Has anyone been to Bay of Islands, NZ??

[petlover]

We will be in Bay of Islands on January 23rd as a port stop. One of the excursions offered is a Dolphin Encounter. (see description below)

Is the water warm enough without any type of wet suit? (I hate cold water). Are there other options/excursions that you'd recommend? $185, per person seems very expensive!!

Thank you!!

******************************************

Dolphin Encounter $185. per person

Duration: 3½ Hours.

Boat Ride, Difficult Walking.

 

Dolphins are one of the earth's most fascinating creatures and few other areas are blessed with their presence all year round, as is the Bay of Islands. On the ultimate marine adventure, you'll get right up close to the dolphins. Watch their antics and get fantastic photos. Conditions permitting, you can go swimming with them. The Bay has the warmest waters in New Zealand for swimming with dolphins. Cruise to the dolphins by powered catamaran launch, which is equipped with shower and restroom facilities. Besides dolphins, you may possibly see orca whales, seals, penguins and other wildlife.

 

Please note : A reasonable level of fitness and swimming ability is required for swimming with dolphins. Swim at your own risk; there is no lifeguard on duty. No guarantee can be given that you will be able to swim with the dolphins on the day, although every effort will be made. Bring sun block, towel and swimsuit.

[kimba_99]

We are doing a private dolphin swim excursion with Kings Dolphin Tours & Cruises (website http://www.dolphincruises.co.nz ) on 5 Jan. It's called the 'Day in the Bay' which is NZ$95.00 per person, 9:30 - 4pm.

 

The tour you're looking at sounds very much overpriced to me and from what I've read of others experience the water is warm enough in summer to swim without a wetsuit.

 

When do you leave..?? I will be home to check emails late on the 8th Jan so you can email me and I will tell you what it was like including the water temp.

 

Cheers,

Kim

[petlover]

Thanks Kim! Yes, it sure does seem overpriced. I converted $95 NZ dollars to $65. USD! Unfortunately, we'll be gone by Jan 4th but please post your take on this excursions because I will check the CC board from the ship. Also, please feel free to email me: marciematassa@adelphia.net (with something like Dolphin encounter in the subject line so I don't accidently think it's spam). I'm not sure where we actually dock etc.

 

I notice in the photos that no one seems to be wearing wetsuits although they're provided...?? (I'm quite a wus when it comes to cold water).

[Aussie Gal]

We were staying in Russell at the Bay of Islands in February a couple of years ago. It can be quite cool there if you strike a day that isn't sunny or a cold wind is blowing. If you are going to be in the water for quite some time, I would opt for the wet suit. I do not like staying in cool water for very long. The Bay of Islands is not in the tropics so the water is not warm like in far north Queensland or Fiji or Tahiti.

 

Also $185US is a huge amount of money when the N.Z. dollar is so low against the U.S. dollar. On today's rate that is $258 NZ. - too much to pay. Someone is making a huge profit!!!:mad: :mad: I would be thinking of trying to do the excursion privately by looking on the web. Try going to Alta Vista www.altavista.com.au and bring up Bay of Islands or Russell which is the biggest town in that area.

 

Jennie

[aussie52]

Hello Kim,

 

We are booked on the Day in the Bay Cruise on 5th January and then we are doing the Auckland to NZ cruise on Mercury.

 

Colleen

[Kinkacruiser]

I'm just adding on to this thread, hope you don't mind. Seems there are "lean pickings" from Paihia if you're not a water or dolphin person. The Waitangi Treaty house looks good. Can you walk there comfortably from the tender wharf? I have seen conflicting reports about the distance from Paihia. Is a boattrip to Russel worthwhile?

Thanks,

Anna

[Annatoo]

I'm just adding on to this thread, hope you don't mind. Seems there are "lean pickings" from Paihia if you're not a water or dolphin person. The Waitangi Treaty house looks good. Can you walk there comfortably from the tender wharf? I have seen conflicting reports about the distance from Paihia. Is a boattrip to Russel worthwhile?

Thanks,

Anna

 

http://www.paihia.com/

 

Browse anything of interest on this site. Heaps to do from Paihia. Yes...you are able to walk along the beachfront to Waitangi Treaty House. A tender may even take you to the Waitangi area.

Definitely take the short ferry ride over to RUSSELL....quaint historic village. One of my favourite spots in Bay of Islands :p

B E V

[pinksuit]

http://www.paihia.com/

 

Browse anything of interest on this site. Heaps to do from Paihia. Yes...you are able to walk along the beachfront to Waitangi Treaty House. A tender may even take you to the Waitangi area.

