Half Day Dolphin & Wildlife Cruise - Tauranga
Overview
Your Half Day Dolphin & Wildlife Cruise begins as you’re welcomed aboard the Bay Explorer at Tauranga waterfront jetty. You will explore the Bay of Plenty coastline where we will showcase the amazing diversity of marine wildlife including dolphins swimming along side our vessel. Watch seasonal seabirds, penguins, seals, whales, sunfish, school fish, sharks, orca...even turtles!
Our dolphin & wildlife cruise is tailored to those wanting a genuine kiwi experience in nature. It’s a story about our human intrigue with amazing marine animals and their habitat. Participate by searching on the large top deck for that once in a lifetime wildlife encounter. We have limited our passenger numbers for comfort and to enable a more personal experience. Our large spacious boat is also ideal for families.
The Captain and experienced crew lust to share their marine knowledge with you. Don’t forget your camera as we are able to get up close to wildlife, making it a photographer’s dream.
Our dolphin & wildlife cruise is tailored to those wanting a genuine kiwi experience in nature. It’s a story about our human intrigue with amazing marine animals and their habitat. Participate by searching on the large top deck for that once in a lifetime wildlife encounter. We have limited our passenger numbers for comfort and to enable a more personal experience. Our large spacious boat is also ideal for families.
The Captain and experienced crew lust to share their marine knowledge with you. Don’t forget your camera as we are able to get up close to wildlife, making it a photographer’s dream.
Inclusions
- A half day cruise on our spacious 18 metre vessel with 360° outdoor views.
- Comfortable fully enclosed seating downstairs and a large open sun-deck for wildlife watching.
- Some of the best marine diversity in New Zealand.
- Close-up encounters-penguins, seals, dolphins, whales, sunfish, seabirds, sharks, turtles and orca.
- Onboard commentary and references with facts on the Bay and local marine wildlife.
- Our friendly, professional Bay Explorer Crew
- Photos of a lifetime!
What to expect
Itinerary
We cruise by the Port of Tauranga
We cruise past the famous Mountain (Mount Maunganui) where you will get a nice view of the walking track and the summit.
You will see the popular Mount Maunganui walking track where many locals walk daily, we pass by while cruising out of the harbour
We cruise past one of the best beaches in New Zealand with white sand and beautiful Pohutukawa trees above when in season. You'll want to get your cameras out for this view of Mount Maunganui!
We will cruise next to some views of the popular Mount Maunganui beach with beautiful white sand and waves for swimming and surfing.
We cruise past this island as we leave the harbour entranc
During your cruise you will be able to see these beautiful islands from the boat. We do not stop at these islands but you can view them from our boat while we cruise past.
Stop At:
• Port of Tauranga Ltd, 2 Salisbury Avenue, Mount Maunganui 3116, New Zealand
• Mauao / Mount Maunganui summit, Mount Maunganui 3116, New Zealand
• Mount Maunganui Base Track, Adams Ave, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga 3116 New Zealand
• Mount Maunganui Summit Track, Adams Ave, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga 3116 New Zealand
• Mt Maunganui Main Beach, Marine Parade, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga New Zealand
• Moturiki Island, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga New Zealand
• Mayor Island, Tauranga New Zealand
We cruise by the Port of Tauranga
We cruise past the famous Mountain (Mount Maunganui) where you will get a nice view of the walking track and the summit.
You will see the popular Mount Maunganui walking track where many locals walk daily, we pass by while cruising out of the harbour
We cruise past one of the best beaches in New Zealand with white sand and beautiful Pohutukawa trees above when in season. You'll want to get your cameras out for this view of Mount Maunganui!
We will cruise next to some views of the popular Mount Maunganui beach with beautiful white sand and waves for swimming and surfing.
We cruise past this island as we leave the harbour entranc
During your cruise you will be able to see these beautiful islands from the boat. We do not stop at these islands but you can view them from our boat while we cruise past.
Stop At:
• Port of Tauranga Ltd, 2 Salisbury Avenue, Mount Maunganui 3116, New Zealand
• Mauao / Mount Maunganui summit, Mount Maunganui 3116, New Zealand
• Mount Maunganui Base Track, Adams Ave, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga 3116 New Zealand
• Mount Maunganui Summit Track, Adams Ave, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga 3116 New Zealand
• Mt Maunganui Main Beach, Marine Parade, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga New Zealand
• Moturiki Island, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga New Zealand
• Mayor Island, Tauranga New Zealand
Additional information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Children MUST Be Accompanied By An Adult
- Stroller accessible
- Minimum Drinking Age 18+ Years
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travelers
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Ticket delivery
You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
Cancellation
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start time of the experience.
