it more today, being a Dad than 20 yrs ago in my early 20's. Cheese rolls are excellent too in the Café

Our local Special Olympics group has had several events at Shantytown over the years. They are always very accommodating, flexible and positive. All staff have been friendly, helpful and nothing is too much trouble. Shantytown always give us a good deal, have lots of places to host a function and plenty of fun activities to do. Totally recommend.

Awesome selection of era specific buildings and artifacts etc but covid restrictions and lower visitors numbers mean some active attractions have had to be turned off. Still good value for the price

Loved it, got some photos dressed up in period costume. Did a bit of gold panning and had a blast.

Such a cool place to visit. Ride the train. Pan for gold. Play with old steam engine trains. Very cool place. Old school stores and shops. Well worth a visit.

Loved Shantytown! Authentic, historic and educational. A great day out for young and old alike.The steam train ride was fun and informative. We enjoyed the best cheese rolls and coffee at the cafe there of our entire South Island trip. The lady that served us was super friendly and helpful. Highly recommend.

Imagine yourself opening a pop-up history book and getting sucked in. It may not seem a lot when you first walk in but before you know it, you'll realize what an enjoyable interactive experience it is to learn about the town's history. The cafe also serves delicious chicken pasta.

A blast from the past. Great to see them keeping the past alive. The kids loved the treasure hunt. Giving this to all the kids for free and not part of the goodie bag would be awesome to keep them entertained and making them visit all the areas. Our kids loved it

Lovely family day out. Kids panned for gold and came home with their spoils. Even though it was wet and rainy we had a great time. Also enjoyed our lunch in the onsite cafe, it was cheap and cheerful and we all enjoyed it.

We had a wonderful time walking around this heritage village. It is well maintained and the staff are lovely. The cheese scones in the Cafe are delicious. Definitely worth a visit.

A must see place to visit when down South Island

I easily spent 2 hours there but only quickly looked at everything. Next time I'll allow 3-4 hours. That way, I can ride the steam train 3 times - def the highlight of my afternoon on that visit.

Lots to see can touch and sit on some displays. Great for kids old fashioned games short steam train ride got to walk through the drivers cab. Lots of photo opportunities. Cafe

Enjoyed the day. The kids had fun. The visitors we took hadn't been there before.

Such an awesome attraction if you are visiting the west coast, I understand for some people the price may be a little high, but is well worth it, the ride on the steam train makes it even better.

I was hesitant to attend as I have imagined it to be a touristy thing with cheap cheesy decorations: boy was I wrong! It is genuine open-air museum with the atmosphere of 19 century "wild west" settlement carefully restored with many authentic items and even entire buildings brought here. Tram is real steam engine one, quite an experience to ride in itself. And the place is packed with lots of insights about the life back then told through multiple media including audio coming from people figures with motion sensor activation. We have planned to spend 2-3 hours, ended with 6 hours and would stay even more, but had to leave as the park was closing for the day. Can't recommend it more.

Very interesting and fun. Learn lots about the gold mining and saw mill industry's history in an authentic village.

We've brought the kids here everytime we've been to the West Coast over the past decade or so. Even as teenagers they still seem to enjoy their time here and there's a lot on display to look at. Worth getting the family pass as this gives you a ride on the train as well as a spot of Gold panning.

Shantytown Heritage Park Interesting way to spend a few hours. It's a bit run down and needs some work to be done. Entryfee was a bit high considering the condition of the place.

This place was like a mini film city. It is beautiful and the staffs were very sweet and helpful too. I would recommend this place to everyone. You get to learn a lot while being adventurous you know. The best part was the gold panning experience. The best part is you get to keep the gold. Had so much fun and there is a restaurant that serves amazing fish and chips. Go for it!

Great day out for all ages

A great day out. Loved it

Amazing place fantastic staff worth a visit

Lots of old buildings and gold panning is fun! Also a church in town which is awesome! Rev 31:4: And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death will be no more, nor will there be sorrow or crying or pain anymore; for the former things have passed away.

Shantytown was definitely the highlight of our West Coast trip. So much to see, do and learn about. The kids particularly loved the steam train, the jail and gold panning while we loved reading the stories of the pioneers and exploring everything on offer. We spent 3.5 hours there but could easily have stayed longer. As we were leaving, the kids asked when we could come back. Always a good sign they have enjoyed themselves!

Great family venue. Staff very friendly. We spent a good 3hrs here. A must do is the old photos and dress up. Costly but worth it as they not only give you a paper print but access to download them digitally within 3mths of purchase. Use your top 10 club card for 10% off.

