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
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Overview
Discover Wellington’s top attractions on this full-day guided tour, ideal for first-time visitors or anyone short on time who wants to fit a lot into a day. See outer suburbs and city highlights including the Mt. Victoria lookout, a ride on the Wellington Cable Car, and a visit to Old St. Paul's Cathedral. Choose between a guided tour of Weta Workshop Studios or the Zealandia Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Includes hotel or port transfers for easy travel
- Avoid wasting time catching buses around the city
- Various start times fit with your sightseeing schedule
- Choose from two in-depth sightseeing options to suit your interests
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
Itinerary
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (Pass By)
1
Mount Victoria
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Otari-Wilton's Bush Native Botanic Garden
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Wellington Cable Car
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Wellington Botanic Garden
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Lady Norwood Rose Garden
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
New Zealand Parliament
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
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
Reviews
4.8
based on 65 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Lorraine_B, May 2026
Fantastic day. Our guide was excellent - great sense of humour and so informative. He really wanted to show us all that Welli gton had to offer and even stopped off at his favourite pie place to buy us a New Zealand steak and cheese pie (one per couple) which was the best pie I've ever tasted!! And we bumped i tk tbe deputy prime minister, David Seymour, who stoplwd yo have a chat fkr about 5 mins. Would definitely recommend this trip if you want to see and learn all about Wellington.
Response from Host, May 2026
Sounds like you had our guide Merv. So glad you enjoyed your tour (and pies) with him. Thanks for leaving Merv your 5 star review.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Response from Host, Mar 2023
Yet another great tour by Stan. So glad he gave you a good experience of Wellington. Thanks for leaving him a great review.
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