What‘s Included

What To Expect

Reviews

• This tour was a big...

  HilmarL M,

  Jul 21, 2025

  - Viator

  2.00

  This tour was a big disappointment. We didn’t see any whales (except for one or two glimpses of a puff of water hundreds of meters away), even though weather conditions were very good and it’s supposedly the season for whale watching. They can’t guarantee and spottings, but even so, the chance of seeing whales seems siginicantly lower than either the advertisement or the boat crew will tell you. Plus, the crew told us whales would not approach the ship either, so the picture in the advertisement misrepresents the experience you’re likely to have. Kaikoura is clearly the better option if you want to see whales. The dolphin watching was OK, but quite average, compared to other tours I’ve taken.

• Unpleasant

  Sara R,

  Jul 15, 2025

  - Viator

  1.00

  A very unsatisfactory and quite unsafe activity. The crew is not watching the passengers and it is very unlikely to see whales. I do NOT recommend it

• Company should cancel outings in rough seas.

  Erik C,

  Jul 6, 2025

  - Viator

  3.00

  I understand that this is a business and they need to make money. The staff of the ship even warned the customers profusely about rough seas ahead. I myself am from an area that does not have a coastline. I’m unfamiliar with the ocean and ocean travel. I think it would be a good idea for this company to cancel outings when the swell is this high. Not just warn the customers, cancel the whole outing. The whole ship was miserable with all the rocking and the nausea. The staff did their best to accommodate us, but it was miserable. His business might think that that would be a financial hit to take such actions. However, you have to take into account that you won’t have any repeat customers if they go out and they’re miserable the whole time. It’s better to have good outings with happy customers that come back. Not just try to have as many outings as possible to make a profit.

• We saw a Dolphin Nursery Pod and my life is now complete

  Chitban S,

  Jun 23, 2025

  - Viator

  5.00

  I completely understand that we lucked out when we saw the dolphin nursery pod. It might not always happen but when it does happen it will be something you remember for the rest of your life. If it doesnt, the tour was still great! We learned a lot and still got to enjoy an incredible day out on the water. The crew are very passionate about what they do and are so lovely at answering questions. Highly reccomend this experience!

• A long time on the water for little viewing.

  Karin G,

  Jun 20, 2025

  - Viator

  3.00

  While it was cool to see the dolphins swimming and jumping along side our boat, for the 4 hours we were on the boat, we saw marine life for roughly 45 minutes. For roughly 30 of those minutes, we watched a Bryde's whale that was swimming around out in the distance. Occasionally you would see it blow from its hole and arch out of the water, but it was so fleeting that if you weren't looking at where it was, you missed it. The rest of the time we were driving out and listening to the information about all the various islands we were passing and other marine life we were looking out for. That was a lot of riding on the boat for short glimpses of marine life. I realize that we are watching for animals in the wild and the operator has no control over what we see so it's all a gamble on whether or not you think a 4 hour boat ride will be enjoyable only to see a glimpse of marine life - unless you are lucky and go on an active day. The views were pretty though.