Get up close to wild dolphins in their natural habitat during a 5-hour dolphin cruise from Tauranga. You can watch from the boat or interact with these playful marine mammals as you swim and snorkel alongside them in the water. Hear informative live commentary and enjoy hot drinks and muffins on board. Tour operates during summer months from November to May.

5-hour dolphin cruise in Tauranga
Swim and snorkel with wild dolphins
Hear live commentary from a professional guide on board
Enjoy hot beverages, fruit and muffins
Snorkeling gear and wetsuit provided

What's Included

Sightseeing dolphin cruise
Beverages, Tea, Coffee
Live commentary on board
Professional guide
Use of Snorkeling equipment

T-shirts available to purchase

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Dolphin Seafaris NZ
Harbour Bridge Causeway, Tauranga Bridge Marina State Highway 2, Mount Maunganui 3110, New Zealand
We meet at Tauranga Bridge Marina where there is plenty of free all day parking. Our boat is berthed on D1 just outside the restaurant.

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
All trips are subject to weather and minimum booking numbers.
Trips operate with a 48 hour non refundable cancellation.
Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Children must be over 7 to swim with dolphins and be confident swimmers in the ocean.

Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Not recommended for travellers with mobility constraints
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 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

Featured review

Shayna_M

We had an amazing trip! Saw penguins, a hammerhead shark, and dolphins. The crew was knowledgeable and so welcoming. Can’t say enough good things about the crew they were almost as good as the dolphins! We highly recommend this trip. It was the highlight of our holiday.

Reviews

4.5

162 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-9 of 162 reviews

Dolphins

TeresaPalmerVisser, Feb 2023

The captain and crew had good stories and history of the area. They worked hard to find a wild pod for us to see.

Highlight of our Holiday

Shayna_M, Feb 2023

Great dolphins experience

Claudia_G, Mar 2020

Great experience, awesome crew, it was one of my best tours ever!!! I enjoyed the trip, the dolphin watching, best were the baby’s with their mother!

Response from Host, Mar 2020

Kia ora Claudia, Thank you so much for your wonderful review. Aren't the babies with their mother's just the cutest. We hope you are staying safe and healthy in these uncertain times and hope to see you back out with us in the future. Ngā mihi nui, The Dolphin Seafaris Team

Frustrating

Vera, Mar 2020

Unfortunately didn't find any dolphins. The crew members were very nice and generous to us . But I especially came to Tauranga hoping for this experience knowing I won't come to N.Z again.I was disappointed.

Response from Host, Mar 2020

Kia or Vera, Thank you for coming out with us and for taking the time to give us a review. We do apologies for the lack of dolphins on the day of your tour, this certainly does not happen often and it certainly is frustrating for us all when it does happen. As our skipper says, we hope you never give up on your dream of swimming with wild dolphins, the harder the quest is the more gratifying it will be when it finally does happen. With everything happening in the world at the moment, please stay safe and healthy. Ngā mihi nui, The Dolphin Seafaris Team

Watching a pod of dolphins

charlotte_n, Feb 2020

The crew are lovely and very reassuring, and they know a lot about the beautiful dolphins that you swim with. Also watching a pod of dolphins play beside the boat in there own habitat.

Response from Host, Feb 2020

Thank you Charlotte for your wonderful review. It was a pleasure to have you on the boat, and good on you for getting in the water for a swim with the dolphins last week. We hope you had a safe flight back home to the UK. Kindest, The Dolphin Seafaris Team

Too bad, no dolphins!

MaaikeHoutappels, Dec 2019

We were very excited to swim with dolphins en we were looking forward. Too bad, we saw only 3, a couple op blue pinguïns and a lot of birds. The boattrip was nice, the wheater was not that well and some people tot sick. But the crew was enthousiast and friendly, they had a lot of knowledge and they weer veel dissapointed as well. We received a voucher to come again. Maybe we will!

Response from Host, Dec 2019

Thank you for taking the time to write us a review Maaike. It was a pleasure to have you on the boat with us although it was a bit of a disappointing day as far as the dolphins were concerned. Weather and dolphins is somethings we cannot control, we love having enthusiastic passengers like yourself onboard and we really hope you will come back out with us again. Wishing you and your sweet family a wonderful holiday season from the Dolphin Seafaris Team.

Wonderful experience. The crew were...

Catherine F F P, Dec 2017

Wonderful experience. The crew were helpful, friendly, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Coffee and snacks were great but the stars of the show were the dolphins. We felt really privileged to have been able to not only observe them in their natural habitat but to engage with them as well. Couldn't have been a better day.

This trip was absolutely amazing...

Katrina I, Dec 2016

This trip was absolutely amazing! The crew was beyond fantastic and helpful from start to finish! I was lucky enough to get in the water three times, but there was no comparison to the first time in the water. Dolphins were everywhere and it was an absolutely unforgettable experience!

Superb. The weather was perfect and...

Kevin C, Apr 2016

Superb. The weather was perfect and there were lots of dolphins. The crew were brilliant and we got into the water with the dolphins. A fantastic day.