Discover volcanic landscapes and breathtaking scenery on New Zealand’s South Island on this 9.5-hour Akaroa day trip from Christchurch. Take in top attractions including Governor’s Bay, Gebbies Pass, Lake Ellesmere and Lake Forsyth with your guide. Ascend the Banks Peninsula for beautiful views over Akaroa Harbour and the volcanic crater. Then, sample locally made cheeses and admire colonial architecture around Akaroa. Cruise by catamaran into the harbor where diverse marine and bird life thrives, including rare Hector’s dolphins. Upgrade your tour to enjoy a delicious lunch in Akaroa Village.

Akaroa day trip from Christchurch including cheese tasting
Drive past natural attractions with an informative guide
See Hector’s dolphins on a 2-hour nature cruise on Akaroa Harbour
Upgrade to include a restaurant lunch
Hotel pickup and drop-off by coach included

What's Included

Lunch - (if option chosen)
Driver/guide
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Air-conditioned vehicle

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:30 AM

What To Expect

Akaroa

Admission Ticket Free

Lake Ellesmere (Pass By)

Barrys Bay Cheese

Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Infants must sit on laps
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels can be accommodated providing the passenger is accompanied by someone who can assist them board and disembark
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 6 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 6 full days before the experience’s start time.
Any changes made less than 6 full days before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
For a 50% refund, you must cancel 2–6 full days before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

142 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 142 reviews

a wonderful boat trip

irina_z, Apr 2024

We enjoyed the boat trip very much - something to remember and recommend to friends! The captain was very helpful at telling you which side of the boat you can see dolphins and seals. It was also interesting to visit the town Akaroa, enjoy a walk along the sunny embankment, admire the colorful views of the bay.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Kiaora Irina and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with us!

Would definitely do it again

Timothy_M, Apr 2024

The drive is long but beautiful. It turned out to be a bright sun day at the trial heads. The trip was very well organized. We loved the stop at the bakery. Only thing we would do differently. We would have stayed the night at the sky observatory.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thank you for taking the time to submit the review and pleased you enjoyed your day. We believe you may have confused this tour with Lake Tekapo as there is no observatory in Akaroa.

Great trip

James_F, Mar 2024

Great trip, wonderful guide, well organized. Saw seals, dolphins, and penguins. Lunch was excellent. We were very pleased.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora James and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with us!

Great tour, would recommend

Judith_F, Mar 2024

Lovely day trip to Akaora. Scotty the coach driver and guide was very friendly and knowledgeable about the areas we were travelling through. Lunch was superb and the cruise to the marine reserve was great. It was a bit rough out on the water but we did get to see dolphins and penguins as well as lots of seals. Would definitely recommend

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora Judith and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Scotty!

A Fantastic Day

Irene_R, Mar 2024

Exploring the French whaling village, seeing lots of wildlife during the boat ride and visiting the cheese store were definite highlights. Pete was an excellent guide/driver, so knowledgeable and friendly. The Banks Peninsula/Akorua area is so beautiful.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Pete!

Wonderful easy-going trip

parczewski2001, Mar 2024

Wonderful easy-going trip, yet full of attractions. Picturesque small town, beautiful countryside on the way, nice photo-ops, and above all the cruise: penguins, dolphins, seals, they all showed up :) (That all may depend on weather, but we were lucky enough.) Good amount of info, both on the boat and from our driver/guide - two thumbs up, Pete!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Pete!

A day in Akaroa with Hector Dolphins

Karen_W, Feb 2024

A wonderful day, Scotty provided great commentary on the bus ride, recommend the lunch which was delicious, but the highlight was the nature cruise with Black Cat Cruises. We saw lots of Hector dolphins (even spotted them jumping which is rare) and NZ fur seals. The cruise went outside the harbour but wasn’t too rough, suggest taking a spray jacket.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora Karen and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Scotty!

Great time at Akaroa.

TiewCheo_S, Feb 2024

The tour pick up from our hotel was precise and on time. The guide was knowledgeable and fun, providing info and stories along the way. The cruise was great, where we were able to see dolphins swimming & seals lazing among the rocks. Recommend this tour to anyone any time!!!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with us!

A day of heavenly discoveries

CHANTAL_R, Feb 2024

Our driver and guide was fantastic. Both professional and nice. All the little stops on the way to and back were highly enjoyable: fresh produce, cheese making, lake and more. Delicious lunch and the of course the very best was seeing the hector dolphins, penguins and seals.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Kiaora and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with us!

Value for money

Robert_D, Feb 2024

Gabby was a fantastic guide and his commentary was top notch....would definitely recommend this tour

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Kiaora Robert, and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Gaby!

