Rakiura Charters & Water Taxi
Rakiura Charters & Water Taxi
5
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
Cruise Stewart Island in affordable comfort & style! Offering tours and water taxi services to the Ulva Island bird sanctuary, Freshwater River, meet our stunning ocean birds such as Albatross and Yellow-Eyed Penguins up close and personal on a Pelagic Birding Tour, come dolphin and seal spotting, or explore the historic Norwegian Whaler's Base. Our tour vessel is equipped with bathroom, kitchenette, lounge-style seating and a heated cabin, this is cruising in style! Our brand new water taxi seats up to 19 passengers and also features a heated cabin, toilet and excellent viewing, designed especially to maximise your Stewart Island experience!
Stewart Island, New Zealand
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listingRakiura Charters & Water Taxi
Booking unavailable on Tripadvisor
Want other options you can book now?
Show optionsTravellers talk about
Contribute
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.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
5.0
141 reviews
Excellent
127
Very good
9
Average
1
Poor
2
Terrible
2
kiwigal51
Christchurch, New Zealand54 contributions
Nov 2022
With 6 great days on Stewart Island I and 2 friends were incredibly impressed and happy with the service we got from Rakiura charters....from the booking and planning expeditions to the experience itself, they were friendly, helpful and went out of their way to make it all work.
Matt the Captain on the boat really gives value for money, his eyes spot wildlife we would never have seen, then over you hoon for a closer look. HIs local and historical knowledge were amazing, it really made the past and the present on the island come alive, what a wealth of knowledge he's able to trot out.
we highly recommend Rakiura charters
Matt the Captain on the boat really gives value for money, his eyes spot wildlife we would never have seen, then over you hoon for a closer look. HIs local and historical knowledge were amazing, it really made the past and the present on the island come alive, what a wealth of knowledge he's able to trot out.
we highly recommend Rakiura charters
Written 7 December 2022
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 very much for your kind review; that's wonderful that you were able to experience some of our precious wildlife during your visit, thank you for the opportunity to provide these trips for you!
Written 30 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Andrew
New Zealand99 contributions
Jun 2021 • Friends
During our week on the island we met several of the staff and were very impressed by the friendly service.
Due to terrible weather conditions we cut our tramp short and thankfully could contact the office for a rescue, just on sunset.
Next day visited the office for help and enjoyed a long chat with staff.
Boat was brilliant and very capable skippered, lots of experience making for a relaxing trip with no worries.
Thanks to the team for going the extra mile, have a great season.
Due to terrible weather conditions we cut our tramp short and thankfully could contact the office for a rescue, just on sunset.
Next day visited the office for help and enjoyed a long chat with staff.
Boat was brilliant and very capable skippered, lots of experience making for a relaxing trip with no worries.
Thanks to the team for going the extra mile, have a great season.
Written 10 July 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.
CrunchWhakatane
54 contributions
Oct 2021
This was a fantastic day out, we booked the Paterson Inlet tour, which is a new tour for the company and we were on the inaugural trip! The communications when booking and prior to arriving were superb and all their helpful local knowledge. Their 'new' boat Paikea was spacious, comfortable, warm and with great outside viewing areas. We coasted in and around beautiful bays, historical spots, watched the stunning white-capped albatross, viewed penguins, herons, spoonbills and other birds. We saw and learned about the local aquaculture salmon and mussels. Matt (our captain and guide) was really informative and obviously passionate about the company and the area. We would highly recommend Rakiura Charters to anyone, for any of their tours and services.
Written 22 October 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.
Hi guys, thank you so much for your booking, and for taking the time to review our new tour! That first cruise was an awesome day, thank you for joining us! Best regards, Matt & Alina and the team.
Written 31 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jan R
Greymouth210 contributions
May 2022
Can't rate these guys highly enough. Matt in the office (owner too) was brilliant to deal with. Bright and bubbly and extremely helpful. We wanted to visit some history and had heard about the historic whalers base at Prices Point. Matt took our details and promised to let us know later once had made some phone calls. His expectation setting was brilliant ensuring we wouldn't have been too disappointed if couldn't beach at the bay and get out to explore the relics but our expectations were well exceeded. Our skipper was brilliant - so informative on all the history of the area but also taking the time to stop and let us photograph some nesting birds (Spoonbills - awesome sight in their own right!). He left us to the walk at our own pace and was waiting for us at Millers beach with some final history. It was a truly amazing trip. Coincided with my birthday and made it one of the best birthday memories to date. Thanks heaps to the two Matts - owner and skipper. Wonderful experience.
