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Dunedin Bus Tour: Cruise Day Highlights
4.4
62 Ratings
Port Chalmers
Explore the best of Dunedin on this City and Nature Tour designed exclusively for cruise ship passengers. Discover the main attractions, enjoy guided commentary, and have the flexibility to explore each location. Book now and get a full refund if dissatisfied (conditions apply).
Explore the best of Dunedin on this City and Nature Tour designed exclusively for cruise ship passengers. Discover the main attractions, enjoy guided commentary, and have the flexibility to explore each location. Book now and get a full refund if dissatisfied (conditions apply).
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Port Chalmers - Travel through the charming historic town of Port Chalmers.
- The Octagon - Explore the central hub of Dunedin.
- Dunedin Botanic Garden - Enjoy the upper gardens and aviaries in pleasant weather, or the lower gardens if it rains.
- St Clair Beach - Take a 10-15 minute break to admire the views at St Clair Beach and…
- Port Chalmers - Travel through the charming historic town of Port Chalmers.
- The Octagon - Explore the central hub of Dunedin.
- Dunedin Botanic Garden - Enjoy the upper gardens and aviaries in pleasant weather, or the lower gardens if it rains.
- St Clair Beach - Take a 10-15 minute break to admire the views at St Clair Beach and Esplanade, Dunedin’s premier surfing spot.
- Saint Kilda - Drive through St Kilda, Dunedin, and visit St Kilda Beach if time and access permit.
- Dunedin Railway Station - Discover Dunedin’s historic railway station.
- Baldwin Street: The Steepest Street in the World - Observe or walk up this famous street.
- Mount Cargill Walk - Journey along Mount Cargill Road for breathtaking views over Dunedin Harbour and the Otago Peninsula, with a stop at the top for photos.
- Orokonui Ecosanctuary - Pass by the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, a project to reintroduce native wildlife to a valley. There is an option to drop off visitors for a longer visit and pick them up later at an additional cost.
- Toitu Otago Settlers Museum - Experience Dunedin’s heritage and history on display, with a café available.
- Larnach Castle & Gardens - There is an option to visit Larnach Castle for a 45-minute tour (admission required), or for those not visiting, a trip to a viewing point on Seal Point Road over Sandfly Bay, where sealions and penguins may be seen.
- Sandfly Bay Track - For those not visiting Larnach Castle, enjoy the lookout over Sandfly Bay with stunning sea views and potential wildlife sightings.
- Robert Scott Memorial - A tribute to Captain Scott, who departed for Antarctica from New Zealand and never returned. This spot also offers excellent views of the cruise ships in port.
What's Included
- Air-conditioned transportation
- Air-conditioned transportation
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Lunch
Additional Information
This is a bus-guided journey exploring the key attractions of Dunedin, aimed specifically at cruise ship visitors and operating only on cruise ship arrival days. The tour encompasses all stopovers mentioned, offering the opportunity to disembark and explore.
Featuring comfort-oriented vehicles, the service includes a guided narration.
A complete refund…
This is a bus-guided journey exploring the key attractions of Dunedin, aimed specifically at cruise ship visitors and operating only on cruise ship arrival days. The tour encompasses all stopovers mentioned, offering the opportunity to disembark and explore.
Featuring comfort-oriented vehicles, the service includes a guided narration.
A complete refund policy is in place if the customer is unsatisfied with any controllable aspect of their tour, given the complaint is first addressed with the operator prior to any third-party involvement. (pending TripAdvisor’s compliance with the operator’s request)
- We can usually accomodate wheelchairs and prams in the bus but person must sit on a seat in bus.
Location
21 Beach Street
Beach Street
We meet at the 'private tours' area of the cruise ship terminal at Port Otago (Port Chalmers), then we depart from outside the cruise ship terminal.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.4
(62 Ratings)
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Deaf2705
Apr 10, 2025
Superb tour, fantastic guide, worth every penny. - We had Rob as our guide/ driver. He's a retired music teacher. What a fantastic guide. Probably best guide we've had in years. His knowledge of Dunedin was second to none. He knew his city like the back of his hands!
He took us on a fantastic tour, providing with both relevant, factual & fun information.
It is absolutely worth every penny.
Book this tour directly, folks. It'll save you a fortune over cruise ship prices. Don't let the cruise lines dupe you into believing you'll miss the ship. The tour company gets you back in ample time.
Go for it. You won't regret this.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chuckpe1389bs
Mar 29, 2025
Great Tour but some people were tardy on returning to bus. - Great Tour, booked through VIATOR. Ryan was our guide and was great and went above and beyond. There were a couple of groups who were habitually late at most stops and at one, the botanical gardens, he had to run around and find them and pick them up at a different spot than told to. Kept his cool even though most people on the bus were upset. It reduced the time at some stops.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tharpcheryl
Mar 24, 2025
BEST driver and excellent tour! - We had a fabulous day exploring Dunedin, mostly due to our wonderful driver, Ryan! He made a great day out of a bad weather day for all of us! We saw the highlights of the city, spotted some sea lions on the beach, and walked to the top of the steepest street in the world, all while having a great commentary from a real down to earth guy. We would highly recommend this tour with Ryan!
Review provided by Viator
Tdw91
Mar 22, 2025
Amazing tour 5 stars! - Fantastic value for money tour, even tho the weather wasn’t ideal we had a great time and still got to experience a lot of Dunedin. Our Tour guide Ryan was awesome! Glad we booked this tour perfect for when in town on a cruise ship!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jim
Mar 9, 2025
Dunedin excursion from a cruise - Dave our driver was very informative and accommodating. Made the days excursion very relaxed and enjoyable. Would highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Elena_s
Feb 23, 2025
Great tour - We really enjoyed our tour. We covered so many great places in one day. The only confusing part was that the meeting point was incorrect. We got lost trying to find the meeting point provided by the operator.
Review provided by Viator
Froukjeb2014
Feb 23, 2025
We enjoyed good service - Nature was great and good explanation what you saw along the way.
Friendly staff and a clean comfortable boat.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Samanthaa2310
Apr 2, 2025
Dunedin intro - A good introduction to Dunedin. Visited the castle/house and a nice beach view too.
Walked up steepest st in world- only a few did this. Overall really enjoyed it.
Driver very knowledgeable
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jaymca
Mar 15, 2025
Exploring New Zealand is probably the busiest tour operator in Dunedin - Only complaint is that the tour guide/driver gave away the seats that my 71-year-old mother and I had already occupied at the start of the tour to another couple that joined the tour later on.
We were not informed ahead of time that the tour bus was fully booked. Otherwise, we would have left our coats on our seats before exploring the first stop (Dunedin Railway Station + Toitu Otago Settlers Museum). It's also absolutely unfair to give preferential treatment to guests who arrived after us. My mother was very angry.
"Exploring New Zealand" is one of the biggest tour operators at the cruise terminal in Port Chalmers and hosted several different tour groups that day. Despite that, the staff (in bright pink vests) were pretty organized (assigning people to the correct tour via colored stickers) just as long as you checked in with them early.
You can also purchase passes to Larnach Castle during check-in at the cruise terminal (although given only 30 minutes there, I opted to only buy cheaper garden admission at the site itself).
As a warning, this Nature and City Tour follows the itinerary listed on Tripadvisor and Viator, NOT the one listed on their own site. And the order of locations visited can vary depending on the guide/group.
Good shore excursion at a good value too.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
992moniw
Feb 26, 2025
Panoramic tour - It was a very nice tour. Ryan told us a lot, unfortunately we didn’t understand so much as our English skills are not so good. We can definitely recommend it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
