Full Day Tour of Wellington

Recommended by 94% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Wellington, New Zealand

6 hours 27 minutes to 7 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.8

· Eleftherios_X ·

Jul 2025

A great day spent around Wellington with Merv, our tour guide. Good driving, good care of my elderly father in-law and some snacks purchased as well. Highly recommend for families.

· Elisabeth_L ·

Feb 2026

What an awesome excursion.Our driver was the best.Hr had lived here his whole live.He went out of his way to show us things not on the tour.

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Overview

Discover Wellington’s top attractions on this full-day guided tour. While some tours only focus on the central city, this lets you see some of the outer attractions. The itinerary includes a drive up to the top of Mount Victoria for the views, a visit to Weta Workshop Studios to learn more about "The Lord of the Rings," a ride on the Wellington Cable Car, and more.

This tour is ideal for first-time visitors to Wellington
Select a morning or afternoon start time to suit your schedule
Includes handy hotel or port transfers to save you getting lost
Get around in a comfortable air-conditioned private minivan

What's Included

Driver/guide
Live commentary on board
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Cruise ship pick up
Small-group tour or private tour
Transport by air-conditioned minivan
Air-conditioned vehicle
Transport by private vehicle

Lunch

Meeting and Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

A PICKUP LOCATION MUST BE GIVEN AT TIME OF BOOKING If you are unsure, please select 'Wellington isite Visitor Information Centre' when booking. This can be amended later if required. DO NOT put 'I will select later'. ******CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS WILL BE COLLECTED FROM THE PORT IN THE DESIGNATED PICKUP AREA, YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO IN TO THE CITY****** Please select "Wellington Cruise Ship Port, Pipitea" option as your pickup location and enter your ship name in the additional booking details. Your pickup time will be 45 minutes after the ship has docked (even if your ship has been delayed or arrives early) with 8.45am being the earliest pickup time. For the convenience of other guests, please ensure you arrive at the tour area promptly as the tour may not wait for you. Look out for the Xplor Tours guides who will greet you. NON-CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER BOOKINGS: Pickup times may differ from tour start times if there are multiple guest pickup locations. We will contact you in advance of your tour with your estimated pickup time if this is the case.

Meeting point

217 Wakefield Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
The Wellington isite Visitor Information Centre Bus Stop located outside Tākina at 217 Wakefield Steet is the alternative pick up point if you are not arriving off a Cruise Ship or your Hotel is outside of the CBD pick up zone.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Pass By)

Mount Victoria

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Otari-Wilton's Bush Native Botanic Garden

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Wellington Cable Car

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Wellington Botanic Garden

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Lady Norwood Rose Garden

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

New Zealand Parliament

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Old St. Paul's

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps

Most travelers can participate
Cruise Ship Passenger bookings should select the following option as their pick up location which is the Port: 151 Aotea Quay, Pipitea, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
Cruise Ship Passenger bookings should add their ship name in special requirements field.
PICKUP LOCATION MUST BE GIVEN AT TIME OF BOOKING: Default pickup location Wellington iSite Visitor Centre, if you do not know your hotel at time of booking. You can amend your pickup when you know your hotel, if it is located in the CBD pickup area.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 18 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

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)

Reviews

4.8

based on 64 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Amazing experience.

Elisabeth_L, Feb 2026

What an awesome excursion.Our driver was the best.Hr had lived here his whole live.He went out of his way to show us things not on the tour.

Response from Host, Feb 2026

Great review Elisabeth, and thanks for posting. Good to know our guide gave you a great tour of Wellington.

Wellington

kruggirl, Feb 2026

Our guideWellington was Dean who was interesting & very informative. He was a good safe driver! He answered all questions as he was very knowlegable!

Response from Host, Feb 2026

A great review for Dean. Thank you for posting it. Glad you enjoyed your tour.

Excellent tour guide.

Marcia_M, Nov 2025

Dean was our tour guide he was excellent. Took us everywhere. Had a great time. Thanks Dean. M Milne

Response from Host, Nov 2025

I'm glad you had a great day with Dean he is a top guide and I will pass your comments onto him.

Great day tour of Wellington

Eleftherios_X, Jul 2025

A great day spent around Wellington with Merv, our tour guide. Good driving, good care of my elderly father in-law and some snacks purchased as well. Highly recommend for families.

Response from Host, Jul 2025

Thanks for leaving your review and glad you enjoyed your time with Merv and Xplor Tours.

Wellington The Best

Eric_J, Apr 2025

Excellent tour with an experienced and seasoned tour guide! Merv was amazing and extremely informative. I felt like a student in the best class ever.

Response from Host, Apr 2025

Thanks for leaving Merv such a great review Eric.

This was a relaxed tour....