CarlaS3484
January 2020
Absolutely wonderful day on the boat. Very accommodating with my broken ankle. Saw a great pod of dolphins. Amy and Brandon were smashing hosts thank you from Carla 1, 2 and 3
Absolutely wonderful day on the boat. Very accommodating with my broken ankle. Saw a great pod of dolphins. Amy and Brandon were smashing hosts thank you from Carla 1, 2 and 3Andisize
January 2020
We took a half day cruise out on the harbour and were lucky enough to come across a massive pod of dolphins. The crew thought it was about 500! (Very rare to see so many). The skipper took the boat up as close as possible, and the dolphins played around the boat for ages. We even saw a couple of...
We took a half day cruise out on the harbour and were lucky enough to come across a massive pod of dolphins. The crew thought it was about 500! (Very rare to see so many). The skipper took the boat up as close as possible, and the dolphins played around the boat for ages. We even saw a couple of babies. Boats are only able to stay with dolphins for an hour at a time, so we had to leave, but they were in no hurry to move on. Sooo special! We also saw a little penguin, and later on some sharks near a fishing boat - all very cool! Crew were great. Friendly, informative and really helpful. Everyone on board had a brilliant day. One we won’t forget in a hurry. Highly recommend!Explorer40952592633
January 2020
We went out on Thursday 09/01/2020.it was a Christmas present for my 10 year old daughter.It was such a amazing day not only did we see a huge pod of dolphins but also little blue penguins,a hammerhead shark and when coming back we saw some bronze whalers.ALso the crew were amazing as well.It was...
We went out on Thursday 09/01/2020.it was a Christmas present for my 10 year old daughter.It was such a amazing day not only did we see a huge pod of dolphins but also little blue penguins,a hammerhead shark and when coming back we saw some bronze whalers.ALso the crew were amazing as well.It was such a incredible day I rate it 10 out of 10 I would have no hesitation in recommending it to everyone.all I can say from the bottom of my heart thank-you bay explorer for a fantastic daylehandraw
October 2023
Had an awesome day on the water, had a whale playing Peekaboo with us around the boat which was so awesome to see! One of the best ways to see marine life up close for sure. Thank you Emily and Crew!
Had an awesome day on the water, had a whale playing Peekaboo with us around the boat which was so awesome to see! One of the best ways to see marine life up close for sure. Thank you Emily and Crew!Globetrotter_TJ
May 2020
On January 29th my husband and I booked a half-day cruise for mid-May but cannot do it now, because New Zealand closed its borders to tourists and Air New Zealand cancelled our airline reservations due to COVID-19. Because of this, we requested cancellation of our dolphin & wildlife cruise reser...
On January 29th my husband and I booked a half-day cruise for mid-May but cannot do it now, because New Zealand closed its borders to tourists and Air New Zealand cancelled our airline reservations due to COVID-19. Because of this, we requested cancellation of our dolphin & wildlife cruise reservations and asked for a refund on March 26th. We got an initial response from them, but it did not acknowledge or address our request to cancel and get a refund. We’ve sent several follow up requests for cancellation/refund to the same email address this vendor has specified should be used for cancellations, but have gotten no further response from them. All of our requests for cancellation/refund are well within the terms of this company's 48 hr refund policy, so we should be able to get a refund for a cruise we are unable to take through no fault of our own. It looks like it would have been a fun cruise, but unfortunately I cannot recommend this company due to my current experience with them.NZ97
February 2020
We really enjoyed our half day cruise. It was smooth sailing, we saw plenty of dolphins. The ‘captain’ was very knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating. It was awesome when they allowed us to sit right at the tip of the boat to see the dolphins closer. My girl loved it. We were able to bring o...
We really enjoyed our half day cruise. It was smooth sailing, we saw plenty of dolphins. The ‘captain’ was very knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating. It was awesome when they allowed us to sit right at the tip of the boat to see the dolphins closer. My girl loved it. We were able to bring our own food and drinks. Cruise wasn’t fully booked on the day so we had plenty of room. Only con is that the toilet is quite small.