It was similar to a small movie set for gold mining historical time. Enjoyed the steam train and the displays in the little village. A good place for kids for fun and education.

Great place to explore the gold mining history of the area. Also great to see the antiques in each window as well as the large stone and crystal collection. Train ride at scheduled intervals.

Very disappointed that the steam train wasn't running as that is the main attraction and the way to get everywhere easily...a few of the 'shops' were also under repair...Entry cost is quite steep. But overall a pretty interesting place.

Enjoyed time here. Paned for gold had a good teacher 😃 train ride and a good look around the old town. Movie of old crimes. Good if you like old times

Nice place to know the old heritage of New Zealand right from migration of English and Scott community to NZ to it's old life style at coal mines. They have great arti-facts showing the early day life in the area. Also have a short train trip. Interactive posters of people giving information. Theatre is available which gives you information of old constructions of NZ and people who contributed. Also they have gold extracting games in which available volunteers help you. Had fun moving around the place and exploring old days of NZ. Overall great experience should have atleast 2-3 hrs for visiting and enjoying the place.

The kids and parents loved it. It worked out at $25 each for the whole experience, including a stream train ride and gold panning. This was the highlight as all of us got a wee bit if gold. It made the kids day, so much so we went and bought some pans later and got some more gold out of a West Coast river for ourselves.

Very unique experience, gold mining trip on a steam train. Cute old town, takes you back 100 years

A very interesting place with lots of history. It needs a bit of sprucing up but still great to visit

We weren't sure about visiting Shantytown, as we thought it may have been a bit old-fashioned - but we were pleasently surprised and spent about 4 hours wandering around the historic buildings, taking to the people who worked there and having a ride on the steam engine. My husband get to see the engine very closeup, and the engine driver was very knowledgeable and enthusiatic! The cafe was good for food and snacks and we enjoyed the oldy-worldy feel of the place.

Great place to visit when your on the westcoast. A little bit of explanation is required at the front desk about the train ride being included in the entry fee.

Fun whole family time

Awesome place..one of my childhood favourites. Best day out,super friendly staff.Loved the Steam Train and the Fire Station were my favourites. A must see for all. A +++

I very much enjoyed this place, it has a historic steam and diesel train, gold mining and saw mill history. We got our photo taken in vintage clothing. The staff were very friendly and enjoyed having a chat.

Overall really interesting experience. Went there on a special day when the tickets were 5$ for an adult. Would not pay 35$ on a casual day tho as in my opinion it just does not worth it.

A thorough step back into time. Some great highlights including the short movie, Chinatown, gold panning and the whistle train. Rain or shine, the experience is well worth it, and I got to learn something more of Richard Seddon, NZ's longest serving Prime Minister. A lot of room for improvement though, potentially at little cost. The train master has a good knowledge of the place and could do a commentary on air whilst passengers enjoy the train ride leisurely at adagio speed. The reception lady was friendly, but could explain in a little more detail about what is in the pamphet. It's good we can buy post cards, but please put them on display and have signage where we can buy stamps. Will be back later God willing. God bless, was good seeing something worth while from Godzone

A great tribute to the men and women who braved the harsh living and working conditions of those early times. A big shout out to those people working there every day to create a very enjoyable experience for the many visitors.

This is a nice place to visit to look at various different historical aspects of the gold rush era. There is also a gold panning activity, however no matter what you won’t find much of the aforementioned “Gold” during the panning session. There is also a train that takes you around to different areas to explore more about the gold rushes. The staff in the restaurant are friendly, however they do not seem to cope well with busy times. Overall, this is a cool place to stop at and spend some time at if you are interested in learning about the Gold Rush.

Great fun and awesome day reliving the days of old New Zealand. Amazing place and so much history!

Great experience for all ages-my teens were fascinated by the replica Chinatown and we explored all of it. The gold flakes we each got from panning were a real bonus

Awesome place! Panning for gold was a heap of fun, all the staff are really helpful & friendly 10 out of 10

Worth every penny and you should pay the extra as its wonderful to try get some gold

It is an awesome place to visit and take the children out for the day,definitely will be going back again

If your in the region it's well worth visiting this famous old gold mining location. Shantytown needs a refresh and rail line repaired so it's a lot more reliable. I do note I expected some change from my last visit 25 years previously. However if you hadn't visited before your view point could be different to myself

Authentic train ride and gold panning. Old buildings, lots of history and fun for kids too.

