Wellington Shore Excursion City Sightseeing Tour

Wellington, New Zealand

3 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

View the must-see attractions of Wellington on a morning shore excursion that makes the most of your time on land. During your sightseeing tour of New Zealand’s capital, check out architectural landmarks such as the Parliament Buildings and Beehive, and visit Old St Paul’s Cathedral. Soak up picturesque views of the city and harbor from the Mt. Victoria lookout and take an optional ride on the Cable Car.

Discover some of Wellington's natural and cultural landmarks
An easy way to see a lot in a short time
Port transfers are included so you won't get lost
Tour is accessible to most wheelchair users

What's Included

Port pickup and drop-off
Local guide
Air-conditioned vehicle

Food and drinks
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

CentrePort Wellington
Shed 39/2 Fryatt Quay, Pipitea, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
Departure Point: Wellington Cruise Port Dates: Daily Return point: Returns to original departure point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.8:45 am

Itinerary

When your cruise ship pulls into port, explore the city sights of Wellington after a pickup in a comfortable coach. Start your shore excursion in the suburb of Thorndon, to see where the country’s political leaders rule as you pass the New Zealand Parliament Buildings and the cone-shaped Executive Wing called the Beehive.

See other local landmarks such as Old St Paul’s Cathedral, a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture, and stroll through the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, the air of which is perfumed by thousands of colorful blooms.

You’re then driven to the summit of Mt. Victoria to admire Wellington from above. Enjoy a panorama that includes Wellington Harbour, a bay at the southern tip of the North Island.

If you’d like, take a trip on the charming Wellington Cable Car (own expense), riding from Lambton Quay in the city center to the Botanic Garden in the hilltop suburb of Kelburn.

Your tour ends with a drive around the city’s scenic inlets en route to your cruise ship at the Wellington port.

Mount Victoria

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

New Zealand Parliament Buildings (Pass By)

Lyall Bay (Pass By)

Wellington Cable Car

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Lady Norwood Rose Garden (Pass By)

Premier House (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels can be accommodated providing the passenger is accompanied by someone who can assist them board and disembark
Full meeting instructions will be advised after booking received
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 6 days 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)

Reviews

4.4

based on 119 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Wellington NZ

Thea_W, Mar 2026

Great guide in Steve but be sure to check where the shuttle picks you up. Originally we were given a different address.

Response from Host, Mar 2026

Your comments are noted - thank you for letting us know so we can fine tune that for next time.

Excellent trip

Josephine_G, Feb 2026

Marty our driver was excellent. Showed us everything and explained it well and had a lovely personality

Response from Host, Mar 2026

Thank you for your review and comments.

Great tour

Wendy_F, Feb 2025

The driver was excellent . Warm, funny and knowledgeable. He made the journey fun and relaxing. I enjoyed it.

Response from Host, Feb 2025

Thank you for taking the time to submit your review which are valuable to us to ensure we meet and where possible exceed our customers expectations.

Excellent

kelly_h, Mar 2024

Great tour! Our driver as very knowledgeable and entertaining. Hit all the main areas and added a lot of history

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Kiaora Kelly and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with us!

Lovely experience just wish our tour guide was more professional at his job.

tania_O, Mar 2024

What I will remember is the option of going down in the cable car was better than going up when we saw the line down the bottom. We were so disappointed we missed out on going up to Victoria Lookout that would have been a highlight. Apparently there was a car race on that the Bus driver hadn't been informed about. The right tour guide can make or sadden your expreriece we had a great bus driver Peter , I think he should have been our tour guide as well. Overall got to see on this bus trip more than walking as Wellington is a big City

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora Tania and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Peter!

A must do

Diana_J, Mar 2024

Our tour guide was awesome, took pride in showing us the highlights of Wellington. Gave us plenty of photo opportunities and even a chance to grab some coffee and pastries along the trip

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora Diana and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with us!

Excellent tour. Great value.

rachel_c, Mar 2024

This tour was fantastic from start to finish. Our driver and guide Dennis was passionate about his city and NZ and went over and above to take us to all the Wellington highlights. The tour should only have been 3.5 hours but was actually 5 plus hours as Dennis wanted to ensure we saw all Wellington had to offer.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora Rachel and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Dennis!

Wellington Half Day City Tour

Beverly_F, Mar 2024

Wellington is a beautiful city and we had a great tour with Dean!!! He pointed out many interesting facts!

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora Beverley and thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Dean!

Wellington

lisatomassacci, Feb 2024

Enjoyed the tour. Had several stops to get out and take pictures. Bryan was informative. Beautiful city, lived the cable car and views from Mount Victoria. Loved that there was an option to stay in the city, but I decided to go back to the port.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Kiaora Lisa and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Bryan!

Best excursion yet!

Barbara_K, Jan 2024

Dennis picked us up promptly, exceptionally kind, patient, knowledgeable and enjoyable. Kept us moving & on schedule with humor. We saw so much! He made it all we hoped! If your goal is to see Wellington, this would be it.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Kiaora Barbara and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed your day with Dennis!

Good way to get to know the city and its history

Peter_h, Jan 2024

Cathedral, the lookout, steep streets with impossible houses - great commentary by knowledgeable guide.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Kiaora Peter and thanks for leaving a review. I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour with us!

You must do this tour

sharyn_m, Mar 2020

Great driver informative and great views seen all the highlights needs a payrise every visitor to nz needs to do this tour

Response from Host, Mar 2020

Thanks for the amazing review and recommendation, Sharyn! I'm really happy you had such a great time on your Wellington Sightseeing Tour and I hope you get to return someday soon!

