Queen Charlotte Mail Boat Cruise: Experience Authentic New Zealand Post Delivery Service

281 Ratings

Picton

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Experience the authentic New Zealand post delivery service on the Queen Charlotte Mail Boat Cruise. Join us as we deliver mail, groceries, and freight to the residents of Queen Charlotte Sound. Don’t miss this unique tour!

Duration: 4 hours

Cancellation: 24 hours

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Highlights

Queen Charlotte Sound - Cruise through the tranquil waterways of the Queen Charlotte Sound, see wildlife and native flora and fauna along the way

What's Included

Commentary on board
On-board restrooms

What's Not Included

Food
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Additional Information

For more than 150 years, mail has been transported via boat in the Queen Charlotte Sounds, a service we are proud to be the sole officially sanctioned New Zealand Post Rural Delivery Service by water in the Queen Charlotte Sound, rendering this tour truly unparalleled!
Join us on the Mail Boat Cruise to partake in the thrilling routine of Mail Day, as…

Location

1 London Quay

London Quay

Please meet us at the Beachcomber Cruises Office on the waterfront - the Corner of Wellington Street and London Quay, we are a black building with Blue Signage.

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings

4.7

(281 Ratings)

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1 star

Jennic1960

Oct 18, 2025

Excellent trip on the sound - Dillon our “mailman” was very informative in his commentary and very welcoming on the boat. Even though the weather wasn’t great, the boat was a very smooth trip. As we had time, we were taken to Ship Cove which was not part of original itinerary- very interesting place and got to see our first Weca in NZ. Lots of wildlife on the way, including dolphins, seals and lots of birds. On the way back into Picton we diverted to help a stranded yacht, and Dillon was excellent in assisting and towing the yacht back into port. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Billlh7524vs

Sep 14, 2025

A lovely half day out on The Sounds - A really lovely experience, we were blessed with calm, sunny weather and were able to visit many different coves and eventually, out into the heads. We saw several pods of Dusky Dolphins, a couple of seals and learnt about the industry in The Sounds. Well worth it and good value for money.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Suesa7625ox

May 20, 2025

Great Afternoon. - Dillon was terrific. Happily answered our myriad of questions and very professional boat handler. So good to see Ship Cove. Great afternoon for us.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Kpzjames

May 20, 2025

I recommend this trip. - Great day good informative skipper who was very forthcoming with information about the area thoroughly enjoyed it. Wentworth doing it

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Bilferg

Apr 14, 2025

Top day on the water. - A fantastic afternoon spent on Queen Charlotte Sound. Our Captain Aron was professional, informative and interesting, sharing information about the sound and how people live and holiday in this beautiful part of the world. The vessel was clean and comfortable. We enjoyed our time and so glad we finally got to experience the Mail Boat run.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Go823996

Apr 4, 2025

Queen Charlotte Sound spectacular - We took the 9am boat to Furneaux Lodge and undertook a day walk on the Queen Charlotte track to Punga Cove. Our trip also included stops to pick up walkers from Motuara Island and a brief visit to Ship Cove. We had a really engaging boat skipper who provided an excellent commentary and plentiful teas and coffees. Thank you. highly recommended.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Sjdun

Apr 2, 2025

Interesting, entertaining and nformative. - The commentary was great, entertaining and included history, geography, local knowledge and legends. I spent 6 days in Picton, and this was the highlight for interest value. The pace was relaxing. Beautiful. Thanks.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Mark_m

Aug 25, 2025

My birthday outing - My partner & I enjoyed the cruise. The day started off cloudy in the morning but it was lovely & sunny for the afternoon cruise. It was good to go to different bays/coves delivering the mail with good commentary too. Took a lot of nice photos & videos of the beautiful scenery

Review provided by Viator

Fearless63605383616

Sep 18, 2025

Interesting. - It was enjoyable. We saw dolphins & birdlife. The commentary was ok but could have been more in depth. Coffee and tea were available however only if you had your own cup which we were not told about. It was a wet , windy day so it would've made it more enjoyable if they had provided disposable cups. No toilets available for 4 hours either.

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Johnm18627

Jul 2, 2025

A wee disappointing - The commentator could have provided more details on the history of the Mail run and despite being told to bring our coffee mugs which we did they did not provide any milk for coffee-tea for the 3 hour trip.The cost of $120 per person was expensive and not worth it

Review provided by Tripadvisor

Check Availability

From $70

up to 9 guests

1 - Adult