We booked the winter eco experience aboard the Albatross V. Having the dolphins swim alongside our boat for 20 minutes was an amazing experience. Our skipper had a great personality, very knowledgeable and shared lots of stories and information with us. We had a wonderful day out and enjoyed the muffins. Great fun. We would highly recommend this experience.

my partner and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in paihia so this was a perfect way to celebrate this milestone in our relationship. Loved every minute of it! ?

Mike and Robert were amazing. Great yarns and tasty food. The sailing was ok too...it was amazing. Captain Mike is a very experienced captain and had amazing facts of all the boats in the bay and was a privilege to be able to spend the day on his vessel.

Whole day was fantastic. We had dolphins playing on the bow and the hosts are lovely - feels like you are sailing with friends. Islands are beautiful and the lunch was delicious (albeit a bit small - take snacks!)

Amazing. Will be doing it again.

Lizzy communicated with us due to the weather. Lizzy and Amy were friendly and understanding. We are novice riders and the ride was amazing, with great views of the Bay. The horses were paired to our experience and behaved extremely well. We thoroughly enjoyed our virgin ride. Even might have another go another time.

Was a great family experience. Staff very friendly and helpful. My son was a bit nervous, but staff was there to put his mind at ease, and he ended up enjoying himself. Would definitely recommend.

We visit Paihia yearly. But this is the first time we have enjoyed the bay by sail. Swimming to shore and enjoying everything close up. We will surely repeat this experience in years to come. Mike is a credit to the small operators that have New Zealand's long term biosecurity and sustainability of our wonderful resources at the top of their priorities.

What can you say about this beauty!. Beautiful day set the scene for a great day out on the water. Plus a big feed for lunch. Awesome day out on the water. Informative and hilarious boat crew, who made it a very entertaining day. Some awesome photo opportunities with dolphins. Definitely book it!!! Can't wait to do it again!!!

We had an amazing time here on the 09/06. Emma picked us up from Paihia and was super friendly. She explained everything and made us feel confident even if we were just beginners. The views were amazing, and we enjoyed riding on Moana and Ace. Thanks for the lovely experience.

Enjoyed this experience where we had everyone from complete novice riders to experienced ones in the group. Our host catered to all needs and went out of her way to ensure everyone enjoyed themselves and stayed safe. The time went quickly with a variety of views - roadside, sea and bush riding. The horses were reasonably well behaved, and of course the swim was lots of fun. Thanks!

The team on the boat were fantastic and very friendly, especially Molly and Warren. We saw one pod of dolphins which had s baby with them which was cool, but other than that, we cruised around for a few hours looking for dolphins but couldn't find any more. The trip is great but you are looking for mammals in the wild so it is hit and miss.

I really enjoyed the dolphin discovery. We got to see a pod of 25 dolphins including a 3 week old baby! They came up really close to the boat and were very playful. Unfortunately we didn’t get to swim with the dolphins as they couldn’t locate the other pod, the crew said that they could have been further out but as the sea was too choppy we couldn’t go out there which was a massive shame. But we got to snorkel and watch one of the crew members feed the fish. So overall it was a really good experience.

Great way to spend an afternoon! Beautiful scenery, knowledgeable and friendly staff and great food. Don't miss the best way to see the bay of islands.

This year we travelled Australia and New Zealand for 4 months. At the end of our trip and at the last minute we booked in on Gunga II after being dumped by another operator. Lucky break! We had the most epic day with Mike with stories which were fascinating and memories of dolphins, penguins and tiny islands which delighted us. The snacks and lunch were healthy, tasty and spot on. We didn't want to leave the boat. Back in London now, a piece of our hearts are still there...

Was a shame that we weren't able to go out to the hole in the rock due to the cyclone but we were able to see dolphins! Staff and captain were great. No complaints. Highly recommend it. Looking forward to coming back to New Zealand and doing the cruise again.

We got to see penguins and a pod of 6 dolphins. Mike and Rob are great hosts. We got to hear some really cool stories as well. Definitely recommend. Thank you guys for one of the most amazing day ever!