Yeah great learning experience and I hated school if it was more of this would of been alot better and the gold panning was fun too!

Nice place for viewing history. Excellent Cafe. Very interesting for kids.

Really liked reading the history and about the people. Bit sad Maori were never really acknowledged or treated very well.

Best tourist destination in nz. Definitely worth a go. If you go you have to get your photo taken, a little photo shoot for fun. The train is amazing, goes slow enough to see all the beautiful scenery on the way up. The gold panning is fun, it's a hard toss up between the gold panning and the photo to say which is better. There's so much to see and do, it's worth spending the majority of a day there if you want the best of everything.

Allow 2 hours to see Shanty Town. The volunteers at this park are friendly and most happy to answer any questions.

Really good value - we spent a few hours and I still could have stayed longer :)

A place of history well worth the visit, very well setup to be able to look back in time and see what Shantytown held was amazing

Friendly guides and great service at the Cafe. We'll worth a vist for a few hours.

Sensational and informative for families & all travellers.

great family excursion. the staff are great and special mention to the scotsman tending the train and Charlie, the gold man. great day. recommended!

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Even went home with some gold

Great place, both my wife and I have visited many years ago. It was great to be able to bring our daughters (6 & 7 1/2 year olds) along to see it. The train is awesome and the gold panning for the kids is a must. They loved it. My girls got to compare the gold they found to the gold my wife found years ago and the gold nana found many years ago :p Great history lesson for both young and old. All staff are friendly and more then happy to have a chat and explain things to the kids.

A nice place to visit while in Greymouth. It is just 15min drive from city center and takes us back into the 1800s.

Cool place for a look around. some very interesting history here. Just a bit disappointed the sluice gun wasn't working as its a main feature but still had an enjoyable day. will be back again to get some old time photos.

We went for an after hours function grounds are well kept and toilets very clean. It's a great place to visit to spend with the kids alot of hand's on history to explore. Gold panning too, well worth a look, money well spent.

Highly recommended especially for a family friendly trip over the school holidays.

I've been here many times over the decades and I never tire of it. A place you could easily while around many hours. So much information, such a wonderful depiction of our history. Clean and well set out. Well done!

Great for the family and big kids...responsibility priced

Rain or shine, old or young cool afternoon exploring and discovering past memories.. Something for everyone to enjoy.

Great place, loads of historic monuments. The staff are extremely friendly and nice. It looks so real 👌

Very expensive entry fee for what was available there, with The train ride been the highlight of the place.

Definitely worth a visit. Great for families.

Worth while visit. Lots of great displays. Lots of information. Said steam train but was great old diesel loco (still fun). Gold panning worth the extra. Great to support the retention of West Coast history.

A recreation of the life and (hard) times of 1860's NZ gold prospectors and their families.

Good couple of hours, fun for the kids, some buildings are dilapidated now but maybe due to COVID-19. Some parts closed.

Awesome place to visit worth the stop.

Great family fun place. Excellent train ride and gold panning was also fun. Well maintained congrats to all involved in running the Park

A lot of fun here. Great for Kids.a lot of history.

Had a fantastic few hours here with my 8 and 9 year old, gold panning was fun, old town done soo well, steam train ride awesome, and we even got an old family photo done, worth $25... Highly recommend but need more than 2 hrs to get thru 😉

Excellent but the lighting in the Jewellers could be improved. Too dark to see properly.

Was really great to visit and learn the history of the area. But their sign which said a 5min walk to the lookout was 15min, hence we missed the 1st train ride. Staff at the ticket booth and gold panning could also pretend that they actually enjoy their jobs. Thumbs up to staff at the cafe for their smiling faces. All that said a must do when in Greymouth.

Top ten places to take the whole family for a fun packed day of exploring and children love the whole experience food selection is average but we took some food with us. Family pass helped to keep it on budget 9/10 for a family day out.

Great place for the kids, we had a fab time, loved the gold panning

Awesome way to experience what our ancestors went through, how they lived and worked. Steam train was fun and panning for gold a must.

We spent half day visiting Shantytown, there is a variety of family prices passes which you choose train ride, panning for gold and dressing up in old clothes and have photos taken. Lovely day a lo

Great family fun. Found gold while gold panning! 3-4 hous should be enough time.

Really nice experience, definitely come here if you visit the west coast, lots to learn about the history of the area

Pretty awesome place to go.lots of history, got our own little piece of gold from panning. Had our photos taken in 'ye olde' costumes.