Wellington City Tour

Geoff_E, Apr 2019

Very good showcase of the city and close environs as well as background culture and history from the guide “Chappie” who did an excellent job.

Well Worth it

Trip26829551243, Mar 2019

A great trip with a great and knowledgeable driver. Cruise ship tours were more expensive and had less time.

We enjoyed this ride around...

Harriet S, May 2018

We enjoyed this ride around Wellington, learning about the city's people, history and what it's like to live there now. A brief stop at the botanical garden filled with numerous varies of roses and a peace garden and a ride on the cable car extra cost and well worth it to downtown where we reconnected with the bus were highlights. I wish this tour included a stop at the Te Papa Museum or that it ended there so that we could have visited it on our own. It was a long walk from where the tour ended downtown and the shuttle bus back to the ship so we missed it. Disappointing.

We undertook two visits while in...

Ian B, Mar 2018

We undertook two visits while in Wellington, a tour of the city and a visit to Peter Jackson's studios and both were excellent in every respect. However, there was some confusion here! We booked to go on the 9:30am tour of Wellington on the basis that in the information provided by Viator stated clearly that it would finish around 12:15pm. On this basis, we booked a second trip to visit the Peter Jackson film studios starting around 1pm. Unfortunately, shortly after boarding the coach in the morning we discovered that our first trip was scheduled to finish well after 1pm making it impossible to do the second one.The tour representative at the dockside was very helpful promising to try and help but by the time the first trip finished we arrived back too late. Luckily, staff at the iSite in Wellington rallied round, consulted with the rep' and managed to get us on a later visit to the studios. It was a bit stressful as we were very close to the departure time of our ship but we managed to get the last shuttle bus. To save worry, it would have been helpful if the tour information supplied by Viator had been more accurate.

Delightful and informed driver who...

John G, Mar 2018

Delightful and informed driver who gave us an interesting 3 3 1/2 hour four. Time in Botanical Garden a little much.

Got off our boat and the very...

Rodney H, Mar 2018

Got off our boat and the very friendly staff and coach was waiting, absolutely no hassles at all. Driver was very informative, very friendly and very funny. We would HIGHLY recommend this sight seeing tour. Dropped off back at the boat. WONDERFUL.

Our group visit to Wellington was a...

Margie F, Mar 2018

Our group visit to Wellington was a good trip. The driver showed us where all the special and unique places of the city. Gave us a chance to ride the cable car, took us to the beautiful Mount Victoria. It was a short tour but we have a great experience in Wellington.

We really enjoyed this tour, very...

greg b, Mar 2018

We really enjoyed this tour, very informative and helpful driver. Gave us ample time to explore and get to the places we needed to be at.

we were welcomed immediately, tour...

peter j, Mar 2018

we were welcomed immediately, tour company was hammonds the driver/guide thirdprobably more generation,maori was great.. knew Wellington backwards. showed a few secrets in old St,Pauls Cathedral then where to go... where pick ups great tour. his son plays with the rugby hurricanes,

An interesting and informative trip...

Kerry O, Mar 2018

An interesting and informative trip with a truly knowledgable driver made for an interesting excursion .

The tour was short, but it allowed for...

Frederick H K, Mar 2018

The tour was short, but it allowed for some time for shopping and time on your own.

Very informative tour. Tour host was...

viblock, Mar 2018

Very informative tour. Tour host was easy going and flexible to changes. Personally I dislike tour hosts that talk non-stop throughout the tour. It is very distracting and to some extent an assault on one's senses. However this tour host, which we were fortunate to have, maintained just the right balance between sharing relevant information and/or allowing the group to enjoy the sights with their own observations and thoughts. The initial pick-up was well organized. No reason not to give this tour 5 stars except I am skeptical of the honesty behind too many reviews with 5 stars. And I am sure others are as well. But it was very good.

Everything was as we expected .It...

Gerard B, Feb 2018

Everything was as we expected .It was very well led tour of Wellington , Graeme was a very good informant and driver and we enjoyed the trip very much. Thank you! We always rely on Viator and they have not let us down yet.

Great tour! Pick-up and drop off from...

michaelmorton, Feb 2018

Great tour! Pick-up and drop off from port, great commentary and sights. Thanks!

Robert our coach driver was a...

LeslieClive_M, Jan 2018

Robert our coach driver was a friendly and helpful guide who spoke clearly. He explained where we were headed and how long we'd be at the stops and where we could grab a coffee or have an opportunity to use toilets. We thoroughly enjoyed this look at Wellington.

The sights were great. We got a...

Eila J, Dec 2017

The sights were great. We got a huge bus that couldnt drive the proper route so took a longer than necessary time to get were we were going. Not enough toilet breaks or drink breaks as travelling with 89 year old mother. On Mt Victoria with no toilets heard driver tell passenger to go behind bush.

The highlight for me of this tour...

Alex A, Dec 2017

The highlight for me of this tour was the light lunch provided under the shade inside the Linden Estate Vineyard. It was a welcome break from the tour that took us around the city, out of Napier, into two vineyards, the chocolate shop and a historical chapel. I certainly got my money's worth in this tour!

Would have given the tour part 5...

Aspo, Dec 2017

Would have given the tour part 5 stars, but the information provided by Viator regarding the meeting information was incorrect and didn't notify us who the tour company was at the port that was delivering the tour, hence us missing the trip from the port. The port authorities in Wellington were great and managed to find the tour company, which meant us travelling to Wellington by ourselves on the shuttle bus and walking to the I-centre to pick up another tour.