Day Trips
5–6 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 94% of travellers
94% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$225
per adult
Bay Of Islands Tours
Bay Of Islands Tours
5
Sightseeing ToursPrivate ToursNature & Wildlife ToursWine Tours & Tastings Day Trips
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Full view
About
We are a locally owned an operated tour company in the Bay Of Islands. We specialise in full or half day personalised private tours. We can put together your perfect day in the Bay Of Islands ensuring that you see all the highlights plus a few personal favourites from your local guides. We also have a list of set tours that you can choose from. Should you be travelling on a cruise ship - get in touch prior to your departure and we can organise your day trip. We guarantee to get you back to the ship on time! Get in touch with us today!
Tours and Tickets by Bay Of Islands Tours
Eco Tours
2–3 hours
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
from
$155
per adult
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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5.0
113 reviews
Excellent
101
Very good
8
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Saturn Fegi
3 contributions
Jan 2021 • Solo
Since I can’t go out of NZ due to covid19 pandemic I spent my holidays doing the North Island trip. The last leg was trip to Far North and I’m glad I did the Bay of Island Tours to Cape Reinga. I learned a lot about NZ history and trivia about the towns we passed through along the way.
The staff were very responsive when you call and hats off to our tour guide/driver Paul for being so informative, professional and being warm. He made sure everyone were comfortable.
This trip is highly recommended 😊
The staff were very responsive when you call and hats off to our tour guide/driver Paul for being so informative, professional and being warm. He made sure everyone were comfortable.
This trip is highly recommended 😊
Written 9 January 2021
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.
trharper
Arnold, MD24 contributions
Mar 2024 • Friends
Rob was an excellent driver and guide from Bay of Islands Tours for our ~5 hr small group (~25) tour of the Bay of Islands, including the Kawiti Glow Worm Cave, Kauri Wood Workshop, Makana Chocolate Factory, Haruru Waterfalls, and the Puketi Rain Forest. The Glow Worm cave was the best stop including about a 45 minutes guided tour in the beautiful and fascinating cave. The ceiling of the cave was illuminated like the Milky Way by thousands of bioluminescent glow worms. The chocolate factory included a variety of chocolates and macadamia nuts for free tastings. The woodworking gift shop featured exquisite items made there. And the rain forest featured beautiful ferns and incredible monstrous trees. Overall an excellent tour of the local area highlights.
Written 6 March 2024
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.
Michael T
Auckland, New Zealand60 contributions
Dec 2020
We did the wine trail tour with Matt as our host and driver. A wonderful experience! Started at Marsden winery, went on to The Fat Pig and Ake Ake vineyards and finished at the Makana Chocolate factory. We were made welcome at each place and there was no coersion to buy. There was an excellent selection and variety of wines to taste. We thoroughly recommend this tour as real value for money.
Written 23 December 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.
Patrick K
Auckland, New Zealand49 contributions
Oct 2020 • Couples
Excellent tour with Matt. He has a great sense of humour and very knowledgeable of the area. Picked us up on time despite the fact I gave wrong address. Comfortable transport. If you are in the area and want a tour would recommend using this company.
Written 4 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.
MountMJo
Mount Maunganui44 contributions
Apr 2021 • Family
We really enjoyed our trip to Cape Reinga with Matt. We had the van to ourselves. Lots of fun on the sand dunes (could have spent longer here) and visiting 90 mile beach as well as the time at Cape Reinga. Nice not to have to do all the driving and to get the commentary on the way. Good to support a smaller family business too. Recommended.
Written 28 April 2021
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.
Wendy R
Guelph, Canada88 contributions
Apr 2023 • Friends
Just a review of the Bay of Islands Tours Ltd. We were on a cruise ship that was to stop at the Bay of Islands and the Cruise ship couldn't make it into port. Contacted the Tour company and they reimbursed us for the trip even though it wasn't 48 hours notice. Cheers to their company.
Written 11 May 2023
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.
Thank you for your review on our refund policy. We greatly appreciate your time and consideration.
Kindest regards,
Chloe
Written 19 October 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
jandc8491
Wilmington, DE1,242 contributions
Mar 2020
My wife and I were on an organized tour of New Zealand. This Bay of Islands Highlights tour was one of our included activities that we could choose in Paihia. We got to see and experience a lot during our 5-hour bus tour. Our van drive Dyson was informative and entertaining. The van included both people from our tour and people from a cruise ship in port. My only complaint is that the back row of the 16-passenger van was too cramped with 4 people in it.
Rather than drive hours to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves when we were in Rotorua later on our organized tour, we got to visit the nearby Kawiti Glow Worm Cave here and experience the glowing "worms" (actually maggots). The van stopped at the Puketi Kauri forest and we got to do a self-guided tour. My tour guide had told us that we would do wine tasting on this tour, but Dyson wasn't aware of that. However, he was able to add a visit and tasting at the Ake Ake Winery; several in our group purchased wine to take with us. I liked the winery and what they were serving. We stopped in Kerikeri for lunch (on our own).
