Höhepunkte der Stadt Dunedin, Otago Peninsula Scenery & Albatross Guided Tour

With excursions provided by cruise companies at times being (a) expensive and (b) limited I was determined to make the most of our time in New Zealand and in particular this last port of call. After all Dunedin is also known as little Scotland! It initially looked as if my desire to identify an all day tour which took in both city and country highlights with a wildlife experience thrown in would be thwarted as the company I initially approached were not running tours or were available the day we visited. However it was recommended that I contact Fantail Tours. This would appear to have been the proverbial ill wind as I cannot imagine that another tour or company could have bettered our experience. That is not to say that everything was perfect so shall we get that elephant in the room out of the way first? (Ignore the next bit if a bit of a moan is not your thing). Timings. For any cruise passenger the main concern will be getting back to a ship in time for embarkation particularly as in this instance when it is the last port of call with two days at sea before reaching Sydney. It only dawned on me 48 hours before reaching Dunedin that the tour was due to finish at 3.30 pm and passenger embarkation was to be at 4.30 pm. Okay there is always some leeway however it is not ideal. I therefore contacted Fantail and received a prompt reply assuming me that we would get back to the ship in time. Suitably reassured we turned up at the port meeting point with the tour due to leave at 9.30 am. And we waited. Other tour companies came and went and still we waited, albeit not too long but it was relevant given what happened later. When our guide Teresa arrived she dealt with formalities but probably rightly would not leave until her colleagues turned up to deal with their passengers. Gold star ensuring there were no outstanding issues. However it meant our 9.30 departure was missed. From then on everything lived up to expectations (see below) until we headed back to the ship. Expected return time of 3.30 pm came and went. We returned to the ship at 4.20 pm. In effect 10 minutes to spare. It had transpired during the course of the day that instead of two roads being available one was closed with the resultant knock on. Yes, there were a couple of tour buses behind us; yes the ship probably would not have sailed for another hour; yes the ship would have been aware of the traffic issues but the fact remains it was a really tight return time and it could have gone so wrong. This could have been avoided if the guides had turned up and left earlier. I contacted Fantail on my return raising these points and I received a very satisfactory reply. Another gold star. You know what though it was a really good excursion and was the perfect way to end the port section of our cruise. Our guide Teresa was just so good. For a start she did try to keep our merry band on time. 5 minutes late back from a stop then we had 5 minutes less at another stop. She was so friendly, fun, knowledgeable and informative. That makes such a difference when you are spending 6 hours or so with someone. A true joy to be around. The tour itself is not to be missed given literally the area it covers. We saw so much: vantage point over Dunedin; visit to the steepest road in the world;Dunedin University; walk through botanic gardens - fascinating; quick city centre stop for a bite to eat/souvenir shop; tour of Otago Peninsula; visit to penguins or albatross then finally the so impressive old station. For me the cherry on the cake was the visit to the Royal Albatross reserve. Only four of us made this stop with the rest of our group settling for the penguin option. My only encounter so as to speak with albatross had been the Samuel Coleridge poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner so thought it would be interesting to learn more. I was so glad I chose that option as the time we spent at the reserve was so very worth it. After an initial talk you are taken to the hide. Our guide Lydia said she could speak forever about this fascinating bird and that was abundantly clear. This in itself made the tour so very worth it. It was certainly a not to be missed experience. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Fantail Tours for your dayin Dunedin. As I have said before it is so easy to accept praise when things are going well but the mark of a good customer provider is when things have not gone so well they can be acknowledged and where appropriate acted upon. I wish Asta and all her team at Fantail all the best and every success. They do deserve it

The excursion didn’t happy. Because the port call was cancelled. Because the cyclone was threatening. The local operator couldn’t get connected. I still have no luck of connecting them. Email Viator didn’t get any responses either. I Still try to figure how to get my redound.

It was a lot of activity for one day. Teresa showed us all the fun highlights - local grocery and steepest road and stopped at all the beautiful view points along the way. The albatross chicks were fuzzy- sitting on their nests waiting for the adult birds to bring them food.

A fabulous experience, definitely worth seeing these amazing birds. Would recommend to young and old

If you are lucky enough to get Theresa for your guide get ready for a great day. Her energy and knowledge add so much to the tour. We had a bad weather day and she was able to adapt the schedule so we got everything in at the best possible time. She loves her home and loves to share it. She manages the group well so no time is wasted. The albatross center was a highlight for sure as they were very active on our cool day. Several chicks were still on the nests. The group size was perfect, the University is beautiful and the glimpse of rural New Zealand was very interesting.

Fantastic day! Had a great tour guide (Therese), we saw so much of Dunedin and she gave us lots of information. I walked the world’s steepest street, and loved the botanic gardens. The albatross visit was the highlight. Highly recommend.

Our guide Teresa was amazing! She was so knowledgeable, caring, and full of enthusiasm We had a great day touring Dunedin with the highlight being able to go to the Albatross Reserve. The albatross were in abundance and very active while we were there. So cool!! Don’t miss it!

What an incredible way to see the city highlights and the albatross all in 1 day. Our tour guide Asta was amazing and very knowledgeable. Touring with a local is the best. We highly recommend this tour!

The most amazing tour guide Teresa took us on a whirlwind tour of the area but the highlight was the Albatross on the Otago Peninsula- amazing tour - packed so much in - highly recommend

I wouldn't have missed this visit for the world! The walk up the hill even on a cold, wet, windy day was totally worth it. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable. The cafe was relatively good value.