Dunedin Nature & City Tour – Full Day Cruise Excursion
Recommended by 92% of travelers
Port Chalmers, New Zealand
- 6 to 7 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Offered in: English
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Overview
What's Included
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Lunch
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Arranged start time
Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.
Select your preferred tour option to see hours.
Ticket Redemption Point
31 Beach Street, Port Chalmers, Dunedin 9023, New Zealand
Itinerary
Port Chalmers (Pass By)
1
The Octagon
25 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Dunedin Botanic Garden
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
St Clair Beach
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Saint Kilda
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Dunedin Railway Station
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Baldwin Street - World's Steepest Street!
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
Mount Cargill Walk
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Orokonui Ecosanctuary (Pass By)
8
Toitu Otago Settlers Museum
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
9
Larnach Castle & Gardens
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
10
Sandfly Bay Track
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
11
Robert Scott Memorial
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Most travelers can participate
- Near public transportation
- Not wheelchair accessible
- We can usually accomodate wheelchairs and prams in the bus but person must sit on a seat in bus.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 36 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 127 reviews
Wendy_A, Mar 2026
This excursion covers a lot of highlights. Just keep in mind the time if you are on a cruise. It was great to travel the Dunedin area and see this beautiful land from both sides of the Sound and spend sometime in Dunedin.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thanks for your review. I believe you were on a day when the ship was leaving slightly earlier than normal which put some pressure on but time management meant getting back to the ship in good time.
Denise_L, Mar 2026
Better than staying on the ship. There's only so much to see in a few hours. A few quick stops here and there, and some pretty sights. Our guide wasn't that great sorry to say.
Karen_L, Mar 2026
Good tour guide
Better meeting place signage
Guide was very knowledgeable
Good variety
Beach visit was uneventful
SUSAN_H, Mar 2026
This was an excellent tour. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and efficient. The weather was not cooperating in the morning so he just rearranged it so we could see everything. We enjoyed the tour.
Dee_M, Feb 2026
Brownie was so lovely best greeting person. So friendly and inviting.
Just sit back and relax and Ryan is the best driver Takes you to the best views and attractions.
Duncan, Feb 2026
We found that our driver Ryan was very knowledgeable and a courteous driver.
We enjoyed our tour well worth the time, we were back on ship in plenty of time.
Christopher_J, Feb 2026
Try to get Ryan as your tour guide is the best I've ever had and I've taking a lot of tours. There was a mix-up on which bus we were on and we were lucky to get Ryan instead of the other guy , he was terrible.
Subhajit_S, Feb 2026
Ryan is an excellent tour guide. He offers a very personalised tour of the beautiful city of Dunedin. It seems as if your friend is showing you around. He also gives ample time to explore on your own as well as take photographs.
rachaelwilkinson, Feb 2026
Ryan was great and we were so pleased he was our driver. Ryan was knowledgeable, professional and fun. The only downside was we left the port late as it appeared the owner was trying to fill the bus with latecomers who hadn’t paid so those of us who were organised had to wait around. This also meant we missed part of the tour which we were looking forward to, which was seeing the Scott Monument. I suggest they prioritise getting this long tour away first rather than the small tours. To reiterate though, Ryan was brilliant and did all he could during a reduced time slot.
Russell_T, Feb 2026
Very nice mix of things. We recommend skipping Larnach castle and doing the beach. The best botanical garden i have ever seen...could have spent more time there and you must try the ice cream.
Kaissa_G, Feb 2026
It is a great variety and way to see many parts of the area in a short time. Our driver was very knowledgeable.
Michelle_R, Feb 2026
Very enjoyable day. Stunning landscape and David was a lovely guide. Truly a full day, so you get every penny’s worth. Would highly recommend.
Diana_H, Feb 2026
Ryan was a great guide showing us the beautiful countryside . Enjoyed experiencing his love of his city and all the great information he shared with us
Sara_S, Feb 2026
Amazing! Well worth the money! We got to see the city and the tour guides were very knowledgeable and funny! 12/10 would recommend.
KARYN_T, Feb 2026
The wealth of knowledge of the coach driver
and his own added comments just made the sightseeing worth the effort.
John_B, Feb 2026
A fast paced quick exposure to key areas of the city and surrounding areas. Great for cruise based guests because it starts and ends at the cruise terminal. Bus driver is both driver and guide. Info given during drive not a guided tour during outside of bus times.
Pat_G, Feb 2026
This tour is a must. Our guide, Ryan was fantastic. . Good mix of time spent on bus seeing the beautiful scenery & stops. Stops were well timed- Octagon, beaches, Aviary, train station, castle. Best way to see Dunedin in a day. Great value.
Julie_T, Feb 2026
Check in at the Port Chalmers terminal at the end of the pier, all tours leave from there. Viator's instructions to go into town to get your tickets were wrong. Our driver was Ryan and he was great!
Sigmar_I, Feb 2026
This was a great tour, took us all the highlights of the city and the countryside, which you normally would not see on a normal tour. Beautiful view views, lots of time to walk and enjoy without feeling rushed. Ryan was amazing. He is funny as well as knowledgable and kept us entertained the entire seven hours.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Ryan will be really stoked to hear this. Thank you. Really glad to hear that you had a good time on the tour and enjoyed it.
