Kaikoura Whale Watch Day Tour: Discover Marine Life and Scenic Views
4.2
123 Ratings
Embark on a thrilling whale-watching adventure in Kaikoura, New Zealand. Discover majestic Sperm Whales, playful dolphins, and adorable seals while enjoying stunning views of the Kaikoura Ranges. End the day with a scenic drive and a wine tasting experience.
Duration:
11 hours
Cancellation:
6 days
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Highlights
- Kaikōra - Your day starts with pickup from your Christchurch hotel, then travel in a comfortable coach for about 2.5 hours to reach Kaikoura, taking a scenic road through the North Canterbury region.
What's Included
- View fur seal colonies up close
- Experience whale watching on a boat tour
- Enjoy the comfort of air-conditioned vehicles
- Explore North Canterbury vineyards with wine tasting (subject to availability)
- Savor lunch (available with selected options)
- Benefit from live commentary during the tour
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Experience the natural treasures of New Zealand on a whale-watching cruise from the picturesque town of Kaikoura. Look for the mighty Sperm Whales that live in these waters along with Dusky Dolphins, New Zealand Fur Seals and Seabirds. Admire breathtaking views of the snow-capped Kaikoura Ranges during your free time in Kaikoura’s township and visit a seal colony on land. Wrap up the day with a scenic drive back to Christchurch and a wine tasting at a vineyard in North Canterbury (time permitting). Your experienced guide shares informative commentary throughout the day on this fun and fascinating tour.
- Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation, if there are not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund.
- Please note, infants under 3 years of age may not join the cruises but may travel on the light aircraft tours
- Once the tour has commenced only the unused portion of the tour will be refunded should the boats not sail or the planes not fly.
- If due to whale sightings or weather conditions the boat offers a partial refund, this refund will be passed on to our customers.
- If whale watch is undertaken by light aircraft and no whales are seen, no refund applies.
- A decision is made at 6:30am each day, based on local weather conditions, as to whether the tour will depart Christchurch or be canceled. If the tour is cancelled, clients are notified by 7:15am and no cancellation fees are charged. If the tour travels to Kaikoura and the whale watch cruises are canceled, whale watch plane tours are offered as an alternative. If clients do not wish to fly, or the plane tours are also canceled, a cash refund of NZD 120.00 per adult is given. Refund is issued on the day of the tour by the tour operator in Christchurch.
- As the wineries close at 5pm daily and on selected public holidays, a stop may not be possible. On these occasions no refund is applicable.
Cancellation Policy
If you cancel at least 7 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel between 3 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
4.2
(123 Ratings)
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Sheila_h
Apr 28, 2024
Wonderfully memorable - The tour driver, Jude, was a joy. The stop to see the seals was a wonderful experience. The whale watching experience was amazing. We got to see a Sperm whale and watch it dive, showing us its fluke (tail). We would highly recommend
Review provided by Viator
Susan_f
Apr 7, 2024
Kaikoura Whale Watching from Christchurch - Amazing day out !
This tour option really suited us as we were not driving around NZ & wanted to use Christchurch as a base for some activities.
Carmen our tour guide was so lovely and informative & due to the tour size that day it really felt like a few friends out for an adventure!
We were picked up from our accommodation, made the tour in Kaikoura with plenty time to spare, when out on the water we were so happy to see a hump back whale and pods of dolphins...back to town for some lunch with time to wander the shops then off we set back to Christchurch with a stop for some seal spotting along the way!
All in all a great day out...would recommend for those who want to leave the car behind or are not driving like us!
Review provided by Viator
Bballbum1642
Apr 1, 2024
Great staff, fun experience - We booked this and it was amazing! Our trip guide, Pete, was absolutely INCREDIBLE and really made the drive up and back enjoyable.