We also visited the Makana Chocolate Factory (tasty samples), The Kauri (Wood) Workshop, the Haruru Waterfalls, and we stopped at a golf course with a view of Bay of Islands. It was an enjoyable trip.
Rather than drive hours to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves when we were in Rotorua later on our organized tour, we got to visit the nearby Kawiti Glow Worm Cave here and experience the glowing "worms" (actually maggots). The van stopped at the Puketi Kauri forest and we got to do a self-guided tour. My tour guide had told us that we would do wine tasting on this tour, but Dyson wasn't aware of that. However, he was able to add a visit and tasting at the Ake Ake Winery; several in our group purchased wine to take with us. I liked the winery and what they were serving. We stopped in Kerikeri for lunch (on our own).
We also visited the Makana Chocolate Factory (tasty samples), The Kauri (Wood) Workshop, the Haruru Waterfalls, and we stopped at a golf course with a view of Bay of Islands. It was an enjoyable trip.
Written 1 April 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.
dleighb
Texas77 contributions
Dec 2019
We had a great time on our tour with our guide, Nick who was introduced to us as “the second best tour guide in the area”. If that was the case, then the first best better look out because he’s going to lose his spot to Nick soon! He was fantastic. While I was disappointed that we couldn’t take pictures in the glow worm caves, one must honor the cave owners’ request, and while we have no pictorial memories, it was very cool to stand in the dark and let your eyes adjust to the faint light from the glow worms. The stop at the bakery/café was a tad interesting. Their meat pies were good, but clean cups, silverware, and napkins were hard to come by. While being allergic to nuts, I didn’t get to try anything at the chocolate factory. We did hit gelato place next door and on Nick’s recommendation tried the salted caramel gelato which was indeed very good. We also bought some wood Christmas ornaments from the wood store and Nick and our group was very patient with how long it took us to check out. Nick provided lots of fun and interesting facts from everything about the kauri trees to why New Zealand meat pies are better than Australian meat pies to the story behind the most northern traffic light in New Zealand. Once home, I tracked our journey on a map and show that we made a decent circle around the area hitting a lot of attractions in just a few hours.
Written 3 January 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.
Thank you for your detailed review! We really appreciate you taking the time to do that.
We are glad to hear Nick took great care of you as usual and you enjoyed your day out with us!
Thanks again,
Chloe
Written 12 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ruth M
Jacksonville Beach, FL14 contributions
Nov 2019
We had a good day and got to see the Glow Worm Caves. Please note that you cannot take any pictures inside the caves. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was surprised to find that the glow worms, which are very tiny, are essentially like glowing dots of green on the ceiling of the caves. We had a good local guide who explained everything to us. It is dark and cool inside the caves. The walls are made of limestone and there are many stalagmites and stalactites. Cruise passengers get a slightly abbreviated tour of the cave area due to time constraints. We visited in the morning, only to find that the worms glow more brightly later in the day.
We also visited a redwood tree forest, but didn't have time for the 45-minutes tour that involves climbing a ladder up into the trees and walking along swinging bridges. We just had 20 minutes at that stop so you just wander around a bit and admire the tall, reddish trees in a cool forest. We also saw Haruru Falls. Very pretty--not too large. You enter at the top of the falls, rather than below.
We had a lunch stop (it was okay) and then visited a chocolate shop. They gave out very small samples, but most had nuts. My husband can't eat nuts, so he didn't get much to taste. Prices for the chocolates are high. We then went next door to a shop that sells beautiful wooden pieces, but those prices were even higher. No bargains here, but really pretty merchandise.
We had a photo stop on the way back to the ship with a view of the lovely hillside and New Zealand's version of a Christmas tree, with red blooms that only flower for a few weeks before Christmas. As an American from the Northeast, it's hard to get used to the idea of Christmas in summertime with such warm weather. There's no dreaming of a white Christmas in this part of the world. The flowers and fresh fruits were a nice addition, though.
We also visited a redwood tree forest, but didn't have time for the 45-minutes tour that involves climbing a ladder up into the trees and walking along swinging bridges. We just had 20 minutes at that stop so you just wander around a bit and admire the tall, reddish trees in a cool forest. We also saw Haruru Falls. Very pretty--not too large. You enter at the top of the falls, rather than below.
We had a lunch stop (it was okay) and then visited a chocolate shop. They gave out very small samples, but most had nuts. My husband can't eat nuts, so he didn't get much to taste. Prices for the chocolates are high. We then went next door to a shop that sells beautiful wooden pieces, but those prices were even higher. No bargains here, but really pretty merchandise.
We had a photo stop on the way back to the ship with a view of the lovely hillside and New Zealand's version of a Christmas tree, with red blooms that only flower for a few weeks before Christmas. As an American from the Northeast, it's hard to get used to the idea of Christmas in summertime with such warm weather. There's no dreaming of a white Christmas in this part of the world. The flowers and fresh fruits were a nice addition, though.