Written 1 June 2022
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, thank you so much for your kind review; it's wonderful to hear that you had a great birthday and that we were able to get you to some special spots, those Spoonbills truly are beautiful! Happy travels, Alina and the team
Written 31 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Streefland
Auckland Central, New Zealand16 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
We stayed on Rakiura’s MV Waitangi . This was a unique experience which we thoroughly enjoyed . Rakiura was a very responsive host who was there to taxi us too and from Stewart Island and ensured we had a delicious breakfast each morning at his mother’s cafe . We were recommended by Rakiura to take the best experiences around the Island . The bedding on the Waitangi was very comfortable with a beautiful goose down duvet and high quality thread cotton .We chose to have plenty of time on the boat in the evening watching the sunset and sea life with a glass of wine and a cheese platter . The weather was perfect 😍
Written 12 April 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.
Hi there, while we're glad you enjoyed your experience on Rakiura, I'm afraid you have left your review with the wrong company. I have tried to have the TripAdvisor help team remove it from our page, however they have failed to do so. Would you kindly remove your review from our page, thank you
Written 31 August 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
IanfromRAK
Wanaka, New Zealand193 contributions
Sept 2020 • Friends
We rang Rakiura Water Taxi when it was obvious the Ulva Island Ferry was not running - though how you were supposed to know that is beyond me! Turned up at wharf almost immediately after phone call - well organised with face masks & social distancing etc. very comfortable boat & knowledgeable skipper. Very good service.
Written 10 September 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.
C4nt3rbury
Christchurch, New Zealand41 contributions
Sept 2021 • Couples
Used this water taxi to go to and return from Ulva Island. Excellent service, it is a 10 minute boat ride on a comfortable modern boat to the island from Golden Bay. Golden Bay is only a 10min walk from the township. They are very accommodating and travel on demand..Super efficient!!
Written 23 September 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.
Hi, thank you very much for your kind review!
Written 31 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Starfish
5 contributions
Feb 2024 • Couples
We used Raikura Charters on two occasions for our recent trip to Stewart Island.
One trip was as a drop off to Port William for a day walk back on the track. Dave was on time to pick us up and shared a few tips about our day walk and the next days trip to Ulva Island.
The other trip was to Ulva Island for a freedom walk around the predator free island. Again the water taxi was on time both for pick up and drop off, included a safety briefing for the larger group. The journey bs j was a bit rougher but our skipper Craig was highly experienced.
The team in the office handled my prebooking on the phone and via email efficiently. They also changed a departure time with no fuss.
Highly recommend.
One trip was as a drop off to Port William for a day walk back on the track. Dave was on time to pick us up and shared a few tips about our day walk and the next days trip to Ulva Island.
The other trip was to Ulva Island for a freedom walk around the predator free island. Again the water taxi was on time both for pick up and drop off, included a safety briefing for the larger group. The journey bs j was a bit rougher but our skipper Craig was highly experienced.
The team in the office handled my prebooking on the phone and via email efficiently. They also changed a departure time with no fuss.
Highly recommend.
Written 10 February 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.
Hi Karen, it sounds like you had time to enjoy two of Rakiura's highlights during your visit, we're very pleased you chose to use us, and thank you for your review, we'll pass on your kind words to our superstar skipper Craig :) happy travels
Written 31 August 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Marion Gilbertson
7 contributions
Mar 2022
Rakiura charters is a jet boat service operating out of Golden bay on Rakiura. We used them to get to Freshwater landing to start our walk over to Mason bay. We also got them to pick us up at the same place 3 days later. They are efficient and easy to deal with. As the service is tide dependent ( the jet boat can only cross the river bar at high tide) the time of the drop off and pick up to Freshwater changes, depending on the tide. They explained this clearly to us and were professional and safety conscious throughout the booking process and trip.
On the way up Paterson inlet the operator pointed out places of interest, showed us marine life and generally gave an excellent commentary.
I would have no hesitation in recommending this charter service.
On the way up Paterson inlet the operator pointed out places of interest, showed us marine life and generally gave an excellent commentary.
I would have no hesitation in recommending this charter service.
Written 7 April 2022
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, thank you very much for your kind review and for your bookings with us, Mason Bay is truly a special spot and we hope you enjoyed your trip!
Written 31 January 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sarah R.
San Juan Island, WA175 contributions
Apr 2021 • Couples
Gorgeous, one of the coolest things I’ve done boating down that river! The weather was perfect, captain Ryan was awesome, the water was flat, the boat was super flash and comfortable, and we even saw a yellow eyed penguin in the inlet. I was super happy and had a fabulous time. My only wonder is if the wake the boat throws off in the marsh is okay for the wildlife/shoreline plants?
Written 31 May 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.
We are a group of 14 we want to go to Ulva Island and have a guided bird tour. Can you do that? March 13-17
Written 14 February 2019
Hi we are going to be visiting Stewart Island on 14 and 15th July, are your water taxis going to Ulva Island, how often and how much?
Thank you Rochele
Written 9 July 2018
Do they fish for anything other than Blue Cod in Stewart Island??
Written 9 May 2017
Showing results 1-3 of 3