Taupo is served by State Highways SH 1 and SH 5, and the Thermal Explorer Highway touring route. All three highways run concurrently for 11 km from Wairakei in the north, along Tongariro Street and Lake Terrace, to southern Taupo.
Taupo is one of the few towns in New Zealand that have never had a link to the national rail network (the others being Queenstown and Nelson), although there have been proposals in the past.
Taupo Airport is located south of the township. The airport is served by Air New Zealand subsidiary Eagle Airways, with direct flights using Beech craft 1900D aircraft to Auckland and Wellington