Had the best time on the Gungha II in the beautiful bay of islands! Such a relaxed, calm vibe to the trip. I really enjoyed the friendly hosts, hospitality and knowledge provided by the crew. 100% recommend this experience - it’s incredible! We even saw a penguin and were lucky enough to have a pod of dolphins join us in revelry swimming, leaping and playing in the water beside the boat. Thanks for a spectacular day! :)

Great way to spend a day in one of New Zealand’s wonderful scenic areas. The bus was very comfortable and left on time. The bus driver (Kenny) was very informative and comical at times. He made the trip fly by but still pointed out interesting scenes and historical sights. The cruise was equally interesting with the captain keeping everyone interested in the points of interest including the famous hole in the rock saving the best for last. You won’t believe where the ship will fit until you see it. I would recommend this day trip to anyone wanting to see more of the NZ ocean coast.

Wonderful time spent at this very special place. Incredible Maori performance & great food. A must do for anyone visiting NZ

Taylor and Kate are awesome host and we learnt a lot about local birds and Kayaking and stand up paddling techniques.

An absolute must do. Amazing guided tour and a cultural performance that gave me goosebumps.

We enjoyed a wonderful evening and a delicious dinner abroad Kiss with hosts Karen and Russell! We were picked up and dropped off at our hotel. The boat was comfortable. Delicious snacks were offered right away and our wine that we brought with us was stored in the fridge and served throughout the evening. Russel and Karen hoisted the Sail and we enjoyed a lovely evening sailing around the Bay of Islands. We learned lots! An evening to remember for sure!

Thanks. We had a fantastic day. The ceremonies were so entertaining. It was great to have the Māori culture and history explained to us on the guided tour. We finished the day off with a hangi. Solly our Māori expert was great. I’d recommend this day to everyone visiting this area. IT’S A MUST DO!!

The best cultural experience I have been to in NZ. A great history lesson. The team at Waitangi are fabulous performers & hosts. A must do when visiting the bay of Islands!

Had an excellent experience. Would recommend looking around the museum prior to the guided tour as it makes more sense that way. Cultural experience was fantastic and we got to take pics with the performers afterwards.

The treaty grounds presents the cultural history of New Zealand brilliantly! Well worth a visit! I visited in August with my son and had a personal tour with John - had the same tour on this visit with other friends and my husband and John again took the tour but a large group and was still as interesting! The man knows his history and his passion for his job shines through as he answered questions and queries! The cultural performance was splendid and ended the tour brilliantly!

The guided tour of the treaty grounds was very informative. The ear piece given to listen to the guide was very handy as sometimes it is quite hard for everyone to hear such things. When we were out by the wakas, there were alot of children around with a school group, and so that made it hard to listen. Meeting house show was a bit of a laugh

Museum has good information about Maori history and culture and how New Zealand as a country was formed. Great performances from dancers and background knowledge from guided tour. Nice bay views from the grounds. Highly recommended.

Booking online was much cheaper than the cruise excursion and the town's shuttle bus to the Treaty Grounds was fantastic. Guided tour was excellent and the headsets meant everyone could hear the guide whilst wandering around the area. The Cultural Performance was wonderful, informative and entertaining. It was a great outing.

Joey our guide was excellent in the way he told us all about Waitangi - the treaty, the war canoe, the Treaty house and The Flagstaff. We also liked the way he referred to us Aussies as friends and Allies. We really enjoyed the cultural performance especially the way everything they did was explained to us. The museum was well laid out and interesting - we could’ve spent a long time there. The whole experience was well worth our entry fee.

What an amazing day well spent at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. I loved the relaxed non commercial cultural show and our tour guide was informative and knowledgeable and funny. After a wonderful lunch at the whare Kai we headed into the museum...and emerged 3 hours later with a whole collection of new facts and thoughts. What an awesome way to pass a wet Sunday.

Was really great experience highly recommend to anyone!

This is a must see activity for both locals and overseas visitors. You need to devote a day to take full advantage of the tour, cultural activity, museum visit, Treay House & Meeting House visits and wood carving workshop as well as to just enjoy the gardens and surrounds. It is an extra special deal with bookme.co.nz. Fantastic value!

The day pass kicked off with the Cultural Performance. This was a high energy and fun show presented by a very talented team of Maori performers. A guided tour took us through the grounds and provided a knowledgeable and informative overview of the local history, culture and of regional and national heritage. A pleasant bite to eat at the cafe and then a walk through the museum which depicts a chronological history of discovery, colonisation, conflict and national unification. Well worth a visit, highly recommend it.