Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferries
3.9 227 reviews
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10% off via promo code RANKERS
Crossing Cook Strait by ferry is just one of those classic NZ experiences. Bluebridge runs this route daily between Wellington and Picton, and with the RANKERS promo code you'll save 10% on your booking. Worth knowing before you read on.
The crossing takes around 3.5 hours and the reviews are pretty consistent on a few things. Staff are genuinely good. Like, unusually good for a ferry service. Multiple travellers across years of reviews keep coming back to this point. The onboard cafe gets solid marks too, and the private cabins are a smart move if you're travelling with kids or just want to nap your way across the Strait.
A couple of honest trade-offs worth knowing. The wifi is unreliable at sea, so don't plan on working your way across. And the food and drinks in the cafe lean pricey. Those are the two gripes that come up most. Neither is a dealbreaker, especially when the sailing runs on time and the views through the Marlborough Sounds at the Picton end are as good as they are. My pick would be a morning sailing to make the most of the scenery coming in.
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Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferries
Discover Bluebridge – where the journey is as stunning as the destination!
Experience one of the world’s most breathtaking ferry routes with Bluebridge. Connecting the North and South Islands of Aotearoa New Zealand with 3.5 hours of scenic moments across Cook Strait. Whether you're exploring the country by car or on foot, Bluebridge offers over 50 sailings each week between central Wellington and the idyllic coastal town of Picton.
Enjoy panoramic views while dining on freshly prepared café-style meals onboard, crafted by onboard chefs. Pair your meal with award-winning Marlborough wine, locally brewed craft beer, or a cup of L’Affare coffee—an iconic Kiwi favourite. Upgrade to private ensuite cabins, family cabins, or even treat yourself to the premium Pōhutukawa Lounge experience.
Flexible fares for every budget.
Details
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Organisation |
Bluebridge Cook Strait FerriesCommercial organisation |
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Location |
North Island ▷ Wellington Region ▷ Wellington |
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Operating Season And Hours |
The ferry service operates daily between Wellington and Picton. Sailings are available throughout the day and night, with specific departure times varying by season and day of the week. Some sailings are not available on Saturdays or Sundays, particularly during the May-October (winter) timetable. Bookings are open until April 2027. |
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Promo Code Save 10% |
Use discount code RANKERS with Bluebridge Cook Strait Ferries and save 10%. |
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Directions Picton Office Office |
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Directions Wellington Office Office |
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Coordinates |
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Ferries
Google MapsReviews
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Clean, good food, happy staff, quick service.
Emma Millett -
Cold!
Tobias Rahm -
Very good customer service and good price.
Glenn Nicholson -
Good trip, saw some dolphins!
T Geelen -
Amazing treatment from Bluebridge today.
Glenys Everitt
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I love travelling with Bluebridge — always such a reliable, enjoyable experience.
Last week my family and I took the ferry, and Maia honestly treated us like royalty! Her service was 10/10 — she made us feel so comfortable and well looked after. That’s exactly what you want when travelling. Maia truly goes above and beyond for passengers, she is AMAZING! All of the Bluebridge staff are wonderful, and it really makes a difference.
Also, the cabins are a dream. I definitely recommend if you’re travelling with kids and/or love a little comfy nana nap. Lastly, food is yummy!!
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Amazing treatment from Bluebridge today.
Tha you to the staff on the 2pm sailing from Picton. I had broken my leg as was rather helpless. They picked me up from my motorhome in a wheel chair and transported me to top deck, into the Cafe with front view and even a blanket.
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First time travelling on Bluebridge, will be the last.
Paid for pohutakawa lounge. Disappointing selection of food which was cold. Anyone with a disability is disadvantaged further by having to walk a distance to the escalator then walk up 2 flights of steps. Had to ask for the escalator to be turned on upon disembarking in Picton
No lifts
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Excellent.
Accommodated our housetruck towing car perfectly.
Couldn't have gone smoother.
Good cooked breakfast at reasonable prices.
The wifi was basicly non existent so partner couldn't work until we got phone reception to Hotspot. (Which was most of the journey up on top viewing deck) But that's not stopping me leaving a 10/10 review. Tbankyoh bluebridge 100% will travel with you again. These other people seem to forget how privileged we have it in nz.
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We booked our ride weeks in advance.
Wellington to Picton
We booked an 8:15 - 11:45 ferry.