Henry_J, Apr 2025

This was a relaxed tour. We enjoyed the highlight - NZ Museum. The guide here was awesome. We get to pick which parts of the museum to have more in-depth exploration. We just drove by the gardens though.

Response from Host, Apr 2025

Thank you for leaving a review Henry.

Awesome tour. Covered all Wellington key spots 10/10

NATALIE_M, Mar 2025

Awesome tour. Covered sensational & key places of Wellington Our Tour guide MERV was awesome Tick tick tick 10/10

Response from Host, Apr 2025

Great review for Merv. So glad he gave another of his great tour experiences for us. Thanks Natalie.

Amazing small group tour!

YatMing_T, Feb 2025

This tour was an absolute highlight of our cruise! From start to finish, everything was well-organized, intimate, and incredibly informative. We were a small group of just eight people, which made the experience feel personal and relaxed—so much better than the large bus tours. Our driver and guide, Brian, was outstanding! He gave us a detailed and engaging introduction to Wellington, sharing fascinating facts, local insights, and a deep knowledge of the city's history and culture. His passion for the city was evident, and he made sure we got the most out of every stop on the itinerary. The itinerary was well-planned, covering all the must-see sights while allowing enough time to truly appreciate each location. Brian was always happy to answer questions and share interesting stories. Overall, this tour was the perfect way to explore Wellington, especially for cruise passengers with limited time. The small-group setting allowed for a much more personal experience, and we left with a great appreciation for the city.

Response from Host, Feb 2025

What a cracker of a review for Brian, thank you for taking the time to post it. Good to know you left Wellington with great memories from the tour.

Wellington

Linda_H, Feb 2025

We had a great day with Marty as our guide. He was enthusiastic, fun and very kind. The tour was informative, with beautiful sights, but our favorite was the Te Papa Museum.

Response from Host, Feb 2025

Thanks Linda, glad Marty delivered another of his great tours for us. Te Papa is certainly a highlight for a lot of people visiting Wellington.

Long tour in van, would like longer at museum

Maryjane_B, Jan 2025

Long day of driving around seeing similar sites. That part could be cut shorter (it was over 4 hrs). Our tour guide, Stan, was good and had lots of info to share. The old St. Paul’s is definitely worth the visit, as is the museum. Only had one hour at museum with very knowledgeable tour guide. Would have liked an additional hour on our own. The driving part just too repetitive and long.

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Thanks for leaving a review. Our full day tour does have a lot of different Wellington attractions to visit within our small, compact city, which unfortunately can only enable an hour at the museum to fit it all in.

Stan was an amazing...

Katalin_M, Dec 2024

Stan was an amazing guide, he was super knowledgeable about Wellington, kind and funny and was very kid friendly which is not what you get with all tours. All the stops were interesting and we packed alot in our day so definitely had a lot included. Thanks for entertaining the little fella and for looking after is.

Response from Host, Dec 2024

Good to hear Stan delivered another of his great LOTR tours for us. Thanks for leaving him such a great review.

Wellington tour

Allan_D, Nov 2024

We saw a lot of things/places but my feeling was that there was too much and we were rushed, especially at the exhibition of the Māori history.

Response from Host, Nov 2024

Thanks for leaving your review Allan. As Te Papa manage their own one hour guided tours, we are unable to lengthen the time they set. I hope you still got a good snapshot of Wellington overall.

Enjoyable

rnmaree, Nov 2024

Great job by Stan. Gave us some extra stops to enhance our trip. Very friendly and enthusiastic. Van was full but comfortable

Response from Host, Nov 2024

Thank you for your review. Good to know Stan looked after you all well.

Wellington city tour

John_W, Sep 2024

Even though the weather was not great, Dean showed us around most of this beautiful city. We had an excellent lunch and were happy with where we went and what we saw. The included tour at the Te Pa museum was a standout with what it covered. Would do it all again given the opportunity.

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Thanks John for leaving your great review for Dean, and we're glad you enjoyed your tour with us.

Good experience

Bea_K, Apr 2024

Our travel guide was very accommodating, kind and friendly, made our experience so much fun and educational.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Sounds like the perfect tour to me! Glad we ticked all those boxes for you & thanks for your review.

Action packed day tour

Terence_W, Apr 2024

Great day in Wellington on a small group tour shore excursion! Peter was a wealth of information. We packed in so many sights that we never could have seen on a ship shore excursion. Highlights were Weta Workshop, the cable car ride, the beautiful architecture and views from lookout points. Thanks for the great day!

