Swimming with Dolphins Akaroa
4.3 60 reviews
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Save 10% with promo code RANKERS
Hector's dolphins are proper little characters. The world's smallest oceanic dolphin, and Akaroa Harbour is one of the best spots on the planet to get in the water with them. Groups are capped at 12 swimmers, which keeps it intimate. Use promo code RANKERS to save 10%, which takes a bit of the sting out of a trip that does sit at the pricier end.
A few things worth knowing before you go. The water is cold, even in summer, hovering around 14 degrees. Wetsuits are provided, and most people say once the dolphins show up they forget all about it. The morning tour is the pick, as your chances of finding dolphins are generally better earlier in the day. Hot chocolate on board afterwards is a nice touch too.
The dolphins don't always play ball, and a handful of reviewers found them a bit shy on the day. To their credit, Black Cat have a solid reputation for handing out refunds when the swim doesn't come off properly. So there's some comfort in that. Worth it when it all clicks.
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Swimming with Dolphins Akaroa
Swim in a sheltered harbour with the rare and friendly Hector's Dolphin, just 90 minutes from Christchurch in picturesque Akaroa, a quaint French inspired sea-side village.
With Black Cat Cruises you will enjoy a once in a lifetime experience, supported by experienced local crew with world class facilities. Our experience and dedication to our local environment delivers a New Zealand must do activity here in Akaroa.
It’s the ultimate dolphin experience as you will be swimming with the endangered Hector’s Dolphin, the world’s rarest and smallest oceanic dolphin.
Hector’s dolphins are protected in Akaroa Harbour by a marine mammal sanctuary and our dolphin cruise gives you the chance to see and swim with these beautiful marine mammals close up in the wild in their natural habitat.
Hector’s dolphins are endemic to New Zealand, meaning that you will not find them anywhere else in the world, and Akaroa is the only place you can take a trip out to swim with them.
An encounter with a Hector’s dolphin in the wild is truly a once in a lifetime experience.
Black Cat Cruises donate a portion of all ticket sales back to the education and research of the endangered Hector’s dolphin, and we offer a fantastic dolphin guarantee policy due to our high swim success rate. This is possibly why Black Cat Cruises dolphin swim experience is listed in the Lonely Planet guide as on of the ‘Top 10 Marine Mammal Experiences in The World’!
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Organisation |
Black Cat CruisesCommercial organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Akaroa |
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Operating Season And Hours |
The 3.5-hour dolphin encounter operates from September to April, with typical departure times including 9:00 AM and 12:30 PM. |
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Promo Code 10% Off |
Use discount code RANKERS with Swimming with Dolphins Akaroa and 10% off. |
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Marine Animals
Dolphin Watching
Google Maps
Reviews
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The Trip was outstanding.
salsnz -
Very good.
bogaard -
Saw 4 or 5 dolphins.
DavidJ -
Amazing.
AndreaT -
Really good.
Jody
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It was a small boat, we were only there with 10.
We saw and swam with a lot of dolphins, IN-CRE-DI-BLE!!
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Very nice place, cordial and well prepared staff.
Little bit expensive $150, for what it is. If you want to stay and really enjoy the dolphins, just rent a kayak.
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Go swim with the dolphins!
Friendly staff who try to make the most of the trip. Hot chocolate on board! Hot showers afterwards!
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Dolphin watching and swimming cruise in Akaroa - beautiful place!
Unfortunately the dolphin did not decide to swim with us but the company gave us a refund. Nice!
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Awesome experience, the hot chocolate after the swim was really a good idea.
The only thing I don't like is that they put 'fake' dolphins in the picture.
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It was nice to swim with the dolphins but we searched a long time for them.
The tour guide did not do any good photos.
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A bit disappointing.
The view under the water was really bad, so it was hard to see the dolphins. Not many dolphins at all.
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Swimming with dolphins.
It's a pity that a dolphin were lazy and did not want to swim with us. If we had swim with the dolphins the ranking would of been higher.
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It was a small boat, we were only there with 10.
We saw and swam with a lot of dolphins, IN-CRE-DI-BLE!!
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A bit disappointing.
The view under the water was really bad, so it was hard to see the dolphins. Not many dolphins at all.
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Very nice place, cordial and well prepared staff.
Little bit expensive $150, for what it is. If you want to stay and really enjoy the dolphins, just rent a kayak.
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It was nice to swim with the dolphins but we searched a long time for them.
The tour guide did not do any good photos.
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Dolphin watching and swimming cruise in Akaroa - beautiful place!
Unfortunately the dolphin did not decide to swim with us but the company gave us a refund. Nice!
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Awesome experience, the hot chocolate after the swim was really a good idea.
The only thing I don't like is that they put 'fake' dolphins in the picture.
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Go swim with the dolphins!
Friendly staff who try to make the most of the trip. Hot chocolate on board! Hot showers afterwards!
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Nice guides, well organised, got a refund for not being able to swim with the dolphins ($140pp).
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Water was very cold (14c), even in summer, organisation was very good.
Dolphins were not overly interested in swimming with us and black cat gave us a refund even when we did feel we swam with the dolphins.
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great trip with the guys and had a wonderful experience swimming with hectors dolphins off akaroa Chris pope
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Good organisation, swimsuit snorkel and mask are provided.
Staff were nice and funny. Water was really really cold. Once we saw dolphins cruising around us we forgot the cold water and enjoyed the Hector dolphins.