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Hamilton Tours
Cafe River Cruise through Hamilton City with Lunch
4

Cafe River Cruise through Hamilton City with Lunch

By Waikato River Explorer
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Enjoy a relaxing cruise through the city of Hamilton passing alongside some of the most exclusive real estate in the region and underneath the city's tall bridges. Our on-board commentary tells the story of Hamilton and points out some of the city's landmarks. A Lunch Combo is included from our fully-licensed Cafe.

Ages 0-99, max of 10 per group
Duration: 1h 20m
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket


  • Live commentary on board
  • Local taxes
  • Lunch Combo (Main, Desert & Tea or Coffee)
  • TripAdvisor Experiences brokerage fee
  • Coffee and/or Tea
  • GST (Goods and Services Tax)
  • Lunch
What's not included
  • Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
  • Gratuities


Start:
  • Beamsville, Beamsville, Lincoln, Ontario
Pickup details
  • Location Name: The River Ferry Terminal @ Hamilton Gardens Location Address: Hungerford Crescent, Hamilton East, Hamilton 3200 Directions: Adjacent to the Gate 1 Carpark.
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point.

    • Infants must sit on laps
    • Wheelchair accessible
    If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 7864P6

    • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
    • Children must be accompanied by an adult
    • Minimum drinking age is 18 years
    • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 10 travellers

    • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

    If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 7864P6

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    This product is unavailable to book via Tripadvisor.
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    About the operator
    Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
    • Waikato River Explorer
      181
      Hamilton, New Zealand
      Joined in June 2013
    • Auckland2023
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Sad
      Sadly closed for good ... These guys did an amazing job for a decade fighting local bureaucracy, vandals and the challenges of operating on a hydro river.
      Written 20 January 2023
    • Tai L
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      A very nice river explorer
      The landscape is so nice and also the foods. There is also a guide along and introduced the history of bridges and some of them were a surprise to me
      Written 27 April 2022
    • Enjoyingawine
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Just do it!
      Relaxing, informative, friendly staff, lunch food quality was really good - we would recommend this cruise and want to do it again in a different direction on the river.
      Written 2 April 2022
    • paulabH8200KI
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Lovely afternoon out
      Really lovely cruise, service above and beyond and good value for money. Enjoyed the views and drinks
      Written 17 February 2022
    • mooloonz
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Waikato river cruise
      The crew on board were really friendly and helpfull. Great service and look forward to cruising with them again in the future.
      Written 15 August 2021
    • dm-sd-mcfarland
      0 contributions
      4.0 of 5 bubbles
      An enjoyable start to an autumn evening.
      We had a very relaxing and pleasant time on the dinner cruise; from the beginning the staff made us feel welcomed and special. The meals were very flavoursome, filling, and had a good-size servings of vegetables and potatoes to class it as a real dinner (not simply a meat course with a few token bits of veg & potato masquerading as a garden sculpture). The staff were always cheerful and worked to ensure we enjoyed ourselves and received best value for money. It was one of the best dining-out experiences we've had in recent years. (If you aren't gifted a voucher, I suggest that you book online for best value.)
      Written 24 April 2021
    • Newsfeed01
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Recommended
      Absolutely loved the entire experience. What an amazing idea ... a floating Café that doubles as a River Cruise. Very busy on the day we cruised from the new City Jetty but the crew coped admirably. Great food despite having such a small Galley space and entertaining commentary from the Skipper who gave us plenty of time to chat amongst ourselves during the trip.
      Written 14 April 2021
    • 368elainah
      0 contributions
      1.0 of 5 bubbles
      Bad
      Very few menu options as half sold out. Very rude person in cafe. Was not told how this works went up to pay got told that they would come to us in a very rude manner was so upset that wanted to get off and go home. Was meant to be a nice anniversary gift but made to feel embarrassed and felt stupid. Apart from that the views were amazing.
      Written 2 April 2021
    • 792rebeccaj
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Wonderful!
      A floating cafe river cruise! Entertainment from the Skippers commentary, delicious cafe food onboard and lots of stuff to look at. Would recommend.
      Written 19 March 2021
    • AlexDeLuz
      0 contributions
      3.0 of 5 bubbles
      Great Trip But........
      The trip was amazing the atmosphere was inviting and the seating was comfortable. A trip down the mighty Waikato River is something that I will forever cherish. However; the skipper of the vessel has a voice that greats on you and interrupts pleasant and polite conversation. He references points of New Zealand history filled with pro colonialist ideals and completely disregards the cultural sensitivity of the indigenous people. We enjoyed a 90 minute cruise up & down the river; we had to wait 70 minutes for our food to be served after we ordered it. This was as a result of understaffing as the young leaders who served us tried to do their very best!
      Written 6 January 2021
    • Margaret R
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      It was a great outing
      Loved the crew, very help and very friendly and obliging. I do think that they could possibly invest in a 'two cup' coffee machine... took a while to get our coffee, in fact we were almost back to base by the time we got our coffee. But having said that the coffee was really good.
      Written 2 July 2020
    • Bonnie H
      0 contributions
      3.0 of 5 bubbles
      Let's tell the real story
      We finished a great weekend in Hamilton with the cruise from the Gardens. It was okay but a bit underwhelming. The service on board however was great - very attentive and a happy crew. We were disappointed with the commentary about the city that began with the establishment of the city by the English settlers completely ignoring the tangata whenua's long history in the area and the confiscation of their land for the new arrivals. The full history of the area is told really well in many other places around the city so we were sad that the River Cruise management didn't bother to tell a more complete story of the river.
      Written 11 June 2020
    • Kiwis_that_fly
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      2 Hour River Cruise with Lunch
      We enjoyed a lovely cruise on the Waikato River, taking in all the city sights. The staff were so welcoming, and very informative. We had a lovely Cafe style lunch, along with wine and beer, then afterwards to finish coffee and cake. A great afternoon out.
      Written 10 June 2020
    • Kerrfamily81
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      One Hour Cafe Cruise
      Great crew and very informative. Lovely cafe style food. Was a beautiful autumn day and awesome scenery.
      Written 23 May 2020
    • snowmaid2018
      0 contributions
      4.0 of 5 bubbles
      River trip to Hamilton gardens
      We went to Hamilton gardens on the river cruise, my daughter and I enjoyed a leisurely relaxing trip on the river to see the festival at Hamilton gardens. The captain was very informative we learned lots about the history of the river and how it was used in earlier times.The Hamilton gardens are amazing and well worth spending time there.
      Written 27 February 2020
    See all 181 reviews
    These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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    4.0
    4.0 of 5 bubbles2 reviews
    Excellent
    1
    Very good
    0
    Average
    1
    Poor
    0
    Terrible
    0

