Bucket list experience:
Kaikoura is one of the best places in the world to encounter these charismatic mammals as pods of hundreds – sometimes thousands – of wild dusky dolphins cluster every day just off this dramatic coastline. When the boats find dolphins, (or vice versa), conscripts, equipped with snorkels, smartly ease into the water to marvel at the grace of these magnificent creatures, swimming barely an arm’s length away.
If you’d rather stay out of the water, local operators offer an alternative dolphin-watching tour on a bigger, more comfortable, catamaran-style boat.
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Destination Guide >Local operator Dolphin Encounter will provide you with all the equipment you need, but bring your own swimming togs and a towel. Expert guides are on hand to give you advice on getting close to the dolphins without spooking or distributing them. The boats are small and carry no more than 16 snorkellers.
There is a minimum age of 8 for swimming with dolphins, and all participants must be confident swimmers in the open ocean, though it’s still worth going to watch the dolphins from the boat. Take warm clothes on board for when you get out of the water.
In summer especially, tours are popular so book as far ahead as possible.
Tours operate all year round, seven days a week, but less frequently in winter (June to August). In winter, however, sea temperatures are a chilly 9°C-12°C. You’ll be given wetsuits, gloves and boots, but it’s cold when you get in.
Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity
Kaikoura
N380 | Rating 4.5 / 5 [12 ratings]
Tour supplied by:
Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first
Hapuku, South Island, New Zealand[9.8 miles]
Luxury lodge with fun treehouse rooms, superb in-house dining and jaw-dropping landscape views. A good base for accessing Kaikoura’s ecotours, 20 minutes away.
Official star rating:
Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
South Islands, New Zealand
A primordial playground with truly spectacular scenery on the grandest scale, outdoor adventure activities galore, colourful and compelling Maori culture and terribly nice Kiwis.
Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Kaikoura, South Island, New Zealand[8.4 miles]
See the world’s largest toothed predator, the sperm whale, close up on these Maori-run tours, boasting a 95% success rate. You can whale-watch on kayaks too.
Best for ages: 6+ | £92 | 3 hours
Round-ups that include this experience
Multiple countries
These intelligent, social beings have long held a special place in our hearts – a result of their seemingly-smiling faces, playful frolicking and friendly disposition. Here’s our round-up of some of the best places in the world to swim with them.
![Whale-watching in Kaikoura [kayaking]](https://familyhotelfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/New-Zealand-South-Island-Kaikaoura-whale-watching4-SH.jpg)
