Mt Cook & Tekapo Day Tour from Christchurch (lunch included)
Description
Mt Cook & Lake Tekapo Tour. This small group, fully-guided day trip combines all of the key highlights in the area with the famous Lake Tekapo, Mt Cook National Park and Tasman Glacier as key highlights. Led by our famously passionate tour guides, notorious for bringing your journey to life by sharing their stories and rich background knowledge and run in modern, comfortable minibuses packed with extras ensuring your comfort and safety. Highlights: Lake Tekapo Church of the Good Shepard Mt Cook & Aoraki National Park Tasman Glacier, Lake Pukaki While the destinations you will be visiting are truly spectacular, we at Cheeky Kiwi Travel believe it is our small groups, our guides, the journey and the little details that set our tours well apart. Secret stops, wildlife viewings, specially designed vehicles and many other pleasant surprises ensure our tours are an experience to remember.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your tour starts in the stunning city of Christchurch. As we drive out of the city your guide will not only set the scene for your adventurous day but also point out and guide you past some of the area’s top highlights.
Departing Christchurch we then make our way through the impressive Canterbury plains with plenty of amazing New Zealand farmland and countryside to see along the way!
A charming South Canterbury town known for its boutique shops and local produce. This is where we’ll pause to collect your lunch, take a short rest break, grab a coffee if you’d like, and use the facilities before we continue our journey.
We head towards the famous blue lakes of Lake Tekapo but to get there first we must go through some impressive alpine passes with amazing views. As we come over the hill to Tekapo you will be stunned by amazing view of the lake. Stop for a photo at the iconic Church of the Good Shepherd
Turning west we begin to enter the Aoraki National Park and Lake Pukaki begins to emerge in front of us. Lake Pukaki is one of the bluest lakes you will ever see and is stunningly framed by the backdrop of Aoraki/Mt Cook and the Southern Alps. It’s not hard to see why many Lord of the Rings scene were filmed nearby and we will point them out for you.
While in the national park you have 2 hours free time to enjoy free walks/hikes or one of the extra optional activities. Some of our recommendations include: Tasman Glacier Walk, Scenic flights (see the region from the air and land on the Tasman Glacier) or Mt Cook Visitor Centre & Hermitage Hotel. Whatever you decide to do we will pick you up and drop you off where you need to go and make sure you are well looked after.
We stop briefly in Lake Tekapo for one last time to take those last minute late evening photos of the Church and the Lake.
Unfortunately after an amazing day of sightseeing it is time to return to Christchurch. Additional stops are taken into considerations for toilet breaks.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
*If no pickup is selected at time of booking, you will be allocated our default meeting point (Intercity Stop, Bus Interchange). You are welcome to update this at any time. If your location isn’t listed, please choose your nearest available option & meet us there. *Pick-ups can begin up to 20 minutes before the tour departure time, depending on location. To ensure a smooth start, please be ready and waiting outside 5 minute prior to your specific pickup time. *Pick-up locations are carefully planned for each tour and may vary by day. If your pick-up location changes, kindly inform us in advance. *Our guides make multiple stops and may arrive within a 10-minute window. We are unable to wait for late guests.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
- A moderate amount of walking is involved.. Due to uneven surfaces, this tour is not recommended for those with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair.
- Kindly advise any dietary requirements per person at time of booking
Reviews(218)
Great experience. On time pick up and journey. Great explanation of region with historical context by our driver/guide max. I am really happy with the day trip.
It was an overall nice day for this tour. We were able to spend some time at Lake Tekapo, which was beautiful. Due to fog and a truck accident, we weren’t able to spend much time at Mount Cook, and we missed seeing the glacier. Cheeky Kiwi and our guide did a great job with communicating with the group about our options. I would recommend this company.
Perfect trip! Rosy is very knowledgeable and shared a lot of interesting info with us. The organization was perfect as well.
