Lyttelton Shore Excursion: Combined Antarctic Centre and Christchurch City Tour

Experience the best of Lyttelton with a shore excursion that combines a visit to the International Antarctic Centre and a city tour of Christchurch. Encounter adorable Blue Penguins, brave an Antarctic Storm, and explore the fascinating history and beauty of the city.

Duration: 6 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Lyttelton Harbour - Tour starts and ends in Lyttelton
  • Leisure Tours - Travelling with Leisure Tours
  • Sign of the Takahe - Best spot to admire some spectacular views over the City, Canterbury Plains and Southern Alps.
  • Mona Vale - Time spent walking through Mona Vale Gardens with its picturesque Gardens, Ponds & river.
  • **Cathedral…
What's Included
  • Worry-free Shore Excursion Guarantee
  • Driver/guide
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
  • Live commentary on board
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Merge a visit to the International Antarctic Centre, featuring cute Blue Penguins, a simulated Antarctic Storm in the Ice and Snow room, a 4-D Movie, and a thrilling Hagglund ride on a custom-built track, with a half-day exploration of Christchurch. This includes a look at the city’s recovery from multiple earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, a tour of…

Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.7
(136 Ratings)
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Kanchana_d
Jan 11, 2025
Nice tour - Nice tour. Good guide. Small tour but comprehensive Scotty was good. Showed us all the spots. We saw all the destruction and rebuilding after earthquake
Review provided by Viator
Linda_b
Jan 3, 2025
Wonderful experience,... - Wonderful experience, family really enjoyed the day. Ship late docking so we were running late. Company arranged for us to meet up with the group. It was much appreciated.
Review provided by Viator
Linda_m
Jan 2, 2025
Love Christ Church - Beautiful town, gardens, and museum. Great tour guides. Just wonderful full day good information. Do not like having 100 characters
Review provided by Viator
T8943tddianeb
Dec 30, 2024
Worthwhile tour - Fun tour. Nice to see the rebuilding going on in Christchurch and we had a great time in the Antarctic Center even though we had to rush through quickly because our ship had to leave port early. Scotty was a great guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Harvey_f
Dec 14, 2024
Christchurch and the Antarctic - Perfect combination of touring the Lyttelton and Christchurch area with the fascinating Antarctica Center. Glad to see the rebuilding and recovery of Christchurch after the devastating earthquake. The Antarctica Center visit proved to be a delightful surprise where we got to experience what it’s like to be at a camp on Antarctica and also check in with some penguins and huskies. The Haaglund ride was a trip.
Review provided by Viator
Michelerh1348gc
Dec 11, 2024
Brilliant shore excursion Lyttelton with Antarctic Centre - Great tour with fantastic driver/guide - Jude. Antarctic Center was smaller than we thought it would be but very interesting nonetheless. Very good value for money and no issues with getting back to the ship on time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gabrielle_p
Nov 27, 2024
Great shore excursion with fabulous guide - Great option if you only have a day I. Christchurch. Guide Scotty was a wealth of info especially about the earthquake and recovery plans of the city. Tour was well run with a good amount of time at each stop. Almost 2 hours of free time in the city centre over lunch to explore. The Antarctic centre was a highlight and having 2 hours rather than the Standard 90 mins on other tours was perfect. Highly recommended
Review provided by Viator
G
Nov 25, 2024
Excellent shore excursion with a fabulous guide - Packed a lot into our day, and even though the weather was overcast we enjoyed a lot of sights. Scotty the guide was brilliant. So knowledgeable with lots of information about the city. The information about the earthquake and city centre rebuild and the red zone areas was particularly insightful. The antarctic centre after lunch was a highlight and it was great to have 2 hours there as less would have felt too rushed. You could always have more time at a lot of places but as a shore trip from a cruise time is limited and I feel we got a good taste of the city. We took in a vewpoint, a lovely garden area, drove through a lot of areas with good sightseeing from the bus, and had almost 2 hours of free time in the city for lunch and exploring. Tour was very punctual and we were back with plenty (but not too much) time to get back on the boat. It was an excellent way to spend our day. If you get a chance to take a tour with Scotty do it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Timothy_c
Nov 20, 2024
Great trip - recommended - Brilliant day out ! Scottie the driver/tour guide was great - witty with a wealth of local knowledge. The Antarctic Centre was great also. Thanks for a great experience.
Review provided by Viator
Christine_m
Jan 7, 2025
Good shore excursion, average tour guide - The sights we saw were great. We had one of the best meat pies we had ever eaten and the Antarctic centre was fantastic for the whole family. The tour guide however would not have been our first choice. He barely told us anything about NZ culture or their way of life. It was mainly the cost of repairs from the earthquakes and house prices. There was a child on board who got upset a couple of time. At one point he started playing up (nothing too over the top though, just normal bored child behaviour), Over the microphone for the whole bus to hear our tour guide told him off. I felt humiliated for his parents. He must have been no older than 3. We had our 2 younger kids on board with us and I remember turning to my husband and saying thank goodness ours are being quiet. It was quite harsh and honestly unnecessary. I would probably have cried if he had spoken to me and my child that way. Overall it was an alright day, that guide just really tarnished it though. I wish I had taken down his name.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
January 2025
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