Beachcomber Fun Cruises
Mail Boat Cruise Picton
Reviews
Walker
Ranking: 8/10
Took a trip with Beachcomber Cruises to Ships Cove to start the walk and collected afterwards from Furneaux Lodge. Walk was superb - loved it - good weather helped. The cruise was good, with some interesting commentary but not enough as to who Captain Cook was, why he came, what he was doing and who is Queen Charlotte? This extra information would have been very interesting.
Pekka and Jonna
Ranking: 9/10
Very knowledgeable captain, with a lot of interesting details about the area. Obviously, the area itself is fantastic and has to be seen by boat to be truly appreciated.
Joanna and Shaun
Ranking: 8/10
Caught the Beachcomber ferry out to Ship Cove where we did a 15km walk to Endeavour Inlet - amazing views over the Sounds - you won't believe your eyes!!
Sanne Meijer
Ranking: 9/10
Saw dolphins on our way to the Queen Charlotte Track. Totally unexpected and I loved it!
Erik Nestlez
Ranking: 9/10
We saw dolphins of the tour, this was awesome just a little bit expensive, especially when you would not see dolphins (we just drove to Ship Cove).
Jenny Finch
Ranking: 9/10
Did the Queen Charlotte Track with Beachcomber and it was a great service, brilliant walk.
Benjamin
Ranking: 9/10
Very well organised and friendly shippers. They told us all about the Marlborough Sounds, the history etc. Highly recommendable!
Ian Garner
Ranking: 6/10
Morning taxi to Queen Charlotte Track was very efficient. Return taxi was substituted by the mail boat, but was one hour late in arriving.
Claire Jenkins
Ranking: 10/10
Loved this trip. Jason was an excellent guide and passionate about the natural environment. Loved the dogs which met us at each jetty and found the atmosphere at the Captain Cook beach peaceful and ancient. A most excellent afternoon.
Brita Topp
Ranking: 10/10
Absolutely beautiful mail boat run on a Wednesday with a very attentive, informed and caring (environment) and enthusiastic post man! It was wonderful and interesting, rain no hassele for catching good spirits! And, on of the most awesome, nicest, beautiful places is Ship Cove, where we had half an hour wonderful stay.
Karin Strahle
Ranking: 9/10
Interesting, nice scenery, good service.
Goran Strahle
Ranking: 9/10
Interesting information during tour. Good service before the tour.
Mark Wiggington
Ranking: 9/10
Walked a section of the Queen Charlotte Track. We had booked a short walk, too short, so were advised to try a different walk but did not charge us any more - thoughtful and helpful! Skipper funny and informative!
Jackie and Brian
Ranking: 10/10
Booked water taxi to Ship Cove collection from Endeavour Inlet, Realised everyone else was going to Motuora Island for one and a half hours then collected and moved on. Can we change our plan? No problem. Very friendly, knowledgable chap. Great service.
Megan Child
Ranking: 9/10
Easy and convenient service. Some good information from boat driver heading out of to the Marlborough Sounds. We received a 10% discount with our Top 10 card. We got to do a couple of the mail deliveries around the Sounds on the way back which was great.
Carly Braddock
Ranking: 8/10
Friendly, laid back team, clean boat and a nice way to get a taste of the Sounds, would have appreciated refreshments on the cruise!
D R Valentine
Ranking: 10/10
Very good.
Gerd Pagel
Ranking: 9/10
Beautiful.
Henriette Haugan
Ranking: 8/10
Super guide and beautiful nature.
Edward Marhi
Ranking: 7/10
On the end of the walk, we had to wait 1 hour for the boat, but we should be at the end on time!
Ken Jones
Ranking: 8/10
Very interesting, worthwhile trip, seating a bit cramped.
Desma Frampton
Ranking: 10/10
Guide very informative and good host.
Beth and Daisy
Ranking: 6/10
Good view of Queen Charlotte Sounds, little bit too long.
Sue Top
Ranking: 9/10
Well informed, interesting variety of sights and activities.
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Thelia Beament
Ranking: 10/10
Absolutely fab, the skipper gave us loads of info. You had the choice to be dropped off and picked up.