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Great city, great guide, great guests & a great review! Thank you

Major attractions of Wellington in one day

Dianne_D, Mar 2024

Peter our guide was very informative, he showed great passion for his city and loved answering all our groups question's . Great way to see Wellington

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Fantastic! Glad you had a good time & I'm sure Pete enjoyed your company too

Great tour

Suzanne_W, Mar 2024

Had fun with Kevin on our Wellington tour. He was very nice and knowlegeable. The tour covers a lot of ground. Wellington is our favorite stop so far.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks for your review Suzanne. Glad you enjoyed your time in Wellington with us.

Scienic views of Wellington

marina_t, Mar 2024

Driving around the Wellington harbour, seeing the city from different views. Watching planes come in at the Cafe. Loved the cable car. Driver was excellent with great knowledge of area. Very pleasant to talk to.

Great option for those on cruise ships

Brian_T, Mar 2024

This is a great tour that covers a lot of things over the course of the day in Wellington. Our guide met us as we got off our cruise ship and even with a condensed schedule (due to changes in our time in port), he was able to get pretty much everything on the itinerary done and got us back to the ship just in time.

Great guides makes the difference

Delaney_S, Feb 2024

Kevin was fantastic! We had the unfortunate timing to come in the middle of a rainy week throughout New Zealand but Kevin made sure to keep us in good spirits. He provided quite a bit of insight into the area and culture - not just the landmarks - and was very accommodating when the wind and rain proved to be too much for some of our party and they asked to cut out the gardens. A great guide made an okay day into a great one!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thanks for your review. We do like to ensure our guests are taken care of & I'm glad Kevin looked after you. Thanks for your review

Best tour of Wellington all in one day!

Michele_D, Feb 2024

Dean made our tour most memorable. He met us at the dock as promised with a fun, positive personality, took us all around Wellington, top to bottom. We went to the Wetta workshop, cable car, and asked our preferences when possible. He is a delightful and knowledgeable tour guide who gave us a wonderful day. Thank you, Dean !

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Super review! Glad you had such a good time with Xplor & with Dean

The Windy city

shabtay_i, Feb 2024

Alan was a wonderful tour guide came on time to show us all the beautiful high lights of Wellington, very friendly and knowledgeable and professional guide ,

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Good to know Alan looked after you well for us. Thanks for leaving him a great review.

Great way to see Wellington in a day

Kieren_D, Jan 2024

We arrived on a cruise ship and met our guide Dean in the Port area where he then took us on our tour. We were only in Wellington for a day and really wanted to do the Weta Workshop 1.5hr tour - so this was a great way to pack in a full day. Dean was a great tour guide and took time to show the real Wellington in between our planned stops. We were lucky enough to arrive early at all the destinations so did not have any waiting time. We only had a short 7hr stop over in Wellington, and Dean worked with us to ensure we got the full experience and made it back on time. Weta did not disappoint - this was an amazing tour and definitely the highlight. Dean also dropped us by Te Papa Museum on the way back to see the Gallipoli exhibition (by Weta) which was amazing and we would have loved an extra hour or two here on another day.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Sounds like Dean delivered yet another of his top knotch tours for us. Thanks for leaving your great review for him Kieren.

The tour of Wellington was outstanding. Great, knowledgeable guide. Saw things we never would have visited on our own.

John_K, Dec 2023

With only one day stop on a cruise ship, this tour gave us a great overview of Wellington. By far the best way to experience the city with limited time.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thanks for that great review John. Good to know you have good memories of your time with us in Wellington.

A good tour when you only have limited time in Wellington

Yasmin_N, Oct 2023

It was lovely to see so many places that the average tourist wouldn’t as well as Weta Workshop. Stan was knowledgeable, fun and very helpful.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thanks for your review Yasmin, and good to know Stan gave you a memorable day while you visited Wellington.

Wellington Tour - Such a Delightful & Interesting Day

Margot_W, Oct 2023

The tour with our very kind and knowledgeable guide Lester was so delightful that we barely even noticed the cold and wet weather outside! We saw things in Wellington we never knew were there (like a monastery - with monks - in Welly! - who knew?) and the Weta Cave tour alone was worth the day - truly fabulous. Thanks for a great day!

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Hi Margot really glad you enjoyed the tour with Lester. Thank you for the review

Wellington Day Tour

Carey_E, Mar 2023

I liked the tour itself, the places we saw etc. However, our particular guide was not terribly knowledgeable nor seemed terribly interested. The best part of our experience was meeting the gentleman who cared for the War Memorial in the center of downtown Wellington. He was incredibly knowledgeable and interesting! We all wished he had been our guide!

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Sorry to hear this Carey. I can see in our records which tour guide you had that day, and we will follow through on this. Our aim is to provide a great memory of Wellington for our customers. Thank you for your honest review.

Lots of Wellington

David_K, Jan 2023

The tour covered a lot of ground both in and around Wellington. We saw more sites than nominally comparable tours taken by other cruise passengers. Stan was very funny, laid back, and informative.