The whale watching park was great as well. We saw dophi s, albatross and a sperm whale. We would definitely recommend for others.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alistairb1954
Mar 23, 2024
A Highly professional operation . - I have rated this trip for the sheer professionalism and high integrity of this company. We were warned that the sea had a big swell and people could take a refund .most decided to go .There was big swell and this triggered one of the passengers to have what was probably a fit .The crew dealt with matter with calm professionalism. We returned to harbour to off load the passenger .who was fine along with a few others who had been seasick .We then headed out again .once in deep water the sea was fine the sun shining .But sadly only a distant whale sighting .I had enjoyed the trip anyway .But then there was an announcement of an 80% refund for the disruption we had had .Not many tour companies are that decent .so well done Whale Watch
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katharina_h
Mar 18, 2024
Was a nice trip - Was a nice experience.
I have seen the „big 5 of Kaikoura“: Albatross/ seals/ sperm whales/ two kinds of dolphins.
The „Whale watching“ crew managed to find two of the sperm whales.
But my personal highlight were the dolphins who swam with and near our boat.
We could spend our lunch break at the beach (brought my own lunch) and enjoy the view.
After that we have seen a lot of seals chilling on the rocks next the coast.
Everything went well and I could recommend this trip to others.
Review provided by Viator
Paul_m
Mar 10, 2024
Just do it! - We saw 3 sperm whales. All had names, which was cute. Crew was passionate about it. Saw tuna, seals and albatross as well. Outstanding!
Review provided by Viator
Geoffrey_w
Feb 22, 2024
An excellent day. - The journey to the experience was very good and made even better by Pete, our tour guide for the day. He was excellent.
Seeing the tail fluke of Sperm whale rise and then dive into the water was fantastic
Review provided by Viator
Julie_n
Mar 29, 2024
Great driver, great scenery, no whales - Seeing dolphins,seals, the community. Flying over the ocean to see several beautiful sights. Driver answered our questions, gave us lots of info! No whales, but that can happen.
Review provided by Viator
Meghanmarie_v
Feb 25, 2024
The cruise was great but was not a huge fan of the guide - The cruise experience was amazing, though we only saw one whale from far away. The dolphins were great though, we came across a huge group of them jumping out of the water. I didn't really enjoy the tour guide's attitude though. I believe her name was Carmen. It seemed like she was angry with me for staying in a certain accommodation for some reason and made comments about it ("How am I supposed to know where reception is??" [after coming almost 20 minutes late] "Ugh that's really out of the way." "Well we're already past your stop, what do you expect me to do?") and acted like it was an inconvenience to pick me up or drop me off there (part of the tour package). She also spent most of the way there talking, which is to be expected, but her microphone volume was super low so you had to really strain to hear. She kept getting me mixed up with another woman as well, and she ended up skipping my drop off spot due to that as well so I got dropped off late.
Review provided by Viator
Chrissie737
Mar 7, 2024
Boat cancelled 1/2 hour before departure. Flight substitute offered totally underwhelming as far as Whale Watching conc - We were told 1/2 hr before due to depart in catamaran that it had been cancelled. We were offered a flight to Wales instead. As it had been a 2 1/2 hour drive from Christchurch, and we asked if you got a clear view of the Wales which was sad as yes. We decided to go for the flight. Sadly it was a very underwhelming trip.
Although sightings of a couple of sperm whales and a blue whale, we could not see that you really could only see the shape of the whales and we even missed a couple by the time the plane had circled around.
Although it was a nice flight on a small aircraft, if you have done this before, there was really nothing special about it. I would go for a full refund which was offered, and go another day if you are able.
On the positive side, our driver here was a wonderful Spanish lady called Carmen , was absolutely brilliant. Her knowledge was amazing, she was very personable and made every effort
To make a trip as enjoyable as possible. There were four people that went on the flight and we were extremely disappointed.
I appreciate that there is no guarantee of the Wales, however, flying in a small aircraft which obviously has limitations to help closely, I thought was a wasted trip
journey journey
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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