Definitely take the short ferry ride over to RUSSELL....quaint historic village. One of my favourite spots in Bay of Islands :p

B E V

 

Thanks,

:) Pinkie

[critterchick]

We are doing a private dolphin swim excursion with Kings Dolphin Tours & Cruises (website www.dolphincruises.co.nz ) on 5 Jan. It's called the 'Day in the Bay' which is NZ$95.00 per person, 9:30 - 4pm.

 

The tour you're looking at sounds very much overpriced to me and from what I've read of others experience the water is warm enough in summer to swim without a wetsuit.

 

When do you leave..?? I will be home to check emails late on the 8th Jan so you can email me and I will tell you what it was like including the water temp.

 

Cheers,

Kim

 

Kim, can you give us a review of your dolphin experience? Thanks!

[mochuck]

We were in the Bay of Islands for our honeymoon back in the day. We hired a little catamaran and went sailing in the bay. We weren't allowed to go too far out which was OK because we weren't too experienced. I didn't know if they still had this so I googled it and found this.

 

http://www.totaltravel.co.nz/link.asp?fid=572305

[f3zo]

I'll post a reply here even though it's an old post, because the Bay of Islands is such a popular spot for cruises to stop at.

 

There are heaps of one-day tours available in the Bay, with everything from sailing to fishing. Recently there's been an old destroyer sank as a dive site out near the Hole in the Rock, at Deepwater Cove, so you may also want to consider diving in the Bay of Islands.

 

Hope this helps!

[LimoBoy]

We were staying in Russell at the Bay of Islands in February a couple of years ago. It can be quite cool there if you strike a day that isn't sunny or a cold wind is blowing. If you are going to be in the water for quite some time, I would opt for the wet suit. I do not like staying in cool water for very long. The Bay of Islands is not in the tropics so the water is not warm like in far north Queensland or Fiji or Tahiti.

 

Also $185US is a huge amount of money when the N.Z. dollar is so low against the U.S. dollar. On today's rate that is $258 NZ. - too much to pay. Someone is making a huge profit!!!:mad: :mad: I would be thinking of trying to do the excursion privately by looking on the web. Try going to Alta Vista www.altavista.com.au and bring up Bay of Islands or Russell which is the biggest town in that area.

 

Jennie

If you want to find a local operator to do a private tour and get a better deal then try a google search such as SHORE TRIPS and the port of call name, that should find you a good selection.

[celle]

I'll post a reply here even though it's an old post, because the Bay of Islands is such a popular spot for cruises to stop at.

 

There are heaps of one-day tours available in the Bay, with everything from sailing to fishing. Recently there's been an old destroyer sank as a dive site out near the Hole in the Rock, at Deepwater Cove, so you may also want to consider diving in the Bay of Islands.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Fullers are offering a Dolphin Encounter for NZ$130 per adult. See this web site:

 

http://www.fboi.co.nz/tour_ecoexperiencebayofislands.php

 

They say:

Dolphin Adventure: Dolphins are one of earth's most fascinating creatures and few other areas are blessed with their presence all year round, as is the Bay of Islands. On this the ultimate marine adventure you'll get right up close to the dolphins. Watch their antics and get fantastic photos. Conditions permitting, go swimming with them. We get you to the dolphins fast in our water-jet powered catamaran. It's the best vessel in the Bay for dolphin viewing with large deck areas and plenty of room to move around. After your Dolphin Encounter you'll have the added bonus of stopping off on beautiful Urupukapuka Island. If you wish, stay for the day at no extra cost. Enjoy the coastal walks and magnificent beaches. Browse through the Maori Arts and Crafts centre or relax in the cafe.

Dolphin Sighting Guarantee

If you do not see either dolphins or whales we'll give you a free ticket to go again or a $20 refund ($10 child) if you are unable to do so.

[kathy16]

We will be in Auckland for 3 full days before our cruise on Jan 15, 2009- Is it worth it to go to Bay of Islands for a day?

Kathy

[f3zo]

Well, it is beautiful up in the Bay! It will take about 5 hours in a bus or 3.5 hours in a car, so if you only had a day you might want to consider flying up and pre-booking any trips you had your eye on. You can fly with Air New Zealand from Auckland to Kerikeri. Then again it's about 40 minutes from kerikeri and the auckland airport is about 60 minutes drive depending on the traffic...