Simon Vickers
Ranking: 10/10
Excellent. Skipper was very informative and knowledgable. We had a longer trip than we actually paid for. Lovely scenery. Excellent trip and value for money.
Strieson
Ranking: 9/10
Pleasant skipper with excellent craft.
Callum Sibbald
Ranking: 8/10
Great tour guide.
Jenny & Barry Sleeman
Ranking: 9/10
Fabulous. Took all afternoon and was well worth the money.
Faucon
Ranking: 8/10
Very good trip but the guide speaks very quickly for us.
Liz Dolman
Ranking: 8/10
Mailboat run around Queen Charlotte Sound with excellent commentary about the history of the area.
Jill Dean
Ranking: 9/10
Very entertaining and knowledgable guide/boat captain etc. Had to wait an hour for the boat to collect us but a nice day and a lovely place to wait.
Roger Lows
Ranking: 10/10
Cleanliness of boat was excellent, skipper was passionate of his maori heritage, his sense of humous ensured everyones day was enjoyable. Every mail stop dog was given dog biscuits!!
Ross Hughes
Ranking: 7/10
Staff friendly and helpful. Cruise good.
Olivia Carvill
Ranking: 8/10
Pricey but good. Not sure $80 worth but a lovely morning out.
Fred West
Ranking: 9/10
Excellent, well informed Maori 'captain' (Jason). A mine of detail about history, flora and fauna.
dollimyxture
Ranking: 10/10
Excellent the best thing we did on out 3 week tour of the south island.
Did the 8.00am nature cruise was well worth the early start! The scenery is fantastic. There were dolphins jumping in the wake of the boat, the walk on the bird sanctuary island was lovely. We saw blue penguins in their nesting boxes, so cute. They gave us an info sheet with a list of the birds you could spot, which was fun. One cheeky little bird even landed on another tourists head!
The stop at ships cove was nice but not quite long enough as there was a line for the ladies. The cruise back was on the mail boat which was fab. The skipper had a good commentary which was a good mix of being informative and a bit of banter!
The trip was billed as being 3hrs but we didn't get back til between 1 - 1.30pm which suited us just fine! Great value for money, the staff really make every effort to give guests a great experience.
This boat trip made me fall in love with the sounds and I hope to return to do the queen charlotte track soon!!!
Lizzie
Ranking: 8/10
I did this on a Sunday, so with no mail to deliver we got a bonus visit to Motuara Island. This would be better if there were more places to sit and watch/listen to the birds. The cruise itself was very enjoyable despite the drizzle and I enjoyed the visit to Ship Cove; always welcome a chance to pay my respects to one of my heroes and one of the world's greatest navigators. The Sounds were, as always, beautiful.
Werner Zuis
Ranking: 9/10
Enjoyable trip, boat a bit small inside.
Don & Geraldine
Ranking: 9/10
Very good afternoon.
allesca
Ranking: 10/10
Excellent trip. Really good information from the skipper and the scenery is fantastic. Seeing dolphins on the way back were a bonus. Nice vessel, well-equipped and comfortable. Highly recommended.
HarryHaz
Ranking: 10/10
The Magic Mail Run.
Wonderful experience we had :)
ally freesrom
Ranking: 10/10
Apsolutly fantastic!
we had such a awesome time with beachaomber cruises. skipper knew what he was doing, and his comentry about the sounds was so good,
staff were great they knew what they were talking about.we learnt alot about the sounds and would recomened it to any one !
Marian Demients-deJongh
Ranking: 9/10
Good skipper, bad weather, no passengers but us. Mail calls were called off because of the wind - the skipper took all the time to show us around.
Deidre Graham
Ranking: 10/10
Helen & the team @ Beachcomber are the best! Helen was absolutely fantatsic with assisting with the organisation of our mountain bike adventure along the spectacular Queen Charlotte track - she made useful recommendations and was a huge help making the organisation of this adventure a breeze. The trip out to Ship Cove was special - we were taken to a pod of dolphins and finding our bags at each accommodation spot was a relief after a long day on the bike! On our return Helen even came out to greet us and to hear how our trip went. Outstanding service - would highly recommend Beachcomber.
Dieter Groscurth
Ranking: 9/10
mail ship Marlborough Sound.