Great day

sharon_p, Feb 2024

Tania was great had heaps of information and made the day fun would definitely go with her on another tour

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Kiaora Sharon and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Tania!

Tour driver picked me up...

Sharmeli_S, Feb 2024

Tour driver picked me up 20 minutes late. We were supposed to spend time in the town of Akaroa but we were rushed because we had to drop off 4 cruise ship passengers at the port. The driver talked on her headset loudy instead of turning it off. There were 3-4 passengers sleeping in our return back from Akaroa. Overall not a good experience.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

The collection time provided by Viator is a default start time for the tour. The actual pick ups depend on the numbers on the day and where you were staying. I can see that you were picked up at the time advised prior to the tour via the Viator portal. The time you had ion Akaroa was over 4 hours, the tour departed Akaroa on time and nobody was rushed. I am sorry that you preferred to sleep on the return journey and that the drivers commentary kept you awake.

Tip-top

Liviu_P, Jan 2024

The trip was amazing. We saw the seal, penguin, two types of dolphins. The driver was very pleasant and gives us a lot of information.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Kiaora Liviu and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with us!

Lots of Fun

William_B, Jan 2024

Most enjoyable; great trip — can't get better than ending with cheese and chocolate! Akaroa was beautiful.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Kiaora William and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with us!

Dolphins 👍 everything else 🫤

Asha_C, Jan 2024

The dolphin cruise in the harbor was wonderful, but the additional value offered by this tour was mostly transportation. The additional stops (e.g. the cheese shop) and tour guide commentary weren’t very compelling, and the included lunch was so-so. We also had trouble with our pick up location, and the tour operators weren’t very kind or collaborative in resolving the problem or in responding to our suggestions of how similar issues could be avoided in the future. Overall, we’re still glad we did this tour because we wanted to see Akaroa and the dolphins without having to brave driving ourselves. But in the future I’d look at other operators or a more vanilla shuttle bus service.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Kiaora Asha and thanks for leaving a review. I have looked into your booking and see that as you were staying at an air bnb on the opposite side of a one-way street with no suitable parking for our vehicles, you were instead instructed to meet us at a nearby hotel, instructions that you claim not o have received. For clarity, you have booked through a third party online travel agent based in San Francisco, USA. When independent tour operators from around the world list their products on the platform, we are required to have a default time to populate the website. Each booking, when received by us, is then responded to by us, with an accurate pickup time when we have reviewed all bookings and set the pickup schedule. This is only possible once the tour passenger manifest is confirmed. The situation would have been avoided if you had simply checked your email. We have 100's of tour products listed on viator and this is a very rare occurrence.

Idyllic Akaroa

Chris_S, Jan 2024

The drive from Little River to Akaroa was very scenic but the highlight was undoubtedly the 2+ hours spent cruising from the harbour on the Black Cat. Dolphins and seals at close quarters, interesting commentary and exhilarating ride.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Kiaora Chris and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with us!

A great day out

Ann_C, Jan 2024

The incredible topography and history of the crater and also the story behind Akaroa’s French links. I’m from France. The old houses. A very nice little town. The driver Gaby was welcoming and informed.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Kiaora Ann and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with Gaby!

An amazing experience in a breadth taking place

T_A, Jan 2024

The experience was amazing as the place is very beautiful. The guide was very knowledgeable and she provided all the details and instructions very clearly. The trip ran on scheule and we enjoyed this trip.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Kiaora and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with us!

Excellent experience!

Saarah_S, Dec 2023

We had a great time on this tour with our friends and little ones. Andrew was great and made sure we had a good time and we were comfortable! Highly recommend this day tour from Christchurch

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Kiaora Saarah and thanks for leaving a review. I'm very pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with Andrew, who is one of our new drivers. He will be thrilled to receive such great feedback!

Cancelled cruise

Catherine_T, Dec 2023

The cruise out was cancelled due to stormy weather. Had a "replacement" with a trip to the Antarctic Centre. Interesting but not the same. After we had travelled all the way to Akaroa, the operator could have offered alternatives within Akaroa as the weather has cleared. Eg. Visiting the Giant's House, or visiting an attraction within Akaroa, or doing a land tour to watch the penguins etc

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Kiaora Catherine and thanks for leaving a review. Unfortunately, we have no control over the weather. When the weather is stormy, in our experience, passengers are not happy to walk around a garden i.e the Giants house, and access ton the penghuin reserve is restricted to one pperator so this is not an option either. For the 30 years we have offered this tour, we have used the Antarctic centre as an optional backup, you were not forced to accept this option and if you weren't interested, you should have simply refused and instead had a partial refund.

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