Dunedin Castle Tour: Small Group Experience

Explore Otago Peninsula and Larnach Castle with expert guides. Small groups, guaranteed return to your cruise ship, and unforgettable experiences await!

Duration: 6 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Baldwin Street: The Steepest Street in the World - Experience the world’s steepest street by walking it, capturing photos, or simply observing the fun during our 20-minute stop. You’ll also have the opportunity to try a JAFFA - discover what that is during the tour.
  • Signal Hill - A popular stop offering a panoramic view of the entire city….
What's Included
  • Castle Entry
Additional Information

Our renowned tour guiding company in Dunedin offers exceptional small group tours. With top-quality branded vehicles and delightful guides and drivers, we ensure a memorable experience. Rest assured, you’ll always return to your cruise ship with ample time to spare, as we guarantee this. We cherish a relaxed journey where strangers become friends, and…

Location
Port Otago
Beach Street
Please stay in the terminal we come in for you
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
4.4
(49 Ratings)
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1 star
Karen_s
Feb 26, 2026
Fabulous day - Although the start of the tour (the meeting points chaotic pick-up) was stressful, the rest of the tour made up for the inconvenience. Our tour guide and driver were excellent. So much was packed into our day including a very tasty, delicious lunch, we had a great time. We would highly recommend booking this tour if ever you're visiting Duneden.
Review provided by Viator
Phil_t
Feb 7, 2026
It was well run. Pick up... - It was well run. Pick up and drop off were just as planned. The guide was well informed, funny, patient and thorough.
Review provided by Viator
Jill_k
Feb 6, 2026
Great Views - Bex was a fabulous tour guide who had significant knowledge of the area and made multiple stops at picturesque locations where she took pictures of anyone who wanted them. She was very flexible and added a couple of quick stops as we drove around. She even offered to stop at a souvenir shop for us, but it ended up being closed early the day we were there (NZ holiday).
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Jerry_l
Jan 27, 2026
Great Tour of Dunedin - We had a great time on our tour. The BOOKATOUR team had a great itinerary and our guide was very informative and friendly. Lunch at Black Dog Cafe was excellent.
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Juli_h
Dec 8, 2025
Loved Jason! - Jason did a fabulous job. He was very insightful. I appreciated his commentary. We were able to take some excellent photos on this excursion.
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Gregory_h
Feb 25, 2026
Dunedin, Otago Penonsula & Larnach Castle - - Star a bit chaotic, but Becks was excellent and the itinerary was very well thought out and executed.
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Cathleen_b
Feb 6, 2026
Energetic tour guide, gardens and castle were great. - Pros: Trevor was a great bus host and tour guide; super congenial. Jo, the bus driver was very competent, especially on the tight curves. Lunch was tasty and there was lots of space to sit at tables. Cons: I booked this trip not only because of the itinerary, but also because the 'Overview' statement on the page read: "We offer a small group tour...our vehicles range from 9-22 seaters so groups will be no larger than that." However, our tour started off with 34 people and then added 4 more on the way. I think Trevor did a great job corralling all of us, but it may have affected our schedule, given that we had to skip the Otago Peninsula high road viewpoint and the Railway Station. I also would have loved more time at the Botanical Garden...we were only there about 30-40 mins and it was a lovely layout with many plants in bloom.
Review provided by Viator
Jane_b
Feb 20, 2026
Ok, but….? - This was a small group tour but be prepared for a small van with limited leg space. We also had no AC and the windows would not open. Quite uncomfortable. That said, the areas we visited were great and loved it. The lunch we had was amazing at Bad Dog (I think). Would highly recommend this restaurant! All included in the price. The tour guide/driver was answering questions from people in the front and he did not repeat the questions (even after asked). He also struggled with the microphone system that worked only intermittently.
Review provided by Viator
Sandy_g
Mar 2, 2026
Wasted Day…Made us question using Viator again - The tour operator never responded to pick up questions. Tried for two days to confirm and no response. Went into town as the reservation stated and the operator was not there. Called Viator and she got a hold of the driver who was at the ship, she also acknowledged that the operator never responded to our inquiries. After a 30 min phone call she finally arranged for the driver to pick us up. This was nearly two hours after the tour was to start, in the rain. The driver was not apologetic and the tour was not great. We zipped through things as we were “running late.” The lunch was awful, ham, Caesar salad that was soggy and had no flavor, the only thing that was ok was the sweet potatoes. We were told this was not the “normal “ lunch stop because there were too many pp in town and they were trying something new. Once we reached the castle (which was lovey) there was no guided tour because it was crowded and our driver/guide had to move the mini bus. If seeing Frat row at a college is exciting. This would be the tour for you.
Review provided by Viator
Monique_m
Feb 25, 2026
Big disappointment - very disappointing experience. The guide's late. His name may be Neil, accent very strong and no effort to put himself within reach of non-English speaking customers. This is the person who made headlines for his photo of a surfer with a dog on his board. Our driver, idem accent incomprehensible, Jane, June or Jade??? The description of the excursion mentions “small group”, is a bus with 36 people on board a small group!!!!!???? The organization at the cruise terminal is not optimal, we wait for the guide, the participants, the bus, result 30 minutes late to departure. First stop "the steepest street in the world". Guide instructions very unclear, some participants climbed the street to the top, huge waste of time, the stop lasted more than 30 minutes. Due to the format of the bus, it was difficult for the driver to pass everywhere, therefore longer journey from one point to the other. We had at least two people on board in wheelchairs and others with walkers and canes. Another reason for falling behind. We suggest you make special groups for these people, this would save you from penalizing able-bodied participants. Once again, the downtime at the city observation point was too long and the visit to the botanical garden with few flowers was not really interesting. We spent the morning, at least 2h30 without toilet stops, then made 3 toilet stops in 20 mtes??? What a bad time management!!! Lunch was planned at the Larnach Castel, it took place in the city in a pub and the service was carried out in confusion and noise. As for the beer included, it is better to offer nothing than a 150ml glass!!! Throughout the tour, the guide assures us that we will see the station, we must be patient according to him. After lunch, Larnach castel, express guided tour of the ground floor, self-guided tour of the floor and a good twenty minutes wasted waiting to go back there too. The highlight of the visit, Dunedin Station, the second most photographed monument in New Zealand, well, we didn’t see it... We passed by by bus, which is particularly frustrating. Dismal time management by our guide forced us to choose between visiting the station or missing the departure of our cruise ship. I let you guess!!! For all its reasons, I invite you to review your procedures and choose guides that can be rigorous with the schedule. Unfortunately, we will not have the opportunity to come back to see the Dunedin train station, being from Quebec City in Canada. However, we can advise our friends who are considering a trip to New Zealand another supplier. The value for money of this excursion was not there.
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From $154
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).