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Coast Up Close Scenic Wildlife Tours - 2.5 hours - Akaroa
Experience a comfortable up-close encounter with some of the most amazing wildlife and stunning coastlines around Akaroa and Banks Peninsula!
Experience a comfortable up-close encounter with some of the most amazing wildlife and stunning coastlines around Akaroa and Banks Peninsula!
Highlights
- Spectacular views of Banks Peninsula and Akaroa!
- See some of the most amazing wildlife in their natural habitats
- Small groups tours make for a more intimate and incredible experience
- Bring your camera for the best wildlife viewing and photo opportunities!
Join us for a wildlife tour that explores the spectacular volcanic coastline and abundant wildlife of Banks Peninsula and Akaroa.
Our wildlife tour numbers are kept limited, offering you a small and intimate tour that will take you where others can’t, with amazing views of New Zealand’s wildlife. Our friendly and knowledgeable crew love meeting and talking with our guests. Tony, a real Kiwi, has been exploring the waters around the Peninsula since the 1960s. He’ll entertain you with his the stories of his adventures and share his enthusiasm for this wonderful environment and stunning wildlife.
Our characterful and comfortable boat - Wairiri, is a 41-foot Kauri Launch built in 1964. Our tours specialise in small groups and enough space to move around the boat for the best wildlife viewing and photo opportunities! On your tour you’ll see gigantic cliffs, go inside sea caves and get close to all the incredible wildlife. Tony often still has a lobster pot out and we pull it up on some of our trips. We never know what we find in it: Lobster, octopus, conger eel, starfish and sand sharks are just a few of the creatures we might have caught.
Experience Akaroa and Banks Peninsula on this intimate boat tour where you’ll see stunning wildlife and extraordinary views of the coastline!
All prices are shown inNZD ($)
- Adult$110.00
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$79.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$79.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$89.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$79.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$89.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$79.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$69.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$89.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$79.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$79.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
- Adult$79.00 Less than 6 at this price!
- Child$40.00
- Infant Free of Charge
Authenticated Reviews
Real highlights, tips, and the helpful advice straight from Bookme customers who’ve actually done this experience, summarised with AI support
- emergencyLes clients ont apprécié la touche personnelle de la visite, la petite taille du groupe permettant une expérience plus intime (30 personnes ont dit cela).
- emergencyLes guides compétents et sympathiques, Tony et Mafi, ont reçu de nombreux éloges pour leurs commentaires informatifs et leur passion pour la faune et l'histoire d'Akaroa (25 personnes ont dit cela).
- emergencyLes invités ont aimé voir une variété de faune de près, y compris des dauphins Hector, des phoques et même des pingouins, ce qui a rendu l'expérience magique (28 personnes ont dit cela).
- emergencyLe bateau confortable et bien organisé a été souligné comme un facteur important pour améliorer l'expérience globale (20 personnes ont dit cela).
- emergencyDe nombreux critiques ont mentionné le paysage côtier époustouflant, rendant la visite visuellement spectaculaire (22 personnes ont dit cela).
- emergencyL'opportunité pour les enfants de s'impliquer, comme diriger le bateau, a été un moment mémorable pour les familles (10 personnes ont dit cela).
- star_shineApportez un appareil photo pour capturer les vues et la faune magnifiques.
Pensez à réserver tôt pour garantir votre place sur cette visite populaire.
Showing all 238 authenticated Bookme reviews
From Coast Up Close Scenic Wildlife Tours - 2.5 hours - Akaroa
Hi Quentin Thank you for joining us and recommending us. We hope you had a lovely Christmas and enjoy the rest of your travels. Cheers, Tony and Mafi
guillaumeb3 from France wrote on 04 March 2020
Super expérience
L'équipage est déjà très sympa, concernant la sortie en mer nous avons vu dauphins, otaries, oiseax et même un ou deux pingouins sauvages. Ça vaut le coup et les paysages sont magnifiques, je recommande
From Coast Up Close Scenic Wildlife Tours - 2.5 hours - Akaroa
Mercy beaucoup for joining our wildlife cruise and your nice review. We love our wildlife and glad we could share it with you. Cheers, Tony and crew
janec26 from New Zealand wrote on 15 January 2026
Fantastic trip - highly recommend!
We took this tour on a sunny, windy day and LOVED it. Mafi expertly manoeuvred the boat through the waves and Tony casually balanced on deck with hands in pockets telling us about the landscape and wildlife, never holding onto anything! Saw the super cute Hectors dolphins, baby seals playing in a rockpool... Tony spent time with everyone and is such a great guy. I think he could get along with anyone. Can't recommend this tour enough. The antithesis of big company tours. Thank you Tony and Mafi - our trip with you was the highlight of our time in Akaroa, even better than the baguettes :-)
From Coast Up Close Scenic Wildlife Tours - 2.5 hours - Akaroa
Hi Jane Thank you for much for joining our cruise last week and this amazing review. We are stoked that you enjoyed your time with us despite the windy conditions. Aaaand beating the baguettes.... All the best to you all. Tony and Mafi
vanessec from New Zealand wrote on 11 January 2026
Amazing experience
Very enjoyable experience — we saw dolphins and seals! We are truly grateful to the skipper and crew. We arrived late due to difficulty finding parking and going to the wrong wharf, and we felt very sorry about it. Thankfully, they waited for us, which made this wonderful experience possible. Highly appreciated.
From Coast Up Close Scenic Wildlife Tours - 2.5 hours - Akaroa
Hi Vanessa Thank you for joining us on a cruise and this 5 star review. It was lovely to meet you all and we are glad you enjoyed the trip. Luckily the other passengers were quite relaxed about waiting but is not usually possible to wait for late arrivals. Cheers, Mafi
mariah25 from New Zealand wrote on 04 January 2026
"It felt like cruising with friends" ☆☆☆☆☆
Wow! What an Awesome time ! Absolutely perfect choosing this small group cruise. It felt like we were cruising around the Bay with friends. The weather was perfect. Excellent commentary, Tony is very knowledgeable. We saw lots of wildlife , and YES Dolphins! Very friendly team. A lovely relaxed time. Definitely choose to go on this!
From Coast Up Close Scenic Wildlife Tours - 2.5 hours - Akaroa
Hi Maria Thank you for joining our cruise and this fabulous 5 star review. We hope you had a great start to 2026 an wish you all the best. Cheers, Tony and Mafi
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quentind5 from France wrote on 26 December 2023
Excellente balade / Organisateur au top
Balade a la découverte de la faune local, nous avons pu apercevoir plusieurs dauphin ainsi que des phoques et une multitude d'oiseaux, le personnel est super sympa et mets tous de suite à l'aise en venant discuter avec vous, nous avons aussi reçu de magnifiques explications sur les environs ( attention à l'accent kiwi, assez difficile a comprendre avec le bruit du vent et du moteur) A recommander, si nous revenons ici ce sera à coup sûr avec la même organisation. Merci a vous !