Akaroa Wildlife Cruise: Intimate Tour with Local Expert

Embark on an intimate wildlife cruise in New Zealand with stunning views of the country’s diverse wildlife. Join our limited number tours and discover hidden treasures on the waters, while enjoying the company of our friendly crew and the tales of Tony, a true Kiwi explorer.

Duration: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Akaroa - Explore Akaroa Harbour and coast with local skipper and owner Tony. He has a real wealth of knowledge and will give you entertaining insights into the wildlife, history and geology of our beautiful backyard.
What's Included
  • All applicable fees and taxes included
Additional Information

We keep our tour group sizes small to provide you a personal and exclusive journey, capable of reaching spots the majority can’t, whilst offering breathtaking vistas of New Zealand’s animal life. Our approachable and seasoned team enjoys interacting and conversing with our patrons. Our pleasant boat dog, Scruffy, accompanies us on our post-noon…

Location
Coast up Close Wildlife Tours
Beach Road
Ocean end of the Main Wharf in Akaroa
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(65 Ratings)
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1 star
218nicolau
Dec 12, 2024
Incredible experience - This was an incredible experience. Our skippers, Tony and Muffy were both knowledgeable and friendly. They truly made our experience so enjoyable. If you want to avoid the crowds and ‘corporate’ feel of bigger tours then I can’t recommend them enough. They both knew the shores, wildlife and history of Akaroa intimately. We can’t thank them enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lucybh6303ng
Dec 12, 2024
Amazing cruise!!! - The views were amazing, the weather was awesome and we saw both baby seals and dolphins. Would definitely come again!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
483missyk
Dec 11, 2024
So worth it! - Perfect time to go, saw baby dolphins and baby seal pups and the weather was perfect. The hosts were super friendly and knowledgeable and really made it a great experience. I would really recommend doing it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Safari39556190003
Dec 8, 2024
A great experience! - Fantastic tour with dolphins, sea lions and bizarre volcanic crater caves and rocks in a small group! Really an experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
110marthak
Dec 7, 2024
Perfect tour in small groups - We had a great trip today and we can highly recommend. Tony has so much knowledge of the area and happy to share it. The boat is small, so no mass tourism, which we love. The dolphins love the boat and they come directly. Saw so many of them, it was wonderful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cahem_11
Dec 7, 2024
Highly recommended! - See beautiful personal tour with few participants. Tony and Mafi are very nice and know a lot of interesting things to tell. They get into conversation with their passengers and thus the boat tour looks like a private event. That's very pleasant. They try to get as close as possible to the animals without disturbing them much. We really liked it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
921sharlenej
Nov 26, 2024
Fantastic cruise - Lovely day out cruising with Tony and Miffy. Very informative and lovely people. Cruise around the bay and saw dolphins, seals, birds and penguin. Well worth the trip. Water was perfect for cruising. Scenery was fantastic. Thank you Sharlene and Collin from Western Australia
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stevecarpenter52
Apr 8, 2024
Great excursion in Akaroa - We had a great time on this excursion. The tour operators were friendly and knowledgeable with lots of local stories. We saw penguins, sea lions, dolphins and a lot of birds. Would highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Melbourneros
Mar 17, 2024
A personal tour of the harbour and its wildlife . - Tony and his partner provided about small group ( just 6 of us ) with a very informative interesting tour with many sightings of pods of the small hectors dolphins , flocks of shags and small penguins . It was good to be in a small boat which was able to slow down quickly and navigate close to rock platforms . Tony grew up in the area is a local farmer and fisherman so had heaps of stories to tell . His partner who drove the boat is from Switzerland and very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the local wildlife . Recommend this small group personal tour .
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dannyl980
Mar 16, 2024
Amazing Family Wildlife Cruise! - Absolutely wonderful time on our Akaroa Wildlife Cruise! Tony and Mafi we're incredibly knowledgeable of all that we saw, and took special care to ensure our little ones (6 and 3) had a great time as well. Boat is smaller so everyone gets great views! Would highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
December 2024
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