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 Lyttelton (Christchurch), the bucket-list move is TranzAlpine Train: NZ's Greatest Alpine Journey. Below: 3 bucket-list things to do on a Lyttelton (Christchurch) port day — worth weighing against whatever your ship offers.
Board one of the world's great train journeys, crossing the Southern Alps from Christchurch to Arthur's Pass through breathtaking gorges, viaducts, and snow-capped peaks. A once-in-a-lifetime rail experience that reveals the raw grandeur of Canterbury.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Ride in a chauffeured private vehicle along the volcanic ridgelines of Banks Peninsula to Akaroa, New Zealand's only French colonial village, then cruise its turquoise harbour to swim with the world's rarest and smallest dolphin — the Hector's dolphin.
Book itFrom Christchurch: Akaroa Day Trip with Hector's Dolphins$203 per person
Run by Black Cat Cruises · 4.70 from 1,400 reviews
Trek the ancient volcanic rim above Lyttelton Harbour with an expert local guide, savoring 360° panoramas of Banks Peninsula, the Canterbury Plains, and the Southern Alps — a dramatic perspective that reveals just how extraordinary this port really is.
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Glide through Christchurch's resurgent city centre on a heritage tram, punt peacefully along the Avon River through lush gardens, then ascend the Port Hills by gondola for sweeping views over the rebuilt city and the Pacific coast.
Book itChristchurch: Tram, Punt and Gondola Ride Combo Ticket$72 per person
Journey into the Canterbury high country to Castle Hill / Kura Tāwhiti, where thousands of ancient limestone boulders rise from tussock grassland — a sacred Māori site so otherworldly that the Dalai Lama called it 'the spiritual centre of the universe.'
We have not yet verified a bookable operator and price for
this one, so we are not quoting either.
Christchurch is the world's gateway to Antarctica — step inside the award-winning Antarctic Centre to experience a simulated polar storm, ride an amphibious Hagglund vehicle, and meet the resident little blue penguins in a genuine behind-the-scenes encounter.
Book itChristchurch International Antarctic Centre Entry Tickets$44 per person
Your day in LytteltonNothing 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.