Wow! So much to see and so much to read! Allow at least two hours for this, amazing and super interesting collection from a bygone era.

Such a beautiful place, it actually took me all day but loved it

Good experience but I think it's better in summer!

An amazing day out, steam train ride and very educational.

On the way to Graymouth and Christchurch you can visit here. All the old types of activities and how the people in New Zealand spent the good old days are represented in a nice way. But if you are visiting New Zealand for a short time period and prefer to experience the spirit, this place would not give you much . For older generation this would be nicer to have a short walk and observe but not for the young and energetic. Anyway there you can observe collection as of minerals, clothes, jewellery and some other machinery used in the past. Specially the train would be little bit interesting which you can have a 10 min ride through the saw mill.

A great experience, lots of families enjoying the day. Everything was open and it was not crowded. A basic cafe, bar, ice cream shop, free train ride, nice bush walk. Good value.

Great place to spend some time, small train ride as part of the entry fee. Lots of interesting information boards. The village street area is very interesting and well maintained

Nice history of the boom time of gold and goal but entry fee over priced

Some areas look a bit tired but we completely understand the complexities of fundraising to do maintenance and upgrading. Very interesting place to visit. We enjoyed the day there.

Simply an amazing trip into the past with a little bit gold

Well worth a stop. Plenty to see and do including panning for gold and a ride on the old steam engine. Allow a couple of hours at least to take it all in. Friendly staff.

An interesting place that showcases west coast history. There is a short bush walk and heaps to look at. Unique and interesting. But... Disorganised. The ticket office was great, but goldpanning was poorly organised. The train driver would have rather had a tooth pulled than talk to us. The lady in the lolly shop couldnt make a decent milkshake to save her life. One of the shop assistants was a child.

Awesome place great for all age groups

Interesting place to walk and look around, staff really friendly

Stories of gold mining back in the day. Great to visit for history. A quaint old time town. Didn't pan for gold. Took the steam train ride, this is part of the ticket purchase

Expensive but still great! Train was cool, lots to see, prime photo opportunities. Would have been 5 star if they took the cost down by $10.

Nice, interesting place, enjoyed the gold panning

A step back in time, an education for young and old. Fantastic.

Wonderful day exploring around. Even panned for Gold.

Lots of cool information, was very quiet when we went so felt a little empty. Would have been awesome to see some people employed in costumes to give it more atmosphere

I first visited Shanty Town when I was 7 in 1977. And returned this year and was impressed with the new features and history. It is a great place to come and spend a few hours.

Fantastic. A real credit to all involved. It was a very wet day but that didn't drown our enthusiasm. 3 seventy plus year olds had a ball. Thank you so much

Great place. Kids loved panning for gold and taking there nuggets home. Staff were great with lots of local knowledge. Thank you

Spend about 3hrs here interesting good food and interesting and helpful 👍🏼

Great return visit from 30 years ago

Charming and surprising enjoyable outing for the family. Gold is a bonus!!

Good show of west coast mining history

Brillant morning would do it again

Its a good little setup and I would certainly encourage those with children to go along to get a sense of what life was like in the early days. I do wish they had spend a bit more time on the detail of the show houses. Inside rather than fresh painted blank walls, make the displays a little more realistic rather than look like storage for old bits of furniture. Gold panning an extra $7 on the entrance price, I found it more fun watching the rows of Chinese having a go. Steam train ride was fun, with the opportunity to get into the cabin for photos. For the train enthusiasts ask the driver nicely and he will let you ride in the cab.

Historic learning experience. Friendly staff. Loved train ride, driver was down to earth kiwi with great sense of humour & informative. So much to see give yourself at least 4hours, Cafe was tops👍😍😁

The best of its type I have ever seen anywhere. Was originally only staying for an hour, but after 6 hours I had to drag myself away. Absolutely the highlight of my trip.

Brilliant fun for whole family, enjoyed the train ride, then panning for gold. Then had pic taken in saloon woop woop,finished off with tea and cake 🎂

Lovely afternoon wandering through the village. Enjoyed the train ride. The staff were very hopeful.

Really enjoyed the authenticity of the place. Unfortunately the rain made it difficult to enjoy the outdoor areas as much as we could have.

Loved this place so much, train was great fun and even did some gold panning, it was a great day out, see all the old stuff they used to use.

Friendly staff and great character. Definitely do the gold panning, that was a highlight. If you have the entertainment book you get a good discount too. It's looking a little sad and could do with a revamp and more actors in character to make the place feel more alive.

