The bucket-list things to do — and who runs each one.
Here’s the bucket list for your day ashore: the most extraordinary thing to do at each stop, who runs it, and how to book it direct — so you can weigh it against your ship’s excursion and pick what suits you.
In port at Akaroa, the bucket-list move is Akaroa: Dolphin Swim & Wildlife Cruise with Hectors. Below: 1 bucket-list things to do on a Akaroa port day — worth weighing against whatever your ship offers.
Slip into the crystal-clear waters of Akaroa Harbour alongside the world's rarest and smallest dolphin — the endemic Hector's dolphin. This guided swim is a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounter found nowhere else on Earth.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Watch the world's smallest penguins waddle ashore at dusk at Pohatu — New Zealand's largest mainland white-flippered penguin colony. An intimate, conservation-led evening guided by the family who has protected this colony for decades.
Book itAkaroa: 3-Hour Evening Pohatu Tour to View Little Penguins$71 per person
Run by Pōhatu penguins/Plunge NZ Ltd · 4.80 from 793 reviews
Explore Akaroa's unique Franco-Māori heritage with Marie Haley — a seventh-generation French descendant and the peninsula's most authoritative local guide. This exclusive private tour reveals the stories no guidebook tells.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Combine a rugged 4WD ascent of the ancient volcanic Banks Peninsula crater rim with a guided sea-kayak glide along the harbour's dramatic basalt sea cliffs. Two bucket-list experiences, one extraordinary half-day.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Cruise the full length of one of the Southern Hemisphere's most spectacular drowned volcanic harbours, scanning volcanic sea cliffs, hidden coves, and wildlife-rich shores from a comfortable boutique vessel.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Under some of the Southern Hemisphere's darkest skies, a dedicated astronomer guides you through a live tour of the Milky Way, southern constellations, and deep-space objects through powerful dual telescopes.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Your day in AkaroaNothing picked yet — tick what you fancy
$0for two, booked direct
Now plan the rest of it
You know what to do on the day. Here is the trip it belongs to —
each one opens as a whole plan, not a list: where to fly in, every port, what it runs.