Akaroa Sightseeing Tour from Christchurch: Explore Volcanic Cliffs and Rare Wildlife

Embark on a captivating sightseeing tour from Christchurch to Akaroa. Discover volcanic cliffs, rare wildlife, and the charming Akaroa village. Enjoy a nature cruise and a delicious lunch at Bully Hayes Restaurant.

Duration: 9 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 6 days
Highlights
  • Akaroa - Following a morning pickup by air-conditioned coach from your Christchurch hotel, head out along the road to Akaroa to begin your tour. Tour includes Tourism Award Winning & Supreme Tourism Award winning cruise, on Akaroa Harbour.\n\nVisit the beautiful unspoilt old French whaling depot of Akaroa. A charming small township nestled in a…
What's Included
  • Lunch included (optional)
  • Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Professional driver/guide
  • Air-conditioned vehicle for comfort
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Join us for a scenic excursion to Akaroa, nestled in the beautiful landscape of Banks Peninsula, shaped by the explosive eruptions of two prehistoric volcanoes. Akaroa’s crater cradles the scenic harbor and the charming village of Akaroa. During a Nature Cruise, marvel at the unique, rare Hector’s Dolphin, a native of NZ, along with penguins and a…

Location
Akaroa
Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 6 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel between 2 and 6 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a 50% refund.
If you cancel within 2 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(199 Ratings)
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1 star
Cathyb1622
Feb 21, 2025
Amazing tour and guide - This was the highlight of our 3 month visit to NZ. Scenery breathtaking from start to finish, great stops for photos and lunch. Cruise was amazing. Pete was a terrific guide, very knowledgeable and had a soothing voice, spicing up the tour with good humor and good music. He even made an unplanned stop on our return home to let me retrieve my prescription glasses, that I left behind!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
John
Feb 20, 2025
Fascinating & enjoyable day-out - Everything went smoothly, from hotel pick-up to drop-off. Steph, our driver, was friendly and knowledgeable. We had to adapt to the weather forecast, but that just meant stopping points were shuffled around seamlessly, and we went on an earlier harbour cruise. The cruise part was also friendly, with humour thrown in, too. We saw Hector's dolphins & fir seals and enjoyed the coastal scenery over the 2 hour cruise. Back at Akaroa, the lunch was tasty, and we drove back via a short stop at a cheese-making factory and some high viewpoints for photos. Everything was pitched just right for an enjoyable day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Scenic573325
Feb 2, 2025
Great value for money and great experience - Carmen our guide was very friendly and welcoming. We had a great showing of dolphins. The food at the restaurant was tasty
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daniel_f
Jan 26, 2025
Wonderful day trip to Akaroa. - If the weather is good , this is a perfect trip.The hills were enshrouded with clouds when we left Christchurch but we had sunshine and warm weather in Akaroa. Saw lots of dolphins on our boat ride and the scenery was spectacular on our drive. Our guide, Jude was wonderful and gave us lots of good information.
Review provided by Viator
533hiroyukit
Jan 24, 2025
happy experience - It was a very happy experience. In addition to dolphins, we were able to see seals, penguins, and beautiful cliffs from the sea.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Paula_s
Jan 21, 2025
10 out of 10 - Our driver, Pete was fantastic! Lunch at Billy Hayes was delicious. The tour is definitely a 10 out of 10.!
Review provided by Viator
Marionrp725jl
Feb 24, 2025
Winding road - Most interesting tour with excellent lunch and boat cruise On other coach trips there has been a bottle of water provided for each person, that was really missing as there was no morning tea provided.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Luciana_c
Feb 3, 2025
Lovely seaside town and beautiful cruise experience - Akaroa is a lovely seaside town with small fishing town charm. The tour is very relaxed and gives you enough time to have lunch and explore the town before going on the dolphin cruise. We were very fortunate with the weather and were also able to see fur seals. Even in the event of not seeing any wildlife, the scenery alone is worth the cruise trip. The tour guide and driver was friendly and professional, very skilful at driving windy mountain roads (no one got motion sickness!), however the commentary wasn’t my style though that’s just a minor detail. Overall it was a great tour and I highly recommend everyone to do it!
Review provided by Viator
Anne
Jan 21, 2025
Visit to Akaroa Harbor - We really enjoyed the boat ride. We were able to see dolphins, seals and a penguin. Lunch was very tasty. Jude was our very safe driver. She stopped at great views for pictures. The roads and the boat ride can be a bit rough at times. If you get seasick or car sick be prepared. We loved our trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lelandh_f
Feb 2, 2025
Unacceptable - The local tour company requires that clients must cancel 6 days before a tour for a full refund. The company cancelled on us 18 hours before our trip! We had already received our tickets! This is unacceptable. We were left to figure out how to spend a good day with almost no warning. We are still waiting for our refund from you. When will get back our money? We are disappointed by this experience.
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
March 2025
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