My family and I really enjoyed coming to Shantytown, we didn't plan to but saw the sign advertisement and were intrigued! Our favourite part was dressing up old fashioned for some hilarious photos, great hidden place.

I didn't really know what to expect before visiting Shantytown, but I was really impressed! From the working steam train, to the actual village of stores, saloon, school, hospital, and so much more, it felt like stepping back in time. i liked the opportunity to get your photo in costume. Staff were helpful, and displays were interesting and informative. Good place to book for a school trip too, by the looks of the entralled kids!

Step back on time and learn about the local history, pan for gold.

We are a family of 5..3 children aged 7. 10..12. We loved Shantytown. The kids were really interested in all the homes on display especially the hospital. We enjoyed the steam train and the gold panning was terrific. There is a lot to see and do here. Don't rush. Take your time..it's worth it.

A great place to get a taste of how the West Coasters lived in the late 1800's ... so much to look at and also to do with a ride on the steam train and trying your hand at gold panning! Had an awesome day out and loved every minute.

The welcome by the staff member at the entry who took our money was not to good, they had to be prompted to say hello. They did not offer us any info on the place such as there is an audio guide available if you wish etc. The cafe food choice was poor but the coffee was okay. The girl that served us in the ice cream/sweet shop was happy and cheerful. The exhibits were good and it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours. Just need to work on their customer welcome.

Last went when I was 7 Years old, and now I'm 25 I've still enjoyed it. Will be returning to bring my children in the future. Great place to absorb the history of days gone. And join in the adventure which which was the west coast gold rush! and Settlers.

What an amazing experience we had here. The crew went over and above to make sure we had a memorable day. Can't wait to go back one day to see the redecorated saloon and get some more old time photos taken.

Love, love, loved this place. We did the treasure hunt, awesome fun. Lunched at King Dick's cafe, superb food and service. Panned for gold, even learnt some technique. Found all the staff helpful and friendly. Kids loved it. Highly recommend a visit, bestest fun .

Admittedly it was late in the day and the weather wasn't the best. Probably fabulous when they have people dressed in costume as per photos on the wall. Found exploring the buildings great. Would have appreciated a better shop for purchasing inexpensive souvenirs for the grandchildren. Perhaps bags of old fashioned sweets prepackaged with a Shanty town logo. Paid $6 for a pen. Got others elsewhere for $4 and under. Gambling table had $1 and $2 notes. If we are looking to show authenticity at least use pounds, shilling and pence or mock gold nuggets. Suggest mock ups of miners in tents etc along the Bush where the train goes.

It was very wet and rainy but we were glad we made the turn off the highway. The kids enjoyed the steam train and an old school toastie in the cafe. There are many lovingly restored buildings to look at and lot's of fascinating history.

I first visited Shanty Town when I was 7 in 1977. And returned this year and was impressed with the new features and history. It is a great place to come and spend a few hours.

Enjoyed wandering around. A few more cards with explanations would have been nice

The best of its type I have ever seen anywhere. Was originally only staying for an hour, but after 6 hours I had to drag myself away. Absolutely the highlight of my trip.

Good famy fun, lots to see and do. Definitely worth a visit

Really enjoyed the time here today even if it was wet it's a cool place to bring the kids to

Lots of cool information, was very quiet when we went so felt a little empty. Would have been awesome to see some people employed in costumes to give it more atmosphere

Expensive but still great! Train was cool, lots to see, prime photo opportunities. Would have been 5 star if they took the cost down by $10.

Totally loved it

Our 2 year old loved it.

Find gold!! Gold panning, catch the steam rain, lots of historical shops and stalls to learn the older ways of living. Friendly staff who were very helpful

We highly recommended Shanty town it is always changing and updating everything. From a Historic hospital to a local 1800's butchery and school classrooms Shanty town has it all. The train trip is short but lovely. There is a children's playground and cafe inside. The gold panning is extra but if you want to learn how.

I enjoyed it I wished we could have stayed long enough to enjoy the experience of having our photos taken but we had to get going maybe that's an excuse for us to visit the South Island again lol if we plan another family holiday this way I will definitely visit "Shantytown" again.

Such a great place! You can go on a train ride and participate in gold mining. Then go grab some lunch 🥗 at the cafe. They have so many places to explore! And a cool photo place!

Great place to explore with your kids. Loved the train ride and the finger food they did for our group. Recommend as a work activity for all as well.

