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 Christchurch, the bucket-list move is Waimakariri Gorge Jet Boat & High Country 4WD Explorer. Below: 4 bucket-list things to do on a Christchurch port day — worth weighing against whatever your ship offers.
Tear through the braided Waimakariri River in a jet boat, then explore the dramatic Southern Alps high country by 4WD. A pulse-pounding fusion of New Zealand's wildest landscapes — this is the adventure Christchurch was made for.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Slip into the crystal waters of Akaroa Harbour to swim alongside Hector's dolphins — the world's smallest and rarest. Set inside a stunning extinct volcanic crater on Banks Peninsula, this is one of the most extraordinary wildlife encounters on Earth.
Book itAkaroa Full Day Sightseeing Tour from Christchurch$163 per person
Run by Ecoseaker - Dolphin Swimming & Harbour Adventure Cruises · 4.80 from 161 reviews
Christchurch is the world's gateway to Antarctica, and the International Antarctic Centre plunges you deep into the frozen continent's drama — from a real Antarctic storm chamber to a Hagglund all-terrain vehicle ride. Extraordinarily immersive and unlike anything else in the Southern Hemisphere.
Book itInternational Antarctic Centre General Admission TicketNZD 74 per person (about $43)
Drift silently along the willow-draped Avon River in a traditional punt, guided by a boater in Edwardian whites. This is Christchurch at its most elegant — a living postcard of heritage, garden, and the city's remarkable post-earthquake renewal.
Book itLyttelton Shore Excursion: Christchurch Highlights & Avon Punting$223 per person
Ride the Christchurch Gondola to the rim of an ancient volcanic crater for a 360° panorama stretching from the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean. One of New Zealand's great viewpoints, made accessible in extraordinary style.
Book itChristchurch Gondola Ride TicketNZD 45 per person (about $26)
Quake City is the world's most powerful museum dedicated to a modern urban earthquake — a raw, moving, and brilliantly curated account of the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes that reshaped a city. Essential context for understanding everything you see in Christchurch.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Your day in ChristchurchNothing 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.