My experience on the day trip from Christchurch to Mt Cook was fantastic, especially considering that it is a long journey of about five hours each way. Our guide, Grant, has a background in geology, which made him exceptionally knowledgeable about the geography of New Zealand and the South Island in particular. I learned a great deal from him throughout the trip, and his commentary added a deeper appreciation of the landscapes we were seeing. Grant was friendly, professional, and accommodating throughout the day. He made everyone feel welcome and ensured the trip ran smoothly. As a deaf traveler, I especially appreciated his efforts to accommodate my communication needs. We were fortunate to have beautiful weather at Mt Cook and enjoyed about two hours there under sunny skies. On the return journey, we were also able to visit the Church of the Good Shepherd and Lake Tekapo on a clear day, which was especially nice since those areas had been foggy on our way to Mt Cook earlier in the day. The scenery was spectacular, and the tour was very well organized from start to finish. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys nature, mountains, and some of the most beautiful landscapes New Zealand has to offer.
Thank you for this wonderful review! Grant will be delighted to hear your kind words. His background in geology really does bring the landscapes of the South Island to life in a unique way. We are so glad you had beautiful weather at Mt Cook and that the Lake Tekapo and Church of the Good Shepherd visit on the return was a highlight too. Thank you for choosing Cheeky Kiwi Travel and we would love to welcome you back on another New Zealand adventure soon!
Rosie was our guide and she was extremely warm, friendly and informative.. By end of the day, we connected so well.. Extremely professional, classy.. highly recommend cheekykiwi travel.. if you are lucky, Rosie will take you through the best day trip
What a fantastic review, thank you! Rosie will be over the moon to read this and we are so pleased she made your Mt Cook day trip such a special experience. Her passion for sharing New Zealand with visitors really shines through. We hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you back on another tour with Cheeky Kiwi Travel!
OMG so fun. Was a little worried that the clouds would stay all day and we wouldn't be able to see Mt. cook, but they cleared and we had an amazing view. For the price, this is totally worth it. 12 hour day but you stop at several places and have 2 hours in Mt. Cook! Our driver was amazing and super knowledgeable on New Zealand. Cheekykiwi is good for small group trips as we only had 8 people on our tour! The atmosphere was fun and everyone was excited to see everything. Definitely would book this tour again in the future
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback.
It's a lot of driving. The small group is nice but that means a smaller van and bigger bumps as you ride along. New Zealand is stunning. I'm glad we got to see Mt Cook but I don't think I would do this tour again. The "walks" are a good amount of exercise uphill.
thank you for your feedback .Even though it is a lot of travel the scenery sure is incredible and we hope you enjoyed that aspect of your trip. Unfortunately, the mountains dividing the island mean we have no shorter ways of getting there. thank you for travelling with us.
Paul our driver guide was amazing, he brought some silly jokes to break the ice on the van. The trip itself was great and i am looking forward to more trip with you guys.
Thank you Tracy! Paul's jokes and warm personality really do set the tone for a wonderful day. We're thrilled you enjoyed the Mt Cook and Tekapo trip and we'd love to see you back for more adventures!
Enjoyable, a must do experience. Got very lucky with the clouds parting foot an hour or so of the trip at mount cook or else it would have been slightly underwhelming. Really professional service. Thank you
Thank you Lewis! Those moments when the clouds part at Aoraki Mt Cook are truly something else and we are so glad you got to experience that magic. We really appreciate the kind words about our professional service and hope to welcome you back on another tour with us!
Really great tour! I would recommend everyone to experience this at least once when they visit Christchurch. Our tour guide Rosie was kind and sweet and very informative! I learned so much about Christchurch, both Lakes (Tekapo and Pukaki) and Aoraki / Mount Cook. We were given ample time for breakfast and the lunch was big and hearty as well. You can choose which walk you want to do once you arrive at the National Park, and there’s 2 hours allocated for that. Rosie was quick to comply with all our requests and made the journey very enjoyable! Hope to do it again soon :)
Thank you so much, Zareen! We're absolutely delighted to hear you had such a fantastic experience. Rosie is a true gem and we're so proud to have her on our team. Your kind words will mean so much to her. We hope to welcome you back to New Zealand again soon!
