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Marine Wildlife Cruise: Half Day Adventure in New Zealand
5.0
2 Ratings
Tauranga
Experience close-up encounters with dolphins, whales, and more on a half-day cruise. Enjoy 360° views and onboard commentary. Capture photos of a lifetime.
Experience close-up encounters with dolphins, whales, and more on a half-day cruise. Enjoy 360° views and onboard commentary. Capture photos of a lifetime.
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- 120 The Strand - You will spend the cruise exploring the pristine Bay of Plenty coastline and islands where we will showcase the amazing diversity of marine wildlife including dolphins swimming along side our vessel. Watch seasonal seabirds, penguins, seals, whales, sunfish, school fish, sharks, orca…even turtles! Our dolphin & wildlife cruise…
- 120 The Strand - You will spend the cruise exploring the pristine Bay of Plenty coastline and islands where we will showcase the amazing diversity of marine wildlife including dolphins swimming along side our vessel. Watch seasonal seabirds, penguins, seals, whales, sunfish, school fish, sharks, orca…even turtles! Our dolphin & wildlife cruise is tailored to those wanting a genuine kiwi experience in nature. It’s a story about our human intrigue with amazing marine animals and their habitat. Participate by searching on the large top deck for that once in a lifetime wildlife encounter. We have limited our passenger numbers for comfort and to enable a more personal experience. Our large spacious boat is also ideal for families. The Captain and experienced crew lust to share their marine knowledge with you and will provide fascinating commentary and point out all that they see so you won’t miss a thing. A shared lifetime experience. Don’t forget your camera as we are able to get up close to wildlife, making it a photographer’s dream. You will return to Tauranga by 2:00pm and will be back in Rotorua by 3pm so you will have the rest of the day to explore our beautiful region, the Bay of Plenty.
What's Included
- Half day cruise on an 18 metre vessel with 360° outdoor views
- Onboard commentary with facts on the Bay and local marine wildlife
- Comfortable enclosed seating downstairs and large open sun-deck
- Friendly, professional Bay Explorer Crew
- Encounters with penguins, seals, dolphins, whales, sunfish, seabirds, sharks, turtles, and orca
- Photos of a lifetime
- Best marine diversity in New Zealand
- Half day cruise on an 18 metre vessel with 360° outdoor views
- Onboard commentary with facts on the Bay and local marine wildlife
- Comfortable enclosed seating downstairs and large open sun-deck
- Friendly, professional Bay Explorer Crew
- Encounters with penguins, seals, dolphins, whales, sunfish, seabirds, sharks, turtles, and orca
- Photos of a lifetime
- Best marine diversity in New Zealand
What's Not Included
- Chilled regional wines and local beer from our licenced bar and non-alcoholic beverages
- Chilled regional wines and local beer from our licenced bar and non-alcoholic beverages
Additional Information
A half day cruise on our spacious 18 metre vessel with 360° outdoor views. Comfortable fully enclosed seating downstairs and a large open sun-deck for wildlife watching. Some of the best marine diversity in New Zealand. Close-up encounters with seasonal marine wildlife – penguins, seals, dolphins, whales, sunfish, school fish, seabirds, sharks, turtles…
A half day cruise on our spacious 18 metre vessel with 360° outdoor views. Comfortable fully enclosed seating downstairs and a large open sun-deck for wildlife watching. Some of the best marine diversity in New Zealand. Close-up encounters with seasonal marine wildlife – penguins, seals, dolphins, whales, sunfish, school fish, seabirds, sharks, turtles and orca. Onboard commentary and references with facts on the Bay and local marine wildlife. Photos of a lifetime!
Location
Bay Explorer - Dolphin and Wildlife Cruises
The Strand
Check-in is between 8:30am to 8:45am at the Strand Wharf in Tauranga’s CBD, just opposite Starbucks on The Strand
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(2 Ratings)
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1 star
Lblakeuk
Jan 31, 2025
Highly recommended - a great cruise - From the moment we arrived at the boat the crew were so friendly, helpful and welcoming. The captain did a quick welcome presentation before we set off, which was fun and interesting. He also shared interesting info as we head off through the harbour to the sea. Once out of the harbour the other two crew members were quick to start their looks outs for dolphins and any other marine life, and between the three of them they kept everyone aware of what was going on.
They spotted some little blue penguins, which were a bit of a distance from the boat.
It was a bit choppy out on the water the day we went, and a few people were suffering with sea sickness, but the crew did all they could to help everyone, including providing clean buckets for people to be sick in, as needed.
There had been a big storm go through the area recently when we went out so nobody had seen any dolphins for a few days, as it was believed they had maybe gone out to deeper waters due to the storm. However, the captain and crew did a great job on covering as much area as possible looking for dolphins, and just before we should have been starting to head back to shore they spotted a pod.
The captain did a great job of making sure we all got to see the dolphins without impacting on the dolphins too much. The dolphins were happy to come to and around the boat which was great for everyone to enjoy time with these wonderful creatures.
It felt like nothing was too much trouble for the captain and crew, and we even stayed out an extra half hour, since the dolphins were spotted towards the end of the cruise, to allow us all as much time as possible watching the dolphins. If you're reading this before planning a trip, do bear this in mind if you're parking a car, give yourself extra time when you're paying to park, because if you're lucky and get a slightly longer cruise it's good to know you're not going over on your parking!
Would highly recommend Bay Explorer Dolphin and Wildlife Cruises for a great experience. Thanks to the captain and crew for a great day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Trent
Oct 31, 2024
Excellent trip! - Had an absolutely amazing time, saw hundreds of dolphins (literally!!) and the crew really wanted to ensure everyone had a great time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Michelle_m
Feb 15, 2024
Diolphin Cruise - The crew was very professional. They were very diligent about locating the dolphins’ they allowed ALL of us on board the opportunity to see them from different parts of the vessel.
They did not rush us.
GREAT EXPERIENCE AND EXCURSION!!
Review provided by Viator
