Cape Brett 'Hole in the Rock' Cruise departs Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand

Departing Auckland, you'll head north over the Auckland Harbour Bridge and enjoy spectacular rural and coastal scenery en route to the Bay of Islands. On arrival in the Bay, you'll visit the Waitangi Treaty House and grounds, and see a traditional Maori meeting house and a huge waka (war canoe).

You'll then experience the Hole in the Rock from the water: a sightseeing cruise by high-speed catamaran across the waves. Bring your camera to capture the marvelous scenery and variety of wildlife including whales, seals, dolphins, penguins and other marine life.

USD $175.53

Review by: Gwenda G	March 2011
Good pick up service and return from/to the hotel. Excellent commentary throughout the whole day. Provided lunch was appetizing and a change from the usual sandwiches. The cruise was out of this world and to see so many dolphins following the boat was amazing. The technical ability of the boat crew to enable us to pass through the 'Hole in the Rock' was great. Excellent day

Review by: Roy S, United Kingdom	January 2010
Our skipper managed to get us through the Hole in the Rock, great day out.

Review by: Travel B, United States of America	January 2010
The ride to the Bay of Islands is nice! The actual boat ride is long and boring as you just are on a catamaran looking at the various islands. We did not see dolphins. The only exciting part was going though the hole in the rock. Also, bring your own lunch! It is not worth it to include an extra 20 NZ dollars for lunch because you have time to purchase lunch before the boat leaves. Please notice that you will not have time to swim in the water.

Review by: Mark L	January 2010
The ride to the Bay of Islands is nice! The actual boat ride is long and boring as you just are on a catamaran looking at the various islands. We did not see dolphins. The only exciting part was going though the hole in the rock. Also, bring your own lunch! It is not worth it to include an extra 20 NZ dollars for lunch because you have time to purchase lunch before the boat leaves. Please notice that you will not have time to swim in the water.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	December 2009
Although the bay of islands was beautiful I thought the tour was okay for the price we paid for the tour. It didn't offer as much to do as the other trips offered.

Review by: Anonymous, Belgium	November 2009
WELL ORGANIZED GOOD GUIDE

Review by: Ivette C, United States of America	August 2009
This is a must-do tour if you visit New Zealand! We had a funny and courteous bus driver who gave us a lot of info on NZ history, especially on the Maori influence. There were several interesting stops to cafes, a maori tree farm, the Waitomo Treaty Grounds were amazing in detail, sculpture, and history. My two children ages 11 and 9 really got a kick of the Maori war canoe; the largest one in NZ! Then we saw the most stunning water scenery you can imagine, including dolphins and seals, and went through the hole in the rock. Overall this was an A+ tour, a very memorable experience for all.

Review by: Ivette C, United States of America	August 2009
An awesome trip. We got to go through the Hole in the Rock, and Bay of Islands is strikingly beautiful. Also great was the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where we learned tons about Maori & NZ history. I went with my two kids, and we really had a blast. Definitely worth doing!

Review by: Anonymous	August 2009
This is a must-do tour if you visit New Zealand! We had a funny and courteous bus driver who gave us a lot of info on NZ history, especially on the Maori influence. There were several interesting stops to cafes, a maori tree farm, the Waitomo Treaty Grounds were amazing in detail, sculpture, and history. My two children ages 11 and 9 really got a kick of the Maori war canoe; the largest one in NZ! Then we saw the most stunning water scenery you can imagine, including dolphins and seals, and went through the hole in the rock. Overall this was an A+ tour, a very memorable experience for all.

Review by: IVETTE C	August 2009
An awesome trip. We got to go through the Hole in the Rock, and Bay of Islands is strikingly beautiful. Also great was the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where we learned tons about Maori & NZ history. I went with my two kids, and we really had a blast. Definitely worth doing!

Review by: Wayne P, Australia	July 2009
We had very bad weather yet we enjoyed the whole experience. The guide at the treaty house was brilliant. Our bus driver was very special.

Review by: Anonymous	April 2009
It was boring as the dolphins were running away from the boat. Furthermore, the description mentioned in the Viator website was incorrect as there wasn't any free time to swim or snorkel at Otehei Bay. We also had issue when trying to reconfirm the trip as the contact number shown on the voucher was incorrect. However, we managed to chase up several site agent, fullers agent all around Auckland and Bay of islands branches.

Review by: Elizabeth P, United Kingdom	March 2009
Unable to do Hole in the Rock due to bad weather.

Review by: Alan P, United Kingdom	April 2008
The driver was excellent and made it special!

Review by: Helen R, Australia	April 2008
It was great, a really good day trip!

Review by: Beverley W, United Kingdom	March 2008
An ideal way to see some of the tip of the North Island if you have a limited time to see as much as you can.

Review by: Anand V, Australia	March 2008
The trip was too costly.

Review by: Don O, United States of America	June 2007
This is a must-do tour. The scenery is beautiful, and going through the hole is really spectacular. It's a long day because of the drive time from Auckland, but it's worth it.

Review by: Florence M, Cyprus	April 2007
A long day's traveling, but glad we did it.

Review by: Frances M, United Kingdom	February 2007
Great day out and the scenery was stunning. From pickup at our hotel until the tour bus left took in excess of an hour. Given that, this is quite a long day. I would recommend forgoing the hotel pickup. I suggest that folk should go directly to the central pickup downtown and save an hour. We made a stop for tea / coffee / snacks on both legs of the journey which was very welcome. The boat experience was terrific and the captain made the trip through the 'hole' look easy, however, I understand that it's not always possible to go through the 'hole' as it's dependent upon favourable weather conditions.