Napier is a small but vibrant seaside city nestled on the coastline of one of New Zealand’s most creative wine-making and fruit-growing regions. Get out and see it all on this fully air-conditioned small group tour, guided by our local driver who will ensure you return to port happy and relaxed, with warm memories of this charming art-deco inspired city and its rural surrounds.

Immerse yourself in local culture with visits to an art gallery, sculpture garden, and traditional sweet shop
Informative commentary: uncover the disaster that made Napier an art deco mecca
Air-conditioned vehicles make for a relaxing ride through the Napier countryside
Free courtesy shuttles provided between the meeting point and the Port of Napier
This tour has now added a stop at Birdwoods Gallery

What's Included

Driver/guide providing live commentary on board
Air-conditioned vehicle
Pickup and drop-off from designated meeting point
Free courtesy shuttle buses provided between the meeting point and the Port of Napier
Complimentary honey tasting at Arataki Honey Visitor Centre

Food and drinks, unless specified
Any purchases you may choose to make during the tour

Meeting And Pickup

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

Meeting point

56 Marine Parade
56 Marine Parade, Bluff Hill, Napier 4110, New Zealand
The Pink Flag Meeting Point is located in the Soundshell area on Marine Parade, directly across the street from the MTG building

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

For cruise ship passengers, pick up is from the Pink Flag meeting point in the Soundshell, directly opposite the MTG building on Marine Parade, Napier. Simply take the free shuttle bus from the port and get off at the first stop outside the Napier i-SITE Visitor Information Centre. The marshalls wearing hi-vis vests will direct you to the Pink Flag Meeting Point a short walk away.

What To Expect

Napier

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Bluff Hill Lookout

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Napier (Pass By)

Birdwoods Gallery

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Te Mata Peak

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Arataki Honey Visitor Centre

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Minimum age is 8 years - child seats are not provided
At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Near public transportation

All passengers must be able to enter and leave a minibus using one or two steps
Maximum of 11 passengers per vehicle
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

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 good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
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

4.5

32 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 32 reviews

Awesome experience

Katherine_K, Apr 2023

Paul was such an informative guide. Vehicle on top shape. Very interesting stops. Definitely a must-do while in Napier.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Many thanks for that fabulous review, Katherine - I'm so pleased you enjoyed the tour.

Recommend highly for your Napier stop

James_D, Apr 2023

We had one of the best guides ever with Paul in Napier. He had his own vehicle and there were six of us for the five hour experience. We had a drive through Napier with a few photo stops then off to the country to Havelock North , Hawke’s Bay and Ta Mata Peak. We went right to the top. For the first time since the cyclone the road was open. What an experience. We also had stops at Bird Wind and the Honey factory Aranaki. Not to be missed! Paul was both humorous and informed. One of the best guides anywhere. Happy we engaged this tour

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Many thanks James, I'm delighted you enjoyed the tour.

Lovely day!

Velda_H, Apr 2023

A most lovely day with John, our tour guide, who provided us with much local knowledge as we traveled around Napier, Te Mata Peak, Arataki Honey Visitors Center, etc...As a former sheep farmer, he gave insights to that way of life, and talked about Cyclone Gabrielle as we drove past the damaged areas. This tour is a very good introduction to the Napier are and we hope to come back and spend more time here.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thanks Velda - John really is a fantastic guy and we're lucky to have him! Delighted to hear how much you enjoyed the tour.

Our tour Guide John did a...

Dennis_B, Apr 2023

Our tour Guide John did a great job of providing a lof of interesting historic and area information and took us to all places listed which were very pleasant. Highly recommend this half day tour.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thanks for that Dennis - we're so pleased you enjoyed the tour.

Fantastic Tour and Guide!

Edwin_B, Apr 2023

Paul was knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor - simply put he could not have been a better driver and guide, he gave just the right amount of commentary and facts to match the scenery. We saw a nice assortment of things to see and do (great views, a honey store/visitor center, interesting outdoor art and candy shop, etc.). Had us back to the ship in plenty of time.

Response from Host, Apr 2023

Thank you so much Edwin - I'm very pleased you enjoyed the tour, it was a pleasure to meet you!

Excellent

Joyce_P, Mar 2023

Very good guide!! Learned a lot about the area and the history. The guide was very versed in the area.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Many thanks Joyce - its great to know you enjoyed the tour; thank you for booking.

Great times in Napier!!

Erwin_R, Mar 2023

Paul was a great guide, very Knowledgeable and helpful. He was able to provide a great tour even though they were still experiencing the aftermath of the recent cyclone.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thank you Erwin, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the tour - wishing you a safe trip home.

Great tour

Dan_L, Feb 2023

Great tour. Beautiful stop at a quaint cafe and sculpture Park. Stoped at great overlook of the area.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thanks Dan - it's great to hear that you enjoyed the tour. The Te Mata Peak Lookout is a perennial favourite and Birdwoods Cafe and Sculpture Garden is a sure-fire winner too - thanks again for taking the trouble to write a review.

Art Deco and a Grand View

Scott_R, Feb 2023

Bernard was a great tour guide and we enjoyed seeing all the art deco buildings and hearing the history of Napier. The stop at Birdswood was very pleasant and a chance for a coffee, ice cream and a stroll. The views from Te Mata Peak we’re grand. A beautiful day!

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you Scott for that review - we are delighted to hear you enjoyed your tour. Bernard is a new driver/guide for us this season and has proved very popular.

This would be much better with less touring through town.