Written 12 December 2019
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.
Thank you for your positive review. We are so glad you had an enjoyable day on tour with us.
You may have confused the redwood forest with the Tauranga/Rotorua port tour. Our tour is through the Kauri forest (Native to NZ) where there are no swinging bride constructions anywhere in our region. It is the most dense forest of the Kauri Trees still standing in NZ and quite spectacular to see some 1200 year old native trees!
I agree, it must be strange experiencing summer so close to Christmas! BBQ's on the beach is a typical NZ Christmas day!
Have a wonderful Christmas and thank you for travelling with us! :)
Kindest regards,
Chloe
Written 14 December 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
7Travelingtheworld--
Atlanta, GA20 contributions
Nov 2019
All of our tours were wonderful on this cruise, but this was one of our favorites. Our guide Nick was excellent! Knowlegeable, friendly, funny, and so many interesting stories to share.
I was amazed at all the sites we were able to visit on this tour (and never felt rushed at all): the unique Kawiti Glow Worm Caves, the Hundertwasser Toilets, Puketi Kauri Forest, a wine tasting, Haruru Falls, and lastly, a scenic overlook of the harbour. The food at our lunch spot was delicious and inexpensive; we had the meat pies recommended by Nick. And dessert of course.
I would highly recommend this tour company if you are visiting the Bay of Islands.
I was amazed at all the sites we were able to visit on this tour (and never felt rushed at all): the unique Kawiti Glow Worm Caves, the Hundertwasser Toilets, Puketi Kauri Forest, a wine tasting, Haruru Falls, and lastly, a scenic overlook of the harbour. The food at our lunch spot was delicious and inexpensive; we had the meat pies recommended by Nick. And dessert of course.
I would highly recommend this tour company if you are visiting the Bay of Islands.
Written 17 November 2019
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.
Thank you so much for taking the time to review your excursion with us. We are always so pleased to hear we could make your time in the Bay Of Islands so memorable.
I will pass your review onto Nick.
We hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday!
Kindest regards,
Chloe
Written 18 November 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hello, we are cruising to Nz in March. Will be in paihia 27th March. Do you have anything available?
Written 19 January 2024
We'd like to sign up for this 5 1/2 hr. tour. How much time will it take to get to the first stop? Then, how much time will it take from the last stop to the port?
Written 21 December 2019
Hi there and thank you for your question.
It is a 30 minute drive to the first stop of the day (Glow worm caves) then there are several stops on the way home towards the port. The waterfalls are a 5 minute drive from the port :)
I hope this helps.
Thank you!
Chloe
Written 27 December 2019
Jeannette S
Leumeah, Australia
Will be in Bay of islands on the 7th feb 2017 RH cruise Ovation of the seas, . Would like to see as much as possible including the Glow worm caves, cheese ,wine & chocolate tasting, waterfall if possible . Four adults what price , happy for a full day tour.
Thanks
Jeannette
Written 18 December 2017
Hi Jeanette,
Thank you for your message!
We would love to have you on board for the day with us on the 7th Feb next year!
We currently have 6 seats left on our "Cruise Shore Tour" which is a 5 hour tour designed specifically for cruise ship passengers visiting the following destinations;
Kawiti Glow Worm Caves
Hundertwasser Toilets
Puketi Forest
Makana Chocolate Factory
Kauri Work Shop
Haruru Waterfalls
Waitangi look out
You can find us at bayofislands.tours
Or you can message me directly at info@bayofislands.tours
Please let me know if there is any further information that you would like.
Kindest regards,
Chloe
Written 19 December 2017
carazz3692
Melton South, Australia
Hi we will be staying in Paihia in September 2017 (2 adults). I would like to know if there are tours to Hobbiton and the glow caves leaving from Paihia. If yes, can you please tell me how long it takes to get there and some description of the tour and the cost?
Written 28 May 2017
Hi and thanks for your enquiry.
Unfortunately Hobbiton is a 6 hour drive south of Paihia so we do not run tours that far. However Paihia does have its own Glow worm caves 20 minutes drive away that we run tours to frequently. Email me at info@bayofislands.tours if you would like further details.
P.s you would be better staying in Rotorua when you decide to do your trip to Hobbiton. :)
Kindest regards,
Chloe
Written 29 May 2017
Hi, We will be arriving by RC cruise on January 18, probably 7-10 people what tour do you recommend, we would like to see as much as possible and will book soon, thanks for any suggestions. Beverly McIntosh
Written 25 May 2017
Hi Beverly,
Thank you for your message!
I can highly recommend our "Cruise shore tour"
This tour is custom made for cruise ship passengers. It allows you to see all the highlights of the bay of islands in the short amount of time you may have on shore. Please email me at info@bayofislands.tours and we can get this booked in for you.
Kindest regards,
Chloe
Written 25 May 2017
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