



Take in the breath-taking natural beauty of the Bay of Island and its abundant wildlife!
Take in the breath-taking natural beauty of the Bay of Island and its abundant wildlife!
Cruise the sheltered waters of the Bay of Islands and discover whales, dolphins, seals, birdlife and more on this spectacular dolphin eco cruise!
Enjoy a stop at Otehei Bay on the Department of Conservation’s recreation reserve Urupukapuka Island, where you will learn about the natural ecosystems being restored as part of the Project Island Song programme including revegetation, native species reintroduction, education and biosecurity.
Explore the island via the established tracks and spot reintroduced native wildlife including tīeke (North Island saddleback), toutouwai (North Island robin), pāteke (brown teal), Wētāpunga (giant wētā) and more.
Make the most of the day with the opportunity to swim, or experience the thrill of boomnetting, if conditions permit, or enjoy a bite to eat in the sun and relax at the fully licensed café at Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka Island.
All prices are shown inNZD ($)
Real highlights, tips, and the helpful advice straight from Bookme customers who’ve actually done this experience.
This was the highlight of our holiday. The weather was great we got to visit otehia Island and have a small picnic and we hired some snorkel gear then after 90mins we were picked up by the ferry and saw a pod of dolphins that were at least 30 in total. We stayed there for about 15mins as the dolphins wouldn't leave. There was even a baby dolphin that was a week or so old. Was very special. We then started back to Paihia however on our way there got the opportunity to try boom netting. Was such an amazing experience. Highly recommend would definitely do it again
Very professionel and interesting cruise
It needs improvement. Quite boring. Since you go to Urapukapuka Island with everyone else for the first part of the experience their is no commentary on the way to the island and they don’t tell you that you board a different boat afterwards for the second part of the experience. Poor commentary, no culture or Māori history about the islands in the area, I feel you need to improve in this area with your guide or the guy doing the commentary you are sharing with everyone and the tourist. If you have heard of Whale Watch Kaikōura the guides/team on these tours share so much knowledge about Māori history and culture in the area from the land to the sea and environment, whales, Dolphins wildlife, maybe go on one of their tours for some inspiration. I would not recommend this tour from explore
We got lucky and saw a group of playful dolphins! Amazing! Besides I really enjoyed the trip. First we went on a bigger boat to an island. We had 1.5 hours to walk around there. Beautiful place, do that and stretch your legs! You also have time to swim. Then we went on board of the Dolphin Eco Cruise. The captain was not only a good sailor, he was also a very entertaining and informative tour guide who told us all about the area and marine life in a very nice way. All in all I feel very content about the day. Thanks crew!
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Julia Bitzer from New Zealand wrote on 30 January 2026
Amazing tour
We really enjoyed the tour. The stay in Othei bay was great, cruising around the Bay of Islands was wonderful as we saw a shark and at the very end a playful group of dolphins. The boom netting was a hit in our family.