Karen_H, Jan 2023

The second half of this trip was good. It was wonderful going up the mountain and seeing the view And I wish it could have spent more time in the countryside. Spending a little time looking at the art deco in the downtown area is fine. That was the best examples of the art deco. Driving out towards the suburbs and driving down some residential streets was really a waste of time. The driver was knowledgeable and professional. They're just really needs to be a different balance of time on this trip.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Thanks for the review, Karen. The published tour itinerary includes a mix of looking at the Art Deco buildings for which Napier is world famous as well as visiting the countryside. For the majority of our guests, good coverage of the Art Deco is a priority and is expected; we spend a little under half the tour duration on that before heading out into the countryside. Your comments indicate that didn't fit your personal interests and I am sorry to hear that as we do of course aim to please. With public tours such as this one it does of necessity have to be a 'one size fits all' approach because the tour vehicle is shared with other travellers who will all have their own slightly different priorities - but thank you again for the feedback. Sometimes it can be tricky pleasing everyone!

Not very exciting for us

Natalie_Z, Jan 2023

Bus did not arrive on time and considering the short time frame of off-bus visits this wasn’t acceptable. The windows on the bus are quite small so very difficult to look up and useless to peek through opposite windows as you just see eye level. Very long bus ride with minimal information given. My family snored for the ride up. Very short stops at places, eg. 15 minutes, and then back to more driving. Due to some cruise ship passengers needing to return earlier than others, we were asked if “we really did want to stop at the honey place” because otherwise they would skip it. For us, it was the most boring tour of our NZ holiday. Not to say that others may have enjoyed it, it just didn’t suit my family, but it may suit yours.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Our driver arrived at the meeting point at 08:32 am - just 2 mins past the due start time - and we're sorry for that slight delay. Our driver says your family included some teens; it's fair to say the tour was primarily designed with the interests of more senior tourists in mind and it's very popular with that demographic for the mix of interests it caters to. The tour itinerary (with approximate timings) is fully detailed on the Viator website, so it should not have been a surprise to anyone on the day. Thanks for booking and for the feedback - it is always appreciated.

Operator didn't check equipment prior to tour

Robert_S, Nov 2022

By far the worst excursion on our cruise. The tour bus held 10 people, but since the speakers weren’t working, the only one who could hear what the driver was saying was the individual sitting next to him. We could have accomplished the same thing ourselves by driving around and not knowing what we were looking at. What should have been an informative tour was generally worthless. This unfortunate incident could have been easily prevented by checking out the equipment prior to accepting passengers. A partial refund wasn’t even offered for our inconvenience.

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Contrary to what the reviewer says I did in fact test the audio system in the vehicle (which was hired) as I always do before a tour and it was fully working at that time. I was also called to help during one of the tour stops - and on testing the sound again, passengers confirmed they could hear it and the tour continued. It only became clear later in the tour that there was an intermittent problem meaning those sitting at the very rear of the vehicle could not hear the commentary at times, although those in front of them confirmed they could. Unfortunately this was something we could not remedy on the day, and I did board the vehicle to apologise for that in person. However I do not agree that it rendered the entire tour 'generally worthless'.

Hawkes Bay Tour

Theresa_N, Oct 2022

The best part of the trip was the view from the top of the mountain, but we spent too much time in the mini bus driving around what seemed like industrial estates and only a short time at each of the stops. Also we could not hear the drivers commentary as the microphone didn’t work. They did apologise for this but it still spoiled the trip.

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Hi Theresa and thanks for taking the time to provide feedback, which of course makes uncomfortable reading for me as the business owner. I was already aware of the audio problems experienced on Saturday - your driver reported the issue to me part-way through the tour and I was able to investigate briefly during a couple of the stops. I did what problem-solving could be attempted during a tour with passengers waiting, and unfortunately was unable to get the vehicle's audio system working properly in the time available. This resulted as you say in passengers at the rear of the vehicle being unable to hear the driver's commentary, although others towards the front reported that they could hear it. I found the problem was not with our headset/mic equipment - it is high quality kit that was functioning perfectly - but lay in the audio system built into the vehicle itself, which was on hire to us for the day. I am now following up with the vehicle owners who have promised to investigate urgently and remedy the problem. If the cause is not found, I will take steps to ensure we do not use that particular vehicle again. I did apologise in person to you and to the rest of the group on the day and repeat that here - I am sorry it happened and am now focussed on ensuring it was a one-off issue, not to be repeated. I am also looking into your comment about the route etc as our tour design most certainly does not include any industrial estates.

Enjoyable day out

Raewyn_S, Feb 2021

Picked up on time. Paul was very knowledgeable and very friendly personality. We enjoyed our time on the tour and the places we visited. Our highlight was Te Mata Peak.

Response from Host, Mar 2021

Thanks for the review and for booking, Raewyn - its good to know you enjoyed the tour.

Art Deco buildings

Leanne_O, Feb 2020

Great tour, great lady. Napier is awesome. Would have loved 2 spend more time there. Definitely going back

Highly recommend!!

Chris_V, Jan 2020

Great tour! And our driver/tour guide was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable, accommodating, and fun.

Response from Host, Jan 2020

Delighted to hear you enjoyed the tour so much - and thank you for taking the trouble to leave a review; we really appreciate it.

Cruise drop in day :)

937beverleyb, Apr 2019

Jo showed us a GREAT time! Fun, informative, different, was knowledgeable, most helpful and obliging. MANY MANY thanks for making our short stay in Napier so fulfilling.

Excellent day

Eveyn_h, Dec 2018

Punctual, friendly and knowledgeable. We had a great day with Duncan from Napier Tours. Would recommend highly.

Würden wir wieder buchen

Ruedi_S, Mar 2023

Das war ein wunderschöner Tag. Fahrzeug Platz für 12 Personen, wir waren 6. Toller Guide und superschöne Landschaft! Vielen Dank.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thank you, Ruedi - we are very pleased you enjoyed the tour.