26/10/2025
The first cruise ship for the season landed today so I thought I'd take you through what a typical tour looks like for a passenger.
After a pick up from Port Chalmers, our passengers are taken on a quick drive through the university to see the old buildings, it's always an impressive moment. Today was the added bonus of some downed trees.
Today they made a quick stop at the botanic gardens since an azalea loving couple were on board but then it's on to the Northern Cemetery, a familiar stomping ground for us to see the Larnach Tomb.
Next is Baldwin St, perhaps they climb up or just admire from afar but it's on the bucket list of many people.
The railway station is the second most photographed building in the southern hemisphere, I always make sure to tell people to take extra photos and try to beat the Sydney Opera House.
A drive through the Devil's Half Acre leads to lunch at Luna bar & restaurant with stunning views of the city or stunning views of fog depending on the weather. The food is always a winner though.
Then finally straight to Larnach Castle to give the tomb more context. And back to the ship to send some very happy, although tired people to the next port, usually Lyttleton or Fiordland.
These tours aren't just for ship passengers, we get a lot of parents wanting to see the city when their kids move here or people traveling round that love a bit of heritage that goes deeper into the lived experience of the every day people. We don't push out cookie cutter tours, we love to create experiences based on our passengers' interests and backgrounds.
We have some new experiences in the works that we're excited to get off the ground, if you're traveling and you caught this post or you know someone coming to Dunedin, send them to us and we can create a bespoke tour to really get the most out of their trip!