ALISON_C, Feb 2026
Ryan, our amazing driver and tour guide made the excursion worthwhile. Forecast was poor and initial organisation at the port by tour company was not great. They were running late and tried to blame their disorganisation on a late arrival of the boat. We were all on time.
Took nearly an hour before we were taken to the bus and then things improved dramatically due to Ryan’s cheery disposition and good organisational skills. He flipped the tour around so we would do the outdoor activities first when the weather was better. A brilliant decision all round.
We saw some beautiful countryside and wildlife, and then major city landmarks.
Ryan was considerate, entertaining and a fabulous driver! It ended up being a great day.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Hey, thanks for your review. We had originally organised for an 11am departure due to the time that the ship was due to arrive but then decided that we should be ready to go earlier if everyone was able to get off the ship that was booked on that tour before 11. Unfortunately there was an issue with a door on a bus (not the one you were on) that delayed things back to the original time. So I apologise for that.
I am very glad though that Ryan was able to make up for our delay by giving you a great tour even if the weather was less clement than it could have been.
David_F, Jan 2026
Excellent day out with our tour guide, Ryan. He had so much knowledge. He was enthusiastic and a lot of fun. We thoroughly recommend this tour. Ryan made it very special.
Sheila_T, Jan 2026
Our excursion guide was wonderful and full of lots of information. He made sure we stayed on schedule without making us feel rushed and even managed to make a few impromptu stops, even though that meant he had to work a little longer. One of the top excursions we took on our 2-week cruise.
Theresa_A, Jan 2026
Absolutely wonderful, the tour guide is responsible, knowledgable and take us to all the spots unexpectedly especially the Baldwin St. 👍👍.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Cheers for your review, glad you had a good tour around Dunedin.
LilyLee, Jan 2026
Went to every stop on the itinerary except the castle. Dave gave interesting history and facts in his commentary. It was a windy day, so we couldn’t stay long on the coast cos it was also very cold. Dave took us to a couple of extra sights as well. Highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Thanks for your review. Glad you had a good tour. Sorry about the wind!
Pauline_O, Jan 2026
This tour was very easy to book from the ship. Andrew made contact by messaging and we were picked up right next to where the ship docked in Dunedin which was great for two "senior" passengers. This tour gave us a comprehensive overview of Dunedin which is a lovely city. Andrew is very knowledgeable and was very flexible in that he adjusted the tour so we could visit the Otago Museum. This was requested so I could see a model of the P. & O. ship, the Ormonde. My family and I had immigrated from Scotland to Australia in the 1950s on this ship, so it was very special for me to see the model of it - so different to the ship we are cruising on now. Thank you so much Andrew.
In summary, we would definitely recommend this tour. Compared to the price of tours that were offered on our ship, it was exceptional value and we were so well looked after.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Thank you and I'm glad I could take you on a 'small ship day'. I enjoyed the experience of doing a few changes and making it more personalised. It was great that you could get to see the model of the ship that your ancestors came on. Not something I even knew was there! Thanks again for the review.
anna_c, Jan 2026
We realized maybe doing a tour on a holiday wasn’t the best idea. It seemed they tried to combine two tours into one and there was a lot of wasted time. Many places were closed also. Our driver was very nice but seems a bit lost.
Response from Host, Jan 2026
Well that's disappointing for both of us. The public holiday shouldn't have affected things and I was just trying to think what was actually closed. Usually almost everything would have been closed but because of a cruise ship coming in lots of things were actually open around the Octagon anyway. It is possible that there was something you went to that was closed that would normally be open but the biggest issue for us was low numbers and not the usual driver doing the tour. He shouldn't have seemed "lost" though he knows the area well and has done the tour before. We didn't combine two tours into one. We have an option for people to visit the castle.and depending on the waiting time to get in there and ticketing it can take some amount of time. It would have been quicker if I had been doing it but unfortunately I can't drive all the tours at once. if I had more specifics I could reply on that basis but for us the main issue was the ship was leaving early and lots of people didn't show up for the tour after the previous night of staying up late. If it hadn't been for that we would have had the two options in separate buses which would have saved about 15-20 minutes during the tour which is not "a lot" from my perspective. Feel free to email us with any specifics that you think could improve the tour.
Update: Having looked a bit more into it I think the cause of the issues at the castle was the combination of it being very busy there and inexperience both of my driver for the castle visit portion and the staff at the castle on a public holiday. I will change things in future to ensure this does not happen again or is at least alleviated.
Jean_M, Dec 2025
Easy to connect with tour. Full day of city sites and out to see some nature too. Informed and thoughtful driver/tour guide. Great day out!
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thanks for your review really glad you had a good time.
Marilyn_C, Dec 2025
We visited all the highlights of Dunedin without being rushed and our excellent guide is fun, informative. Dunedin is beautiful. Highly recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Thanks for your review really glad you had a good time.
James_C, Dec 2025
Fantastic, welll worth the money. Friends went on a tour offered by the cruise line and ours appears to be much better.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
So glad to hear you enjoyed it and it compared favorably with other tours.
Thanks!
Don_W, Nov 2025
We enjoyed the tour, saw so many different things in Dunedin. Really enjoyed walking up the steepest road. Overall a great day.
Response from Host, Nov 2025
Yes, Baldwin street is an interesting and unique place. Glad you enjoyed the day!
From $56.74
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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