Awesome place for the family. I've been Coming here since a child, now I bring my children.

Awesome time had a must do if you in the area ☺

Shantytown is a good pace to visit if you are interested in viewing the history of gold mining in the area. There is a hidden walk though the trees, a decent café and many different buildings with lots of interesting displays and information in them. There is also a gold panning activity where you able to pan for gold and keep what you find.

Spent three hours here and could have stayed for longer.. would definitely come back.. Great for kids and adults alike

Kids loved it. Allow 2 hrs or so there. Small cafe but did not cater for dietary intolerances so take your own lunch.

Great place had fun

Fun for my 3 year old. Especially the train ride. He also got a private tour through the train cockpit. Gold mining costs 2$. I personally think they should offer that for free and only charge you if you find something.

Absolutely best place to spend the day with the family.. great passes for locals too. Kids love to ride the steam train and the huge flying fox

We were greeted with a nice warm welcome and useful suggestions of where to go and what to do within the time available. Enjoyed the exhibits, train ride and gold panning the most. Staff friendly and knowledgeable and kind to the kids. Great holiday experience - will be back!

Great place for people of all ages and families. A must see!

Worth the money $33.00 each. Train ride to logging area with a stop to see native bush and the steam train engine. Back down to stop at saw mill and gold mining if you want to. Short walk back to mining town.

Amazing rebuilt Gold Town. Has an original, working Train from the 19th century. Spent more than 3 1/2 hours in the park. Totally recommended!

This place was much more than I expected. It's very well maintained and has a lot of items on display. Most of the items displayed are not in cages and you can touch them. Highly recommended if you are in the area. Allow atleast 3-4 hours to enjoy it properly.

A step back in time, loved the bush setting and wealth of history and displays.I panned for gold and took away a momento of the West Coast

Really enjoyed the time here today even if it was wet it's a cool place to bring the kids to

Lovely set up, very friendly staff, stunning food!

Good famy fun, lots to see and do. Definitely worth a visit

A place must to visit with kids and family

Great memories ,great staff, well preserved memorabilia

Love the train ride.

Such a cool throwback in time. Lots to explore. Friendly staff. On site cafe and photo opportunities. Love the train. Happily spend a few hours here as a lot to see and do!

Great to re visit after 25 years still amazing. Downloaded audio tour well worth the download.

A lot of history there!!. Enjoyed the gold panning... did find slithers of gold but nothing to retire on..

Kids loved this place, train rides, panning for golf and as a bonus we got to lock them in prison 🤣

Had a great time here pitty the stream train wasn't running the whole course but still had a wonderful time. We got gold, panning. Brought so yummy old fashion lollies. And learnt some history along the way.

Great place to see what it was like golmining on the West Coast. Something for all the family.

A great place to visit. Easily spent 2hrs there and still was more we could have seen. Not a cheap family outing but good value for money. Good icecreams to finish of the visit.

Very sad to see old ploughs and equipment just rusting away. I know its supposed to be old but it wont be too many years and there will be no equipment to see. Sad.

Great place to learn about West coasts history in a family friendly setting

Well worth a visit. Staff are very helpful, good train ride with real steam engine and satisfying gold panning experience. Interesting displays throughout the town.

Heaps to see

Was very quiet when we got here considering the current pandemic, so felt a little weird. Interesting place with a lot of history to read about the West Coast!

The town is really well done and lots of fun for people of all ages.

Cool little town but could do with some really great hosts with a flare for people to make the town come alive

Well worth the visit even managed a bit of panning

Awsome learnt alot aboit the lcal history. Brilliant displays of artifacts and walked away with a bit of gold.

Very cool and learnt a lot about NZ history. A must do when on the West Coast.

Great visit to Greymouth on the Trans alphine. Shanty Town is a must do!

You can easily spend most of a day here, between the steam train, gold mining era shantys and township. Lots of interesting things to see and lots of intetesting info.

I mean, its shanty town. What's not to love? A small historic town with tonnes of displays in greymouth. A+

Very interesting and well done 👏

Great place to go back in time. Great old buildings and the steam train good fun. Pan for gold something different and you get to keep it

Went here for the john paul ball and the venue was just great

Awesome gold mine museum, pay to pan for gold.if lucky one will get a nugget.

Such a cool place. So interesting learning the history behind it all.

A must visit and great fun for the family. The paning for is best.

Great place to visit. Coming back.

