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Nature Cruise at Akaroa Harbour

For 1 person
2 hours
Instant book
BCG354

Highlights

  • 2-hour Akaroa Nature Cruise on the majestic Akaroa Harbour
  • See local wildlife such as penguins, Hector's dolphins and sea birds
  • Learn about the harbour's fascinating past

Cruise Akaroa Harbour and see New Zealand's most spectacular wildlife from the comfort of a catamaran! You'll depart the french village of Akaroa for a wonderful two-hour cruise. Experience majestic scenery and stunning wildlife - dolphins, penguins and marine birdlife, all in one lovely experience!

What's included?

  • Two hour nature cruise
  • Commentary from an experience guide about the significance of the area
  • Wildlife spotting including dolphins
  • Tea, coffee, hot chocolate
  • Full bar facilities on board

The quaint, historic French village of Akaroa is only a 90-minute drive from Christchurch. Here you can cruise around an extinct volcanic crater and see the rare, native dolphin - the Hector's or New Zealand Dolphin. There's also the chance to spot the world's smallest penguin, the White Flippered Little Blue Penguin, and other sea birds.

Other cruise highlights are a working salmon farm, Cathedral Cave and signs of Akaroa's fascinating past including early Maori, French and British settlements.

This experience is part of the Responsible range as it holds a Qualmark Enviro-Gold endorsement.

Important information

  • Please allow two hours for this experience
  • Departs at 10:45am and 1.30pm daily

All departures are subject to weather conditions. Whilst it is rare to cancel due to weather it can happen. Please call ahead to check the weather if you are unsure.

      • Change your booking up to 24 hours before the start time of your experience
      • Changes are not permitted within 24 hours of your experience
      • Late arrivals or no shows may result in you forfeiting your experience

      All cruises are weather dependent; however they will not be cancelled in the event of rain.

      Wear warm clothes and layers, its always a little cooler on the water.

      This experience takes place in Akaroa, a 90 minute drive from Christchurch.

      Reviews

      4.7
      20 reviews
      5 stars 14
      4 stars 6
      3 stars 0
      2 stars 0
      1 star 0
      Recommended

      Dolphin cruise on 28th december

      Astrid and Gary aussie 29 December 2025

      We took this trip today and it was absolutely amazing, I highly recommend this to everyone, the 3 of us thoroughly enjoyed this and saw lots of hector dolphins and also heaps of seals, our granddaughter loved this very much. The staff were amazing, helpful, friendly and very informative

      Customer Experience

      Hi Astrid and Gary, it's great to hear about your positive experience. Thank you for sharing your feedback!

      29 December 2025

      Must see, Must do!!

      Kam Riley 2 June 2022

      We had a beautiful time this past summer. From the beautiful sights and weather, to the incredibly accommodating on board staff and offerings of the ship. We saw several dolphins and seals over the course of this cruise but the views alone made it worthwhile. We definitely plan to do this again very soon

      Awesome adventure

      Keith 10 December 2017

      We used this as Xmas work fuction was great 2 hrs the Back Cat staff where great and the Dolphins turned up on cue. 5 star thanks

      Great view of the harbour and dolphins

      Blake 8 June 2017

      Great commentary from the captain on the cruise and explaining the surrounds. Taking the time to cruise around to make sure we all could see the dolphins and seal life. Was great 2 hour cruise and well worth the money and friendly staff. Worth doing on a trip to Akaroa

      Akaroa Harbour Cruise

      Geoff 23 March 2017

      A worthwhile experience. After having been to Akaroa on many occasions we still learnt a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.

      Great Experience

      Melissa 29 October 2015

      Better than I anticipated. I was impressed with how helpful, informative and funny the crew were. They did an exceptional job and made it well worth it.

      Brilliant

      Sheeza 12 October 2014

      We were very lucky to have seen the penguin, hectors dolphins and the fur seals on our trip. The weather was just perfect and the crew most helpful. For Frank & I the highlights were many but the captain on our cruise was just wonderful, very informative and with great local knowledge. Well done to you all a fabulous day that we will most definitely be recommending to our friends and family.

      Excellent

      Haggis41 28 March 2014

      Had a great day,commentary from skipper was excellent well done.

      Perfect and most enjoyable experience. Monday 25th March 2012

      BJandDD 28 March 2013

      What an absolutely perfect day. This was a gift to us and what a thoughtful one it was. The staff, the scenery, the wildlife, the weather, everything was just perfect. As locals we got to mingle with Cruise ship tourists and had wonderful conversations with visitors, hopefully to give them a good impression of Kiwis. Your tour guide was just brilliant and had some wonderful little quips that made everyone smile. To see the dolphins, seals, penguins etc playing in their natural habitat was just beautiful. We will certainly recommend this experience to others and will probably do it again ourselves in future.

      Perfect Experience

      sewa 17 January 2013

      We loved the whole experience, luckily the sun was out and so were the Hector Dolphins, we saw many, and we even saw one jump out of the water and spin in the air behind the boat which was amazing!

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