Napier

Top Napier activities

Top Napier landmarks

Napier trip ideas

Shore Excursion: Napier and Surrounding Countryside Scenic Tour

Name: Shore Excursion: Napier and Surrounding Countryside Scenic Tour
Brand: Deco City Discoverer
SKU: 104453P2
Price: 73.15 USD
Rating: 4.0 (44 reviews)

Napier, New Zealand

Cruise Shore Excursion of Napier and surrounding countryside

From US$73.15

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

Napier Tours

Seasonal & Special Occasions

Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

Travel & Transportation Services

Attractions

Mission Estate Winery Tours & Tickets Church Road Winery Tours & Tickets

Nearby

North Island Hokkaido Hawaii Chiba Prefecture Kanto Saitama Prefecture Tokyo Prefecture Kanagawa Prefecture Nagano Prefecture

3 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Overview

Make the most of a short time on land on this comprehensive tour of Napier’s highlights. Tour the Art Deco city in an Art Deco bus, with large windows and a viewing deck at the back where you can get great photos. Listen to live commentary as you drive around the city, spotting landmarks and stopping at the beautiful Art Deco National Tobacco building, the Mission Estate winery, and more.

Travel in a comfortable air-conditioned vehicle
An ideal tour for first-time visitors wanting an overview
The tour lasts around 2.5 hours
Good fun for travelers with a range of interests

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle

Food and drinks

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Marine Parade
Marine Parade, Napier South, Napier 4110, New Zealand
Napier information Centre tour bus meeting place is the Pink Flag situated inside the Sound Shell area

Pickup point

Napier Port

Start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Opening hours

5/1/2023 - 4/30/2024
Monday - Sunday : 09:00 AM - 02:30 PM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Our tour normally commences approx 1.5 hours after the first Shuttle Bus from the ship. Where numbers are sufficient we will collect you from your ship. I will send message on Viator with pick up time and location. Otherwise we collect travelers from the Napier Information Centre tour bus pick up area known as the Pink Flag. This is adjacent to the Information Centre on the Marine Parade. The Information Centre is the first stop on your shuttle bus route. Thanks Mark.

What To Expect

Deco City Discoverer

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Most travelers can participate
Infants must sit on laps

Not wheelchair accessible
Children must be accompanied by an adult
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 28 travelers

Operated by Deco City Discoverer

Cancellation Policy

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 a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

44 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 44 reviews

Almost there

Karen_G, Apr 2023

The tour has good potential. As with all independent tours, pickup info is never as clear as it could be. Our email said the bus would arrive at 9:45 for a 10 am departure. We left at 9:46 with not everyone on board. Our guide was knowledgeable and the acoustics in the bus made it difficult to hear him. The driver opened up the back once it was apparent that it was too warm in the bus. The tour stops for about 20-30 mins to get a drink and the stores nearby are not really conducive for souvenirs. At the top of one of the hills, the view was gorgeous. See if you can get the driver to stop so you can take pictures. We did not have the chance. The driver was very courteous and nice, offering to take our picture at the back of the bus. I think this tour could be a great tour with few changes, e.g. local wine tasting at the marina bay restaurant or something similar. Consider a cooler full of water on the hot days. Do take the driver up on the opportunity to get dropped off in town to view the art deco buildings. They are fune.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hi Karen Thank your for your detailed review. I appreciate all your comments and will be looking into them all. The Air conditioning although not the latest of systems has just had a lot of $ spent on it to ensure it is working to potential. We have lost a couple of good stops on the tour due to the worst cyclone in NZ history a few weeks ago, including the Silky Oak Chocolate Factory which has many of the missing items you mention. They will be back in a few months. This is very helpful review as I was not in town myself on the day and appreciate your proactive comments. We will have our tour firing on all cylinders for next season I can assure you. If you ever find yourself back in Napier I will take you up to that view again to ensure get a good photo. Kind Regards Mark

Great tour !

