Dunedin, NZ

Is the docking at Dunedin, NZ within walking distance of the town?

When we were there last November the ship actually docked in Port Chalmers which is a 10 minute cab/bus ride into Dunedin.

No you can't walk,too far, but there are lots of buses going to & from the port into the city. Also the train leaves from the port so if you are going on the Tairei tour the train is really close.

The ship will probably put on a shuttle to take you from Port Chalmers into the City. I would say about 20 minutes. They drop off in the Octagon, the town centre, and you will find a Tourist Information Centre there. We got in early and managed to grab a morning and an afternoon tour from them which was great. Saw lots , and then the driver actually drove us back to the ship at the end of the tour .

A must do great railway journey of the world is the sensational Treiri Gorge Railway . Book the ships shore excursion and the train departs from the wharf at shipside .

No you can't walk,too far, but there are lots of buses going to & from the port into the city. Also the train leaves from the port so if you are going on the Tairei tour the train is really close.

IIRC only the ships excursion train passengers get pierside pickup for the train. Others have to get to town and the main train station.

We did a private tour of the Moraeki boulders and the coast. It was great.

A must do great railway journey of the world is the sensational Treiri Gorge Railway . Book the ships shore excursion and the train departs from the wharf at shipside .

Book the trip directly, you will save heaps.

We did a private tour of the Moraeki boulders and the coast. It was great.

What tour group operator did you use?

THANKS

What tour group operator did you use?

 

THANKS

We used Eddie with D-Tours out of Dunedin. You can find them on the internet.

It was the best tour we ever had,,,,

Hi,

Just supporting grumpy 100. We have used Eddie of D tours before (twice actually) and would highly recommend him. We took some Canadians and Americans we met on the ship with us the second time and they said it was the BEST tour they have ever done.

He picks you up right at the dock, takes you where you want to go or if you are not too sure, he will suggest something, then drops you off in plenty of time to get back on the ship. He is a local so knows all the places to go. Very reasonably priced as well compared to the ships prices for going to the same places.

His email address is d-tours@xtra.co.nz

You won't be disappointed...we weren't.

Fletch1

The tour operator you want to use in Dunedin is Arthur's Tours. The website is

http://www.arthurstours.co.nz/

We used him in December 08/January09 off of the Princess. Arthur's tour guide was great and far less expensive then Princess. We were in a small van with 2 other people who we traveled with. Check the website, Dunedin is very Scottish and so is Arthur and his guides. They were great!!!!!

I override the above and give my vote to Eddie of D-Tours. Best tour we ever had.

We used Awesome Tours Mark is the owner and we were lucky to have him take us on a fantastic tour including the 4 wheel drive last December.

Ontario Cruiser

I've noticed that several people refer to their Dunedin tour as being the "best" they've ever had. I wonder if this was from people who were especially interested in the wildlife that Eddie takes them to see.

In researching Dunedin, I noticed these categories of tours:

wildlife (seals, penquins, albatross)

the city (train station, steep street, chocolate, beer, city sights...)

scenery (boulders, shoreline, etc)

train (for those who enjoy old trains in scenic country)

In the limited time we have on a shore excursion, we need to be selective. Not enough time to do it all. I see lots of seals in San Diego, where I live, so don't necessarily want to take a long wildlife tour - even for unique-to-the-area seals and the unique yellow-eyed penquins. It's the penquins' breeding season when we'll be there and they will probably be holed up in their burrows. The albatross interest us, but there are no direct tours to the colony without also including the other wildlife. I don't know if I want to drive a long way to see the boulders, although they look quite unique from the pictures. And, I don't want to spend the day on a train.

For us, that seems to leave the city. We're thinking about tours from Arthur, the Scottish guy. But, we've made no decisions yet. I'm still open to ideas.

Anyone else have any thoughts on my comments above?

Sue

Just a comment on the albatross...

As your ship sails into/out of Dunedin you will sail past the cliffs where they nest, and if up on deck you can see straight into where they nest.

Here is a link to the webcam that the port has out on the headland.

http://www.portotago.co.nz/11/1/2.html

D-tours incorporates a lot of different things into his tour. So the drive does not seem that far to the boulders. You see the beautiful coastline as well ad wildlife. The boulder are the highlight but he will do whatever you want. You see part of the city also. The coast line is gorgeous and dramatic. You will be missing alot if you just see the city.