Larnach Castle & Otago Wildlife Cruise from Dunedin
Description
Visit the stunning Larnach Castle. Explore the scenic Otago Peninsula and enjoy a special Monarch Wildlife Cruise. Your guide will take you on a one-hour tour of Larnach Castle. Hear the scandalous story of early settler William Larnach and his family. Explore the beautifully restored castle, with it's original antique furniture and impressive craftsmanship throughout. 30-minutes is allowed to briefly explore the gardens or take tea in the ballroom cafe. The bus tour will then take you further along the Otago Peninsula. You'll next board a one-hour Wildlife Cruise, travelling past volcanic cliffs and a historic lighthouse. Enjoy close viewing of fur seals, royal albatross and seabirds. We sometimes spot sea lions, blue penguins & dusky or hectors dolphins. A 90-minute visit to The OPERA can also be added on as an extra. See conservation in action and possibly see the worlds rarest penguin (yellow-eyed) as you walk through a private eco-reserve and wildlife rehab facility.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Tour along the beautiful roads of the Otago Peninsula in our comfortable minivan. Enjoy stunning views of harbour and coast as you go.
Small group guided tour through 'NZ's Castle'. Discover the scandalous story of the Larnach family and explore the painstakingly restored building and it's beautiful grounds.
Bus tour along the scenic roads of the Otago Peninsula.
An invigorating wildlife cruise featuring volcanic cliffs, a historic lighthouse, royal albatross, fur seals and other Southern Ocean animals.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(82)
Visited Larnach castle and toured Otago Bay on a wildlife trip. Castle and history of building plus restoration tour was wonderful. Ross our tour guide was tremendous- so knowledgeable. Otago cruise was exceptional and the albatross’s put on show!!
Great history of the area from our tour guide Ross. Just two experiences- the castle and the wildlife cruise. Would have loved a little time seeing the sights downtown.
We took the castle to cruise ship tour on an unfortunately rainy and foggy day. The tour was organized with a pick up within the cruise ship terminal. The tour was full with a group of 16, which though not a tour bus, was a bit large for the venue in my opinion. The Larnach Castle tour was informative and the property was beautiful and would be fantastic if able to see the view. The castle was extremely crowded and busy on the day we were there. We then took a long drive to the wildlife tour. We saw fur seals and two different species of juvenile albatross plus the nesting albatross at the albatross center from the water. It was a long distance view but the operator provided good binoculars. I wasn’t expecting the tour boat to be so small, basically a cabin cruiser, so there wasn’t seating for everyone and some of us weren’t able to get out of the weather. Keep in mind that the drive times to, between, and returning were long so you will spend a lot of time in the van. The tour took at least an hour longer than the stated time. Oddly, the tour bus stopped at the office on the return and we had to switch to a different bus for the short remaining drive to the port. Guides were very aware of our cruise ship’s departure time and we made it back with a half hour to spare.
The Larnach Castle Tour is a MUST for anyone visiting Otago. Our tour Driver/Guide was so helpful and knowledgeable we came back knowing a lot about the region the castle and a lot more. We added on the Wildlife Cruise and were able to see up close lots of the wildlife who call this area home and the boat ride was enjoyable to. We would have been annoyed had we missed this. Thank Monarch Tours.
Awesome experience with Rob as our guide. Rob is born and bred Otago Peninsula and Dunedin and was an encyclopedia of knowledge so well presented. Larnach Castle is an absolute Jewel in the Crown, followed by the cruise with a great variety of wildlife, fully recommended.
Had a wonderful time. Ross was very informative, easy to talk with , gave us a great tour of the castle. The grounds and castle were beautiful. We took the boat ride did get to see the albatrosses. A great tour , really enjoyed Dunedin.
I really enjoyed touring Lanach Castle and gardens. The estate is beautiful and interior is interesting. Our guide was well informed. We had a lovely lunch too in the hunting themed cafe. A wonderful visit.
It would have been 5 if the guide was more reassuring about the timing to get back to the ship
I would definitely recommend this tour, Our tour guide Will was excellent 👌 Larnach Castle was fabulous could of spent a lot longer there as we only had 1hr, the boat cruise was ok saw seals, dolphins, unfortunately not no albatross as the winds were too light, out in the Pacific Ocean. The penguins at Otago wildlife were fantastic saw some in the rehabilitation pens and also saw some on the cliff face and also some up close in the trenches which were multing their feathers.
A very enjoyable and informative tour of the castle and on the wild life cruise. Definitely value for money, highly recommend.