Tony_G, Apr 2023

Mark was very informative and a great tour guide. The tour was quite extensive going from Napier to surrounding countryside. Covered a lot of ground in a short time. Just a couple of negatives, hard to hear the commentary especially if anyone was talking on the bus. Speaker was not working outside on the bus platform. No real complaints

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hello Tony Thanks for your review I appreciate the feedback. That speaker has had intermittent behaviour of late and I will be replacing that asap. Regards Mark

Enjoyed the tour around...

Michael_S, Mar 2023

Enjoyed the tour around Napier with a look at the art deco buildings. The only problem was that the bus was rattling/vibrating quite a lot, which made it hard to hear the commentary.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hello Michael I took that bus out for a drive and heard the rattle you are talking about. Will have that sorted. Thanks for your review Regards Mark

I appreciated I had time to see the town shops after the tour.

Robyn_C, Mar 2023

I loved seeing the art decor homes. The tour guide was very informative. I did think the choice of lunch stopover was very limiting.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Hello Thanks for your review. Yes our stops were a bit limited due to the recent Cyclone, the devastation of the area and loss of two of our normal stops due to major flooding damage. They will be back and the area will return to some kind of normal before our next summer season Regards Mark

Fun tour

Julie_O, Mar 2023

Enjoyed this tour with a friendly and knowledgeable guide.Bus with open platform was fun but a bit bumpy.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hi Thank you for your review. Agree it is a bit bumpy out the back and we are trying to find a modification to improve the ride out there. Appreciate your feedback Thanks RegardsMark

Was ok

ULAMA_K, Mar 2023

We feel rushed on two tours. The price we paid for being rushed is not fair. They could at least have some water 💦 for us like in Tauranga Warren the driver stopped for us to get snacks. He bought ice cream for us. He went above and beyond to make our trip enjoyable. Tauranga tour was the very best. Warden was totally awesome 😎. He knows exactly what to do to make our tour memorable. The others were not the greatest. Sorry to say.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello Sounds like you are reviewing the wrong tour??? Our tour is a 3 hour tour and not rushed at all Regards Mark

non-existent tour

JOHN_S, Mar 2023

Tour never happened. We were on a cruise, and the port stop was cancelled due to the cyclone. I hope we were not charged for something that could not happen. The fact that we are asked to comment gives me the feeling that the tour operators will ignore the fact that no one took the tour.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello This review is in very bad taste We have had the biggest Cyclone ever in NZ People have lost their homes and all they own and some their lives. The port was closed due to being in a State of Emergency. Napier was cut of and we had no electricity for seven days. We were very lucky to have suffered very little damage. Viator will give you a full refund You need to apply to them for the refund Thanks Mark

No tour

Gray_W, Feb 2023

We did not tour as the port was closed due to cyclone Grabrille, and ship unable to dock. We were sad to miss this port. Please may we have a refund .

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Hello I think you should review the rating as you did not even come to Napier. We are in the middle of a national disaster, given people are now homeless and we have not had power for a week. Sorry but Very bad taste. Refunds are managed by Viator if you make a request it should be honored. Regards Mark

Interesting gin display and old building

Michelle_O, Feb 2023

Tabasco company visit with gin. A bit too many old houses that were all the same. A bit boring and would not recommend

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Hello I am pleased you enjoyed the Gin Distillery visit Sorry you did not enjoy at Art Deco part of our tour Thanks Mark

Couldn't hear the driver/tour guide due to malfunctioning sound system.

Barbara_S, Jan 2023

Just a bus ride. Because the bus driver was also the tour guide and his sound system didn't work we had no idea what we were looking at. Would not recommend.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Hello Apologies Rather unfortunate the weather was so wet and at some point moisture somehow found its way into the sound system control. I believe my driver Merv managed to dry it off and got it going again? I have taken steps to ensure this will not happen again. Really sorry but we have had such extreme weather in recent times that has impacted on our tour in various ways. Regards Mark

Awesome!