Great place to visit, get a feel for NZ in the 1800's in a gold rush town, thay even have a working steam train you can ride on, you can pan for gold, optional extra few dollars, but great fun and I even found some gold.

Shanty Town itself excellent. WARNING do not go to cafe absolutely terrible service food not the best - it wasn't even busy when we stopped for a coffee.so no excuse. DO NOT GO THERE.

Great place. Lack of staff and good customer service during school holidays let it down. 45min to get 8 icecreams with no other customers is a bit slow. On way out I said to the ladies at the front 'thankyou we had a great time ' (after spending $200+). Only got a grunt back in reply. Great place though. Lots to do. Spent 6 hours there.

Take a step back in time to the Gold mining days. It was very wet when we visited over the weekend. So didn't get photos.

Pretty cool old time village setting

Very interesting place. We did not hire an audio guide but that would have been very useful. Plenty of information boards around. Steam train was fun but times on info sheet were not accurate. Gold panning was a worthwhile addition to our visit and sawmill was impressive. Allow plenty of time for your visit. We were there for about four hours.

A great way to spend a day discovering local history with a real working sawmill and steam train

Cool day out, loads to see and do. when we went really not very busy but i can imagine gets busy. stuff to do for all ages.

Was a little disappointed but it is a great lil place. Bit overpriced

Great experience and atmosphere, friendly service, the kids loved it😀

Enjoyed wandering around. A few more cards with explanations would have been nice

What a place! Kids loved it! And such depth of history on offer, well done

Fantastic day. Make sure you get the old fashioned photos done.

Visiting Shanty Town makes for a real trip down memory lane. The museum in particular with the old dental nurses chair, the iron lung in the hospital area both struck deep chords from the past.Enjoy your visit!

Great spot to visit. Leave plenty of time to go round and read all the information. Some great stuff about the local history

We're a family including a 3 and 4 year old. We visited on a rainy day. This place felt to me as though 10 years ago it was the place to go but to us it felt as though everyone had lost interest. It's a shame as the steam tram was fun and it was really interesting to read about the logging and gold rush eras. Some investment in the park would boost staff morale and give everyone a better experience.

Haven't been to Shantytown for at least 50years. We both had a lovely time great day out.

Cool experience! A lot of information and details about the life in the area from the 1860s The train ride is also very nice I would recommend the visit!

Great attraction. Enjoyed the Halloween event with our grand daughter 👍👻👾

Our 2 year old loved it.

Beauiful staff great and the wekas

Well worth the trip, very informative and interesting about the Gold Rush and local history. Steam train ride is a highlight

Very good. Lots of visitors all seemed to be happy.

Old school nz

Day well spent. Great place to see some history Well maintained and run. Good food and clean toilets.

Went for the kids Halloween party. It was amazing, my daughter had the best time

Good half day activity, with plenty for all ages to enjoy.

Loads to see! Really loved it. Give yourself at least 2 hours to explore everything.

Riding the train was fun. Staff are friendly and if you are lucky, you get to take some gold home.

Interesting to see and read about the West Coast gold. Some of the exhibits could do with a little bit of updating. Good to visit

A good reminder of yesteryear

Well due for a bit of TLC but worth a look if you haven’t been before

Spent the entire day here with our two boys (7yrs and 3 yrs). There was plenty to keep the whole family engaged.

Fun & interesting, historical buidings, gold panning great for all ages

Wonderful, shame some exhibits were not operating though

All the staff were really hospitable and passionate about the story behind shantytown

Great place, have a go at gold panning and explore the settlers village

We enjoyed going here but was raining

Amazing a lot of fun there is a train ride and you can do a little bit of gold panning all sorts

Awesome experience, loved the train and gold panning.

Great place with heaps to keep children and adults entertained

Fantastic meal - beautiful setting and great music!! Thanks for a great night Nikelle & team - compliments to the Chef for beautiful food!

Allow at least 2 hours to experience everything Shantytown has to offer

I am a Coaster born and bred and feel this place has so much to teach people about our history. I am proud of our town and our history and Shantytown showcases this history very well.

It was nice but getting dated and a bit run down

Good as always. Wish I has seen more advertising / promotion of the talking quides especially the different language options 👍

A blast from the past, it took 4 hours for us to get around, I was so intrigued, absolutely loved every moment of the place.

Brilliant old tourist museum of the mining era.

Totally loved it

Great historical village and displays of gold prospecting including steam train ride, working gold sluice and try your hand at gold panning.

Excellent, well worth the visit. Friendly staff.

