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1-Hour Ruby Island Cruise and Walk

Badge of Excellence
Wanaka, New Zealand
Great choice
5+ bookings last month.
  • 1 hour (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

For travelers short on time in Wanaka, this one-hour cruise and walk to Ruby Island is an ideal way to experience the lake and mountains. Glide across Lake Wanaka to Ruby Island in comfort on a luxury catamaran. There, enjoy an easy walk to lookout points that are great places from which to take pictures. Families and senior travelers will enjoy this tour as it’s suitable for all levels of mobility.
  • Suitable for a range of abilities and fitness levels
  • Take a self-guided walk on Ruby Island
  • An easy quick trip to enjoy nature and take photos
  • Depart from the easy-to-access Wanaka Marina

What's Included

  • Guided Island walk
  • All Fees and Taxes
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Food and drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • Lake Wanaka Cruises
    At the lakefront 100 Ardmore Street, Wānaka 9305, New Zealand

    You will board your vessel from the Wanaka Lake Front. In between the Old Town Jetty and the Dinosaur Park. Please be at the departure point before 12.45 pm. If you are not present at 12.45 pm, you may not be able to join the cruise. Parking may or may not be available depending on the season.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.1:00 pm

Itinerary

1

Lake Wanaka

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Subject to favorable weather conditions. If canceled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund.
  • Stroller accessible
  • Island walk is not compulsory
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Infant seats available
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 26 travelers
Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Pip_R
Perfect for the kids! Not too long. The guide was fantastic. She had so much knowledge about ruby island and the surrounding area.

Reviews

4.6
based on 36 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
We perform checks on reviews

If you have time to fill...

John_L, Apr 2026
If you have time to fill it's ok, the guide was good value with the historical information, views are nice but you can experience that from the shoreline

Great little tour!

Penny_H, Apr 2026
Great little tour with a great guide:) we learnt a lot about this little Island and would recommend to all

Ruby was a cutie

Timothy_B, Apr 2026
Interesting short excursion. Straight forward process boarding right off the beach. Great views! Fairly priced.

Great Wanaka familiarisation cruise.

Colin_W, Nov 2024
Our Ruby Island cruise was canceled as the Lake was too full with the rain and snow melt. We were vey efficiently transferred to the lake cruise and drinks in the afternoon .it was wet, but the boat handled it well and we had a great familiarisation trip. The crew were excellent and helpful.

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Thanks Colin. I'm glad we could brighten up a wet day on your holiday.

Tour Cancelled Last Minute

Oliver_M, Feb 2024
The tour organised called me 25 minutes before the boat was due to depart, and said the tour hadn't met the minimal number of guests to run, so that it was cancelled. He did kindly offer a free upgrade to a longer tour departing later that day, however this didn't fit with our schedule. It would have been nice if we had been notified sooner. He could have called earlier that day and said it was looking unlikely the tour would run due to lower numbers, FYI. (We would have not waited around in town that day had we of known.)

Response from Host, Feb 2024

My apology Oliver, I'll speak to the skipper about this issue. It is rare that we must cancel a cruise and we normally try to inform guests at least 1 hour prior to departure in such cases.

Worth doing - reasonable value for money

Neal_M, Jan 2023
Nice boat trip…island walk and tour with guide. Was expecting to stay on island a little longer, but pleasant for value of ticket.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Thanks Neal. That's good to know. We are currently on Ruby for 40 minutes with our new fast boat. Time does fly by on Islands!

Must do in Wanaka

Andrew_P, Aug 2022
Tim the operator was very informative and friendly. Had a great time and this is a must do experience in Wanala.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Hi thanks Andrew. We hope to see you back this way again.

5 stars

Pip_R, Oct 2020
Perfect for the kids! Not too long. The guide was fantastic. She had so much knowledge about ruby island and the surrounding area.

From $32.88

per person

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 14 days in advance.

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