Gayle_T, Jan 2023

Awesome tour! Guide was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. (Only minor disappointment: we were the only ones on the tour, so we didn't get to ride in the cool bus. Totally understand why! On the plus side, the guide was able to drive down some of the crowded main streets in his car, and the bus would not have been able to fit there. So, all in all, that was fine.) Very interesting city, and we really had a great time on the tour - got to go inside one of the Art Deco buildings, and saw the outside of many more. In addition, we learned about the history of the area and saw lots of things in the countryside.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Hello Thank you for your review. Always a pleasure to take people around our beautiful City Glad you appreciated my driver Merv I will have buy him a beer Thank you Mark

Best tour expirence in Napier

Mark_L, Jan 2023

A great experience with Brett on the Deco Bus (you'll know it when you see it) Tour was twice as long as the ship organised one's for a fair bit less. And there is a lot to see. And the bus was a ripper, in the style of the area of Art Deco complete with a standing open area at the back ! What better way to take in the sights... It's a 10/10 from us

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Hi Mark Thank you very much for your review, much appreciated Happy New year and safe travels Regards Mark

ehhh…average tour

jeff_k, Dec 2022

An average tour at best. Sound system on the bus needs to be fixed as there was a lot of static and couldn’t really understand anything the guide said. The couple of stops were uneventful and not anything that will allow us remember our day in Napier. I do believe that Napier has much more to offer so if you like to sit on a bus for a couple of hours this is fine but if you want anything more than that, look elsewhere

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Hello Jeff Thanks for your feedback it is unfortunate your found our tour average. I would be interested to know what day your traveled with us. Generally people enjoy our tour and the informative commentary. The sound system microphone did somehow loose the little foam cover which I replaced and is now back to normal high quality sound. Regards Mark

Disappointed in the tour

Ben_K, Dec 2022

Tour guide was late getting to the ship. The tour was cut short. Not much to see here. Downtown was semi art deco. Drive thru the countryside.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Hello I think you may have the wrong tour. I have no record of you on any of my tours We did not do any tours on this day Sorry your experience was not up to you expectations Regards Mark

Adequate tour but lack of air vents or even windows that opened spoilt it as the weather warmed up.

Diane_F, Dec 2022

Very hot little bus - no air con or even air vents that worked. Lots of driving but not enough stops. The commentary was good though. Great to be picked up at the wharf.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Hello and sorry about the air con Heading out on the tour the fan belt that drives the aircon decided to shred itself and unfortunately a quick repair was not an option. Thank you for your feedback

Highly Recommended Tour

Uwe_S, Nov 2022

Tour operator was fantastic. Lots of information on the history of the town and the surrounds along Queen Charlotte Sound. A tour that was both informative and very relaxing.

Lovely, laid back trip....

John_S, Nov 2022

Lovely, laid back trip. Merv was a great guide, 'tailored' aspects of the time to our preferences, e.g. for particular photo shots.

Looking at art deco homes...

Jill_B, Nov 2022

Looking at art deco homes and stores and hearing a bit of history. Was disppointed that we didnt go to the winery and have the opportunity for wine tasting as mentioned in the tour description.

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Hi Sorry about that I had thought I had edited the details to take that visit out of our tour. Due to Covid The Mission have changed their rules and operation which do not allow us to include the visit in our tour at this time. Regards Mark

two to view

B_B, Sept 2020

Merv picked us up from our accomodation and returned us home when this short tour was finished. While the weather was inclemant it did not stop us from seeing many Art Deco buildings and hearing all about the history of Napier. Disappointed that our visit to the chocolate factory did not include a walk around the factory . Only the shop /cafe ..available. The tour around the hills was super cool as we got to see many original houses before the quake. For me that was the best part of the tour.

Response from Host, Sept 2020

Hello and thank you for your review. Unfortunately due to the unusual time we are in with Covid-19 the Chocolate Factory showroom is not available. Most products are on display in the Pantry Shop. There certainly are some lovely old homes on the Napier Hill. Glad you enjoyed your visit to Napier Thanks Mark

On the Bus Off the Bus!

IAN_B, Mar 2020

Mark was out guide and driver for the day using the Art deco bus. he was very knowledgeable and I'm sure added on more locations than those listed including a fantastic visit with wine tasting to the Mission Vineyard. A great introduction to Hawkes Bay region.