Imagine our shock then that they delayed our trip by 5.5 hours the evening before due to "heavy loads", which sounds a lot like "overbooked". We spent $750 for two vehicles and a cabin.
We are traveling to invercargill and had three chrckpoints along the way. The delay put us ar arriving at our third checkpoint at 11pm. We were originally scheduled to arrive at 6pm.
We could have tolerated a 3hr delay, but a 5hr delay made us all exceptionally tired by the time we arrived. Seeing as we were booked weeks in advance it doesn't seem right our transport would be pushed back so they could accommodate newer bookings.
We have pets, we told them several times but they failed to record the information in our booking. We emailed them as soon as the booking was made, we received no response. I called them and they told me to tell them at check in. We told them again at check in but again they failed to record it.
Having pets puts you in a special covered lane. While we were eventually put there we were almost not, except i asked again at boarding. As we were boarding i told them we have pets, they acted surprised and told us we should have told them sooner.
They don't answer their phone when you really need them. When we were notified of the delay we were provided an 0800 number to call to discuss alternatives. We tried calling numerous times and were placed on hold a exceptionally long time. Each time the line disconnected without an answer but only after we had waited on hold for 20 minutes and longer. We tried calling at least five times and were disconnected every time before anyone could answer.
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Being left to board my vehicle for 45 minutes in the rain while others who just arrived are getting processed already.
Using a different ferry service next trip
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Once again chose Bluebridge for our annual return motorhome crossing.
Thanks for discount for NZMCA members - much appreciated. Staff fabulous, keeping us informed of short delay due to Gale warning in force - priority being our comfort and safety. Another emjoyable trip with minimal adverse conditions in strait. Great facilities/catering. Thanks heaps folks. See you again next year.
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Fantastic service!
All of their staff go out of their way to be helpful with unusual requests. For example our poorly packaged box of German beer was cheerfully repackaged and transported as checked luggage undamaged with a good few jokes about how many would be left by the time we arrived in Wellys! Always enjoy the low key, relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff. Well done Bluebridge!
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The facilities on board were fantastic - the movie room played up to date films and the cafe had a great selection of food for vegetarians.
The staff were super friendly and even gave me a free portion of chips!
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Very nice people at the desk.
They gave us helpful information for staying over the night. We had an early ferry. Nice fare, good WiFi. Beautiful view arriving in Picton.
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Easy to book, punctual, vessel clean and food reasonably priced.
Downside is it is not well signposted in Wellington and disembarking the vehicle was somewhat disorganised.
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Check in was straight forward.
Not too many people on the boat so it was quiet. The bar is not open on the 8:45pm ride and I think it should have been.
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I love travelling with Bluebridge — always such a reliable, enjoyable experience.
Last week my family and I took the ferry, and Maia honestly treated us like royalty! Her service was 10/10 — she made us feel so comfortable and well looked after. That’s exactly what you want when travelling. Maia truly goes above and beyond for passengers, she is AMAZING! All of the Bluebridge staff are wonderful, and it really makes a difference.
Also, the cabins are a dream. I definitely recommend if you’re travelling with kids and/or love a little comfy nana nap. Lastly, food is yummy!!
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Amazing treatment from Bluebridge today.
Tha you to the staff on the 2pm sailing from Picton. I had broken my leg as was rather helpless. They picked me up from my motorhome in a wheel chair and transported me to top deck, into the Cafe with front view and even a blanket.
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First time travelling on Bluebridge, will be the last.
Paid for pohutakawa lounge. Disappointing selection of food which was cold. Anyone with a disability is disadvantaged further by having to walk a distance to the escalator then walk up 2 flights of steps. Had to ask for the escalator to be turned on upon disembarking in Picton
No lifts
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Excellent.
Accommodated our housetruck towing car perfectly.
Couldn't have gone smoother.
Good cooked breakfast at reasonable prices.
The wifi was basicly non existent so partner couldn't work until we got phone reception to Hotspot. (Which was most of the journey up on top viewing deck) But that's not stopping me leaving a 10/10 review. Tbankyoh bluebridge 100% will travel with you again. These other people seem to forget how privileged we have it in nz.
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Being left to board my vehicle for 45 minutes in the rain while others who just arrived are getting processed already.
Using a different ferry service next trip
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We booked our ride weeks in advance.
Wellington to Picton
We booked an 8:15 - 11:45 ferry.
