Akaroa Full Day Tour from Christchurch: Cruise & Cheese
Cruise the Akaroa Harbour for dolphins and penguins, then walk a 150-year-old French village and taste local cheese.
A full-day sightseeing tour from Christchurch to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula, featuring a nature cruise on Akaroa Harbour where you watch for Hector's dolphins, penguins and sea birds against volcanic sea cliffs, plus time in the colonial village, a cheese tasting at Barry's Bay, and optional lunch. Hotel pickup and drop-off in Christchurch are included. The tour runs 9.5 hours with a live English-speaking guide.
Options for this experience
2 optionsStep-by-step itinerary
Sightseeing tour to Akaroa and cruise
- Pickup from Christchurch hotel
- Travel via Lake Ellesmere, Lake Forsyth, Little River
- Visit Akaroa French whaling depot
- Lunch at Bully Hayes Restaurant (optional)
- Enjoy Akaroa Harbour Cruise on Canterbury Cat
- Visit Barry's Bay Cheese Factory for tasting
- Return to Christchurch hotel
What’s included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Christchurch.
- an air-conditioned coach and live English-speaking guide for the full day.
- the nature cruise on Akaroa Harbour.
- cheese tasting at Barry's Bay Cheese Factory.
- lunch at Bully Hayes Restaurant (if you choose the lunch option at checkout).
Times
- Every day 08:30
Before you book
Operated by Leisure Tours
Prices and times updated today
Traveler reviews
The experience
The day starts with a morning pickup from your Christchurch hotel in an air-conditioned coach, heading south toward Akaroa through the Banks Peninsula landscape shaped by two ancient volcanic eruptions. The drive takes you past Lake Ellesmere and Lake Forsyth before reaching the small harbor town, giving you time to see how the crater now holds the Akaroa Harbour and the settlement built around it.
Once in Akaroa village, you walk the colonial streets (150 years old, built by French settlers), and browse the craft shops, galleries and cafes that line the harbor. The village sits on the water's edge with museum exhibits on the settlers' history and plenty of spots to photograph the bay. If you've chosen the lunch option, you eat at Bully Hayes Restaurant in the village itself, set right on the waterfront. Later in the afternoon, you board the Canterbury Cat for the nature cruise on the harbor, where the tour's highlights happen: watching for the rare Hector's dolphins native to New Zealand, spotting penguins and other seabirds, and seeing the giant volcanic sea cliffs that rise from the water. The guide shares the area's history and ecology as you move through the harbor.
On the return drive to Christchurch, the coach stops at Barry's Bay Cheese Factory, the only remaining cheese producer on the peninsula from its earlier era. You taste locally made cheeses there before heading back to your hotel, arriving late afternoon. The whole day (transport, guide, the cruise, the village time and the cheese stop) is arranged. You don't organize any of it yourself.
Is this one for you?Book this if you want to combine Banks Peninsula's volcanic landscape, Akaroa Harbour, and a nature cruise spotting Hector's dolphins in a single day: the itinerary links village exploration, the boat trip, and lunch into one continuous experience without gaps between activities.
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Top questions
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 13 years); Infant (under 3).
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 6 days before the start.
What wildlife will I see on the Akaroa Harbour cruise?
The nature cruise on Akaroa Harbour features the rare Hector's dolphin, a native New Zealand species, along with penguins and other seabirds. You'll also see the giant volcanic sea cliffs that frame the harbor.
Is lunch included in the Akaroa tour?
Lunch at Bully Hayes Restaurant in Akaroa village is an optional extra you can add at checkout. If you choose it, the meal is served at the waterfront restaurant during your time in the village.
How long does the full tour take from Christchurch?
The tour runs 9.5 hours total, including the morning pickup from your hotel, the drive to Akaroa, time in the village, the harbor cruise, the cheese tasting stop, and the return drive to Christchurch.
What is Barry's Bay Cheese Factory?
Barry's Bay is the last remaining cheese factory on Banks Peninsula, and a stop on the return journey. You taste locally made cheeses there before heading back to your hotel.
Does the tour include hotel pickup in Christchurch?
Yes, hotel pickup and drop-off in Christchurch are included in the tour price. The air-conditioned coach collects you in the morning and returns you in the late afternoon.
What is Akaroa village like?
Akaroa is a small, charming colonial township built 150 years ago by French settlers on the inner harbor of Banks Peninsula. The village has historic buildings, craft and gift shops, art studios, museums, cafes and wine bars, with photo opportunities throughout the waterfront setting.
Akaroa Full Day Tour from Christchurch: Cruise & Cheese
9h 30m · EN · at your hotel
from NZ$ 290 per person
≈ US$ 167 in your currency
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