    Kiwis_that_fly
    Cairns, Australia76 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Jun 2020
    We brought a 2 hour River Cruise before COVID, and today spent a lovely, relaxing time viewing the sights on the mighty Waikato. The staff were so welcoming, and very informative. Lunch was Cafe style food, amazing how such lovely food could come out of that small kitchen.
    Support this wonderful business, you won’t be disappointed!
    Written 7 June 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Thanks so much for the amazing review. So glad you finally got to see our amazing river.
    Written 8 June 2020
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

    Tasha H
    1 contribution
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Oct 2020 • Family
    Nice cruise but very disappointed especially after booking online and after we had departed we were then told there was no food available to order off the lunch menu which we were given. We had deliberately held off getting lunch prior to cruise so we could get lunch on the boat. We had 2 children who were very hungry and only crisps were the only thing available. I think we should have been given the option of continuing before we set off or at least been offered a free drink or some compensation, as you are advertised as a Cafe River Cruise with Lunch
    Written 26 October 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
    Hi there, I am glad you enjoyed the cruise. My apologies for the lack of menu choices. We are always looking to improve what we do and welcome feedback however like any Cafe in town, there are some menu items no longer available if you book the later 2pm cruise as managing provisions is challenging given that different menu items are more popular on different days. We are however looking to improve choices and will have an improved menu available from 31.10.20. One slight correction. The 'Cafe Cruise with Lunch' was a Tripadvisor special we offered two years ago .. not sure how you found it but not part of our current marketing. It even features a boat that we don't run any more.
    Written 2 November 2020
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    *Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.

    Cafe River Cruise through Hamilton City with Lunch provided by Waikato River Explorer

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