Ivo Braakhuis
Ranking: 6/10
Cruise along the Queen Charlotte track including a 3 hour hike tour. Scenery was nice, but expected more. Everything looks more or less the same.
Ed & Pat Mitchell
Ranking: 10/10
A one off enjoyable trip along Queen Charlotte Sound, delivering mail to isolated homes.
joe Reibli
Ranking: 8/10
The pick up times at the end of the trail was too early 3:30pm ish.
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Hansjoerg Ehrmann
Ranking: 8/10
Daytrip on Queen Charlotte track: time of return of the boat was 1 hour later than announced. Service on the boat was perfect.
Heino keyssler
Ranking: 9/10
A little bit more service would have been wonderful.
Bernard Misfud
Ranking: 9/10
A nice day from Picton for a day walking in the Queen Charlotte track. The kindness of the boatman.
Hannes Ockerman
Ranking: 4/10
Tried charging the wrong price. On time, reliable service.
Elinor Wajngot
Ranking: 9/10
Good service but tried to fool us to pay more.
mikeel
Ranking: 9/10
Excellent trip. Very friendly, reasonable price, great 5 hour tour.
Gustave Badeau
Ranking: 10/10
Beachcomber Fun Croisières was excellent! Nous reviendrons dans un futur proche. Le personnel est serviable, et le bateau prend de visualiser les paysages les plus étonnants de la Nouvelle-Zélande Marlborough Sounds. Je vous remercie Beachcomber!
In english I say-
Beachcomber Fun Cruises were excellent! We will returning in the near future. Staff are helpful, and the boat takes you viewing the most amazing scenery of the New Zealand Marlborough Sounds. Thank you Beachcomber!
Wendy Astro
Ranking: 10/10
What a amazing trip!!
We did the Magic Mail Run for my mums birthday and both loved it we will definitly make time to do it when we come to Picton again.
we learnt alot about the Queen Charlotte Sounds and captain Cook , The skipper was very funny and staff were very helpful and friendly we also got free tea and coffee on board.will definitly recommend it to family and friends
:)
Andrew Biddle
Ranking: 8/10
Helpful courteous staff. Though our pick up was late because of confusion of having extra pick ups.
miniappleses
Ranking: 8/10
my husband and i were the only ones on our quick trip to ship cove, one of the first early runs of the season. the skipper was friendly and the views of the sounds were beautiful.
mich1
Ranking: 9/10
What a great ride.Very informative skipper. Wished we had time to do the hike. Fantastic scenery on what was a perfect afternoon. Good job.
GeraldMcNamora
Ranking: 10/10
Very well organised, efficient and friendly on Charlotte Sound boat tour.
Falk
Ranking: 10/10
Real cool tour (walking) Great ride back to Picton by boat, wildlife watching (not even booked)
WiebkeS
Ranking: 9/10
Well organised, great experience. Couple of extra's we didn't even book: Wildlife watching. Could have been a little more time for the walk.
AmyBarrett
Ranking: 10/10
Beachcomber did water taxi drop off + pick up + bag transfers for track - brilliant value at $80!
CarolF
Ranking: 10/10
Boat trip to Motuara island + on a ship. Gone for 1 day walk. Return to Mailboat - Excellent Commentary.
ZimmermannA
Ranking: 9/10
Cruise on Marlborough Sounds. Friendly crew. Informative.
Salick
Ranking: 7/10
The taxi for the Queen Charlotte track was too expensive ($75).
Cindy
Ranking: 8/10
Nothing more, nothing less.
Karen C
Ranking: 9/10
Went on the morning cruise, really friendly team of people, skipper was great, wonderful experience and got to see lots of the Sounds. Family loved it
Kristin
Ranking: 10/10
Very friendly guys, really funny!
Claas
Ranking: 8/10
Mail Boat Tour. No walking on this tour. Not spectacular but nice.
Christine
Ranking: 7/10
Went of the Mail Boat. Had a really nice time. Free coffee and tea was great. We had one 15 minute walk. It would have been good to go on another walk as for me the boat ride was a bit long. A beautiful place to see.
Margaret
Ranking: 9/10
Good value again, excellent combinations. Taking ideas home.
Andreas
Ranking: 8/10
Marlborough Sounds water taxi.