Shore Excursion: Dunedin City, Otago Peninsula, Castle Gardens & Olveston Tour

Overview

Available languages

English

6 hours

Mobile ticket

With this tour, you will experience the pure beauty of Dunedin through a journey rich in heritage, spectacular scenery, and memorable highlights. You’ll explore the stunning Otago Peninsula via scenic Highcliff Road, with its rugged beaches and bays, and visit the gardens of New Zealand’s only castle, Larnach Castle.

Along the way, you’ll visit some of Dunedin’s most iconic locations:

• Baldwin Street, the world’s steepest street

• A local lookout point with panoramic views of the city, harbour, and peninsula

• The University of Otago — New Zealand’s oldest university

• The Octagon

• Dunedin Railway Station

• The Dunedin Botanic Garden — internationally significant and the oldest in the country

In addition, you will join a one-hour guided tour of Olveston Historic Home, one of Dunedin’s true treasures. Every piece inside the house is original, offering an intimate glimpse into the life of the family who once lived there.

Additional Info

Specialized infant seats are available

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

There are stairs to access first floor at Olveston historic home.

Cancellation Policy

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

What To Expect

Baldwin Street - World's Steepest Street!

A short stop to have a look or take a photo of Baldwin Street that used to hold a title of the steepest street in the world for the last 30 years

10 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

Signal Hill

Marvel the panorama of Dunedin city and harbour and get a good idea of how city is laid out

10 minutes • Admission Not Applicable

What‘s Included

Driver/guide

Round-trip shared transfer

Air-conditioned vehicle

Port pickup and drop-off

Lunch

Food and drinks

Larnach Castle interior

Options

Including Olveston

Olveston instead of the train: This option doesn't include train trip. It includes a 1 hour guided tour of Olveston historic home.

Reviews

4.80

76 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

From our great tour...
Zhengyu X,,Dec 6, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
From our great tour guide, Ross, we learnt lots about Dunedin history and the story about Larnach and the Castle. We had wonderful time. Thanks, Ross.
Fantastic!
Natalie J,,Dec 4, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
A wonderful introduction to Dunedin. We loved it. Theresa was an excellent guide and made it a great day.
Fantastic tour
Nichole B,,Nov 29, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
This was amazing, love the smaller tour and time to do everything...from Baldwin street to Castle to house ..and all the information along the way. Definitely recommend to anyone in visiting for the day.
Dunedin, nice town with lots to do.
Steven R,,Nov 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Arlene, was wonderful explaining the town history and giving us time to explore. There was a lot to do with the botanical gardens, train station, castle, university, various lookouts and the Olveston Home. The latter was a little long but still worth it. Arlene was also very helpful in getting us set up for Christchurch.
very
Ronald B,,Nov 22, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
very nice and informative interesting nice place and very picturesque and beautiful scenery .Our tour guide was very nice friendly and informative
Great shore excursion tour.
Charles C,,Apr 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Had a great time on this tour. Made the absolute most of our shore excursion in Dunedin. Our guide “Tree” was great. She shared a ton of local and general information and was very conscious of our timeline and making sure were able to see the most possible during our time ashore. Thanks for a great day!
Fantastic day in Dunedin!
Sandra C,,Apr 15, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
We visited Dunedin while on our cruise. The pick up was quite easy from the Port where the ship came in at Port Chalmers. Theresa was there with a sign to make sure we didn’t miss her! We had a great day traveling around Dunedin learning about the people, the place and her own experience living in Dunedin! We visited the Botanic Gardens, The steepest street, Olveston house and other wonderful scenic sites! We had an awesome day thanks to our awesome guide Theresa!
Worth doing
Stephen A,,Apr 9, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
A great way to see Dunedin highlights in a few hours, especially Olverston House and panoramic harbour views. Our driver and guide Teresa was very friendly and knowledgeable.
Good
Christina F,,Apr 8, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00
Good Tour! We were picked up at the port punctual. Our tour was quite private, with a small bus and only 6 persons. That was Great so we had enough time at every stop and we were more flexible. The drive around the City was interesting, we saw everything we wanted to. The return to our ship was punctual as well. We had the same experience as with the Cruise Ship Tour but for a lot less money.
Shore Excursion: Dunedin City, Otago Peninsula, Castle Gardens & Olveston Tour
Doris A,,Mar 23, 2025
- Review from Viator
4.00
Olveston historic home was a highlight, very interesting. The scenic drives and overlooking the area was stunning. We enjoyed the Larnach gardens stroll. Short on time to do everything, like visit inside the churches. Drive by Otago. If you want to see wildlife pick a different Otago peninsula focused tour.