Imagine our shock then that they delayed our trip by 5.5 hours the evening before due to "heavy loads", which sounds a lot like "overbooked". We spent $750 for two vehicles and a cabin.
We are traveling to invercargill and had three chrckpoints along the way. The delay put us ar arriving at our third checkpoint at 11pm. We were originally scheduled to arrive at 6pm.
We could have tolerated a 3hr delay, but a 5hr delay made us all exceptionally tired by the time we arrived. Seeing as we were booked weeks in advance it doesn't seem right our transport would be pushed back so they could accommodate newer bookings.
We have pets, we told them several times but they failed to record the information in our booking. We emailed them as soon as the booking was made, we received no response. I called them and they told me to tell them at check in. We told them again at check in but again they failed to record it.
Having pets puts you in a special covered lane. While we were eventually put there we were almost not, except i asked again at boarding. As we were boarding i told them we have pets, they acted surprised and told us we should have told them sooner.
They don't answer their phone when you really need them. When we were notified of the delay we were provided an 0800 number to call to discuss alternatives. We tried calling numerous times and were placed on hold a exceptionally long time. Each time the line disconnected without an answer but only after we had waited on hold for 20 minutes and longer. We tried calling at least five times and were disconnected every time before anyone could answer.
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Completely hopeless, paid cash to book at an I-site, got a text 2 days later saying it was cancelled due to staff shortages.
New Zealand can barely run a decent ferry, train or bus service anymore, it’s embarrassing.
Tried to call the customer service number but it just hangs up after 2 rings. To be fair, Interislander is just as unreliable, so it’s just a kiwi thing these days, nobody really cares, and why should they?
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Two days before my crossing, I received an email saying it had been cancelled because of « crew shortage ».
Was told to rebook on the website, which had been disabled by administration. Spent two hours on the phone so they could tell me they could only rebook me on the 2:00AM ferry (my original crossing was at 8:15AM). Got absolutely no compensation for the trouble, not even a cabin so I could sleep. The seats were comfortable but the whole ship smelled like a dirty bathroom. It was cheaper than the other company, is about the only positive thing I can say
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They are consistently late and the wifi sucks.
It isnt anywhere close to being as good as they advertise it to be.
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After a 2 hour road trip we arrived at bluebridge to check in at 6.00am for an 8.15 departure to be told the trip had been cancelled!!!!
This was very frustrating and there were a lot of angry people. If bluebridge are going to cancel sailings at least have the curtesy to inform those travelling. We have at times had our sailings delayed, with only an hours notice but to cancel indicates a lack of competency and poor management. Lucky for us we got on the interislander.
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Thought we try Bluebridge for a change, what a huge mistake, 45 minutes late leaving first time, now for our return, still waiting to board, 2pm now, should have left at 2pm.
DON'T USE THIS FERRY, SO UNRELIABLE.
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This ferry company is a bloody joke.
Very unreliable. The staff on the straitsman need some customer service training still act like they are at school.
They all stand around the counter talking an not willing to acknowledge customers.
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Haven't even departed from Picton and it's crap.
Entry blocked for 20 mins by trucks..staff unable to direct traffic ..bit of a shambles..likely to be late sailing..again.
Stuffs all yr plans
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Unprofessional front staff at check in counter.
Unacceptable
Rude
If you don't enjoy your job, it would be best to find another field.
Our experience from "Picton" was diabolical.
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Once again chose Bluebridge for our annual return motorhome crossing.
Thanks for discount for NZMCA members - much appreciated. Staff fabulous, keeping us informed of short delay due to Gale warning in force - priority being our comfort and safety. Another emjoyable trip with minimal adverse conditions in strait. Great facilities/catering. Thanks heaps folks. See you again next year.
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Fantastic service!
All of their staff go out of their way to be helpful with unusual requests. For example our poorly packaged box of German beer was cheerfully repackaged and transported as checked luggage undamaged with a good few jokes about how many would be left by the time we arrived in Wellys! Always enjoy the low key, relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff. Well done Bluebridge!
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Communication poor.
Boat very late. 3rd world effort by bluebridge. Not sure why I use this company and everyone else should think about this as well
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We double checked 3 times about the time when we need to be there for check in.
By foot, we have been told from Interislander, Bluebridge and the I site to be there by 6.50 am
Then when realising there is no bus coming anytime soon , departing from their terminal.
That woman told us it departs like 7.30!-am!!
Well it would have been grand to get a wee bit more sleep that time a day!
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