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1-Hour Guided Whale Watching Premier Tour in Kaikōura | 1 hour

13 Reviews | Kaikoura
From $724.43 per person Lowest Price Guarantee
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Inclusions / Exclusions

  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English
  • Private transportation

Overview

This one hour whale watch experience shows you the incredible marine wildlife that exists here in Kaikōura, then takes you to the tops of the Seaward Kaikōura Ranges for a landing in the peaks. During your experience with us you will be taken on a journey above one of New Zealand’s most unique areas, the underwater Kaikōura Canyon. Due to the special underwater geography of the area, it enables a huge abundance of food to be produced due to a large upwelling and mixing of both warm and cold currents. The food produced here supports a very diverse variety of marine life including many types of whales that migrate through the area such as Humpback, Southern Right, Blue, and of course our resident Sperm Whales the worlds largest toothed whale. Enjoy our longest whale watching flight to go out and spot the amazing wildlife. There is also a chance to view the resident Dusky dolphins and New Zealand fur seals before heading up into the mountains.

Pickup points

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Pickup details

We have a complimentary shuttle. We collect from your accommodation, Railway Station, Bus Station in Kaikōura. ... Read more ▼

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Meeting points

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

  • Kaikoura

    A flight that showcases the very best of the beautiful coastal town, Kaikōura. Spot the wonderful marine creatures such as whales and dolphins to the towering peaks of the Seaward Kaikōura Ranges.

    1 hour

Sample Menu

Additional Info

  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
  • Service animals allowed
  • Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
  • Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
  • All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Free Cancellation

December 11100% refund
December 12No refund

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews

5.0

13 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
  • 5 stars
    13
  • 4 stars
    0
  • 3 stars
    0
  • 2 stars
    0
  • 1 star
    0

Reviews by TravelOne travelers

Showing 1-5 of 13 reviews with 5 stars

Highlight of our NZ holiday

Published on Feb, 2025

This tour was the highlight of our NZ holiday. The company is extremely professional and dealing with them was seamless. Monique picked up our group of four from our cruise ship jetty. We traveled to their office where all the safety procedures were discussed. It was an extremely busy day for them but they had plenty of staff on hand to help. We spent a spectacular 40mins viewing 4 different sperm whales followed by a landing up on the headland with amazing views. They took wonderful care of my elderly parents assisting them in and out of the helicopter. This is an experience not to be missed in Kaikoura.

Wonderful whale watching from a helicopter above

Published on Nov, 2024

We arrived in Kaikoura at 10pm in the dark on our UK Titan holidays trip all around NZ. Today 25Nov we had a morning whale watching cruise and were lucky to see a sperm whale on the surface and got good photos. The excursion was great BUT after a 10 minute sojourn at the hotel we were collected by South Pacific Helicopters and couriered to the helicopter base. Soon we were in the air and wow just wow how fantastic this experience was. Sliding off over the sea swooping around the sperm whale watching the circling spotter planes ,: this was just something else - a treasure of a lifetime. Then watching swimmers with dusky dolphins and not just a dolphin or two but a pod or two of 100s of dolphins. Then a cliff top landing a flight over Kaikoura the last road and our hotel - magic. My thanks to everyone involved in the company - this has been a holiday of a lifetime and South Pacific Helicopters provided the crowning experience that surely cannot be battered. Thank you so much for being such lovely hosts and giving us such special treatment in. Very safe and friendly way. Absolutely brilliant - do not miss out.

Awesome tour!

Published on Mar, 2024

Daniel, his wife and entire crew provided a welcoming and seamless experience!! The communications were helpful , we felt entirely safe and totally feel as if we got our moneys worth!

Don’t think twice, just do it! What a truly great holiday experience.

Published on Mar, 2024

This was possibly the best experience of our whole holiday in NZ. What a special family firm this is. From the moment we entered the office, having just had our boat trip cancelled, Monique was so helpful and friendly. Her husband, Dan, took the trouble to greet each of us individually, by name. The trip itself was totally awesome (we saw two blue whales and then we only landed on top of a mountain!). Put aside the superlatives, I genuinely cannot recommend this firm and this trip highly enough. A massive thank you to Dan and Monique for providing such a brilliant memory.

First class family business who really care

Published on Mar, 2024

OMG what can I say about this trip! From the moment of stepping into their Kaikoura office and meeting Monique, I cannot fault them. We were beaked last minute after disappointments at both Franz Josef and on the whale watching boat trip from Kaikoura due to bad weather. With the minimum of fuss Monique had us booked and ready to go on a fabulous trip, Dan was brilliant, welcoming, friendly and informative, making sure we got to see the rare blue whales and taking us on an unforgettable helicopter trip. Thank you all for making our holiday!

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