The steam train is very cool, despite of the smoke it produced. The town was so classic and the feelings of being in old times are real

Very good

So loved our visit here... Lots to see

Amazing place with the children wish we had more time to explore would be back!

It was rainy, but I would've loved to have spent more time there. Definitely engaging for kids 5 and up or so. Mine were a bit younger and loved riding the steam train and seeing things, but in general it would've been better if they'd been older. The playground was helpful, despite the rain. Nice bush walk as well. Good cafe on site. Very high quality presentations everywhere. Some exhibits seemed to be out of commission though and needed repairs.

Good Entry is very expensive so hard for families to visit

Spent several hours here. Fab place loved it.

I enjoyed my time at Shanty Town wandering around looking at the old historic buildings. Theres even a Chinese garden. 😀

Great historic west coast town worth the money to take a look around steam train rides and fold paning along with plenty of other arctions.

Loved the steam train. Fantastic Bush walks with interesting facts to learn along the way. An impressive sawmill

Experience the historic town and gold panning in New Zealand , Westport

A must when visiting the Coast.

Great days entertainment mixed with local history. Loved the steam engine.

Love this place so authentic, it's actually like stepping back in time.

Interesting place to explore and enjoy Has many unique features. Pleasant staff and excellent service.

Cost too much to get in, $35+ each adult, no thanks.

It was pretty awesome

Love the history, love the feeling, love the atmosphere. Staff super helpful

We went as a family to Shanty Town, we used a grabone voucher which saved us a little money which was nice as we proceeded to but almost one of every little thing in the place. I was educational and exciting enough that our 5 year old did not get bored. We stayed for about three hours in the end. The train is nice and up to date with every thing looking like it just had a lick of paint.

Very good

Good fun place to visit and step back into the 0ast. Love the steam engine ride and panning for gold.

Worth trip for history of place. Loved the train & train conductor took his job seriously, made our day

Great time we'll worth seeing thanks 😊☺️

Great for all ages

Charming little museum village with a steam train.

Awesome place. Wish we had more time for a photo.

Nice place for viewing Histories.

Worth every cent and very informative - would highly recommend to do

Great to find the gold

It was great rain put us off 78 dollars to high for 3 so all round not the best experience I have had

Great day out for family. Heaps to do. Kids loved steam train and gold panning

Extremely well done and very informative

Boys had a great time. Train + Gold panning was fun.

A little pricey but generally good value for money.

Disappointing to be true. Last time I visited it was a living town it just appeared very run down.

Loved it, really worth it

Had a great time gold prospecting

Excellent destination, must be kept for the future.

Well worth a visit. Lots of valid history, so much to see.

Apart from the extremely rude lazy woman who took our money at the entrance we really enjoyed Shantytown, the two gentlemen on the steam train were awesome

Lovely activity for a day for whole family.

Great for the kids.

Toilets were outstanding. Train ride informative & good walk around

Fantastic historical visit.very interesting great train and awesome staff

Really neat place. Really enjoyed the steam train ride and panning for gold

Great for kids, train ride was amazing and fun.

Fantastic piece of New Zealand history. Great conference venue for South Island Building Resilience conference.

Still a tad expensive, though I can appreciate that running costs must be fairly high! Their coffee is NOT recommended though!

Great experience thanks,enjoyed the history.

Well worth a look at .

Excellent, friendly staff, good coffee. A really interesting attraction.

A walk back in time. Great to see all the old equipment and tools. Well worth a look

Awesome place with heaps off fun things to do and see

Lucky it was a nice day. Train ride was the highlight. Abit run down, for the price

Thought we'd stop there for an hour or two, enjoyed so much we spent the whole day there.

Alot of history in this place and very good

Great for kids, check on bookme to get tickets WAY cheaper.

Nice place but not much to do, worth a visit when in Greymouth but not worth a trip from another town for it

Great family place

Old and dated..give it a miss

It is interesting but couldn't say totally worth the ticket price

Very wet but still interesting

Probably the best Shanty Town Heritage Park in New Zealand

Great place to visit, panned for gold, guaranteed to come away with some.

Plenty to see, read, learn and do. If you like to learn a lot about the history give yourself minimum half a day. If you want to see the sights you can go through it in an hour or two. Be sure to check the times for the steam train which you can go for a ride on. Panning for gold is another activitiy along with dressing up for photos. The cafe if average, but has all the things you might expect. If you gfo early on a week day you will potentially be the only people there which offers a different experience so plan according to your preferences with crowds and atmosphere.