Tour Details

Dunedin City, Castle, and Gardens

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to experience the very best Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula has to offer with a shore excursion combining a sightseeing journey through Dunedin City, a tour of Larnach Castle, and a visit to Dunedin's Chinese Gardens and the nearby Otago Early Settlers Museum.

Start your day with a very informative and entertaining tour of Dunedin City, which is regarded as one of the best-preserved Victorian and Edwardian cities in the southern hemisphere. See sights that include the University of Otago (New Zealand's first university), the renowned Botanical Gardens, historic buildings, Neo-Gothic architecture, cathedrals, historic mansions, and the world's steepest street, Baldwin Street, with many photo opportunities.

Travel through the spectacular scenery of the Otago Peninsula to Larnach Castle, a top destination when visiting Dunedin. You will be transported back in time with a guided tour of New Zealand's only Victorian castle, built-in 1871. Learn the scandalous, exciting, and tragic history of the castle whilst enjoying the magnificent splendor of a bygone era. Your tour also includes the castle's gardens, which have been recognized as a Garden of International Significance, and provide breathtaking views from this commanding vantage point on the Otago Peninsula. There will be free time for lunch at the castle's cafe (not included).

Departing Larnach Castle, sit back and relax during the approximately 45-minute return to Dunedin along the Otago Peninsula, which provides magnificent views of iconic landscapes along the way. The peninsula is a long and hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now holds Otago Harbour and represents the only mainland breeding colony of the Northern Royal Albatross.

Head to Dunedin's Chinese Garden, built by a team of Shanghai-based artisans and craftsmen as a permanent recognition of the Chinese people who came to Otago during the Gold Rush in 1880 and decided to stay. Following your visit to the gardens, there will also be time to explore the nearby Otago Early Settlers Museum. You will be returned to your ship upon completion of the Otago Early Settlers Museum visit.

Book this tour for an enlightening New Zealand experience!