Amazing 1/2 day tour with Nic and Bluebell. Nic’s driving into the cave and through the rock was awesome and the smaller boat enabled us to see this up close. We were lucky enough to have the most wonderful dolphin pod who hung out around the boat for such a long time, walked to the top of the island for outstanding views and then off to see fur seals, local birds and a bit of snorkelling. Nic and Bluebell made the trip excellent with their friendly smiles and they made sure everyone had a great time.

Such a wonderful trip stopping at two islands with a walk to a scenic lookout and swim or snorkel on the second island. We were very lucky and blessed to see false killer whales, dolphins and a manta ray, on our way to the hole in the rock. Such a great, friendly, and informative crew, can highly recommend this trip.

The best trip great skipper and the girls were very very nice 👍 very tidy boat and commentary on the whole trip and lunch was beautiful

Excellent tour guide and staff was very nice Tour was excellent a lot of history Customer service also changed our date as it was going to be bad whether the day I booked it for which was very nice of them to do

An excellent cruise. Skipper Nick is a brilliant captain, and crew people JT and Blue Bell were so courteous and professional it made the day a fantastic experience. Definitely a must do. Btw we saw other boats out there that looked over crowded. Our boat was the perfect size. Thanks guys😁

A really great trip, we had a lovely day and learnt lots. Got to see some amazing views, fish and seals! Cas and Zac were super friendly and helpful!! Thank you

Island Gateaway Tours surprised me by contacting me weeks ahead of my tour date via both Whatsapp and e-mail, keeping me informed of any possible changes to the tour schedule due to any delays reported by my cruise line. They also were very responsive to any questions that I replied back with. Most other tour companies would never spend that much time or staffing to make guests feel comfortable and supported. The boat/cruise tour itself was excellent. They had several cruises setting off from the same pier at Paiha that day, but the staff was organized and checked in each guest and assigned them to their correct boat quickly. The highlights were definitely Motuarohia/Roberton Island with its Twin Lagoons Bay (you must be in good physical condition to make the arduous 15-minute hike up to the look-out on top, regardless of how easy the young captain makes it sound; otherwise, the beach itself is very scenic to spend time at) and Motukokako/Piercy Island with its famous Hole In The Rock sea arch (the captain safely checked the waves before guiding the ship through it). Absolutely beautiful scenery at both places! The second half of the tour was a lunch/rest stop at a rocky beach. The tour provides snorkeling equipment but other guests I talked to didn't recommend the murky water. Alternatively, there were walking trails to the Urupukapuka viewpoint, although my travel partner preferred to eat lunch instead. The Bay of Islands area is quite idyllic, with crystal light blue waters, similar to parts of the Caribbean. A true gem in New Zealand.

Superb trip to the Hole in the Rock with 2 island stopovers. The crew were fabulous- Cooper, Renate and the Captain were so informative and attentive to all on board. The Captain gave us so much information about where we were and he pointed out wildlife including dolphins, brown fur seals and little blue penguins. This is a must-do and we totally recommend booking with Island Getaway! Thank you all so much for such a memorable and special day.

Cas JT and Jack were our guides. Very informative, well paced day, great weather and beautiful islands, swam with a manta ray!

Cass and Skipper Zack were very friendly and informative, great cruise, highly recommended!. We even saw seals, one of which put on a show for us!

The cruise and the crew were fantastic! It was very enjoyable and we highly recommend it. Even had a pod of dolphins swim with the boat.

We joined at Russel. The boat was already busy with no seating on top deck but we still enjoyed the freedom to wander on the bottom deck for best views and photos. The Skipper's short briefs on the different islands and the local history were informative and fun. We stopped and got off at 2 lovely islands with opportunity to stretch our legs, swim and eat. We got our own lunch from a bakers in Russel before departure and we were glad we did - more choice and able to eat and drink when it suited us. So take water as a minimum. We had a great time and would recommend it.

Beautiful scenery! We went right through the Hole in the Rock! The crew was very friendly. The captain was flexible in adjusting for the weather conditions. We were so glad we did this excursion when we saw other boats that were completely packed with people.

Awesome afternoon. Skipper Zac and guide Blue were great and very knowledgeable. We made it to the Hole in the rock but too rough to go through. Stopped at 2 islands and saw some seals on bird island. We didn't see any dolphins but did see a flying fish. Wonderful would recommend 😁

In the morning 🌄 on 04/02/2025, we went on a 4.5 hours cruise 🛳 in the Pacific ocean from Paihia. It was a scenic journey with cool breeze blowing across the sea 🌊. We saw common dolphins 🐬 & the popular hole in the rock. We had an hour long stoppage at the beautiful Urupukapuka island 🏝 where we had our breakfast & I had my beer 🍺. The almost turquoise water at the island brought back the memories of Maldives. The calm, peaceful, serene, island made me recall an island in Pattaya, where similar water-sports activities took place but the beach ⛱️ was terribly noisy & overcrowded.