Just 75 kilometres from the city of Christchurch, Akaroa is an historic French and British settlement nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano. Explore the village with its colonial architecture, craft stores, and cafés. Relax in the sun at French Bay, or find a secluded beach of your own in one of the neighbouring bays.

Go cruising on the beautiful Akaroa harbour, you can choose from a variety of cruises including sailing around the harbour. View the stunning wildife including the Hectors dolphins. Enjoy Akaroa and the harbour for the week, your weekend, or just one day there's an Akaroa Escape to suit your mood.

The beautiful harbour dominates the landscape and is home to a variety of sea and bird life including the worlds smallest and rarest dolphin, the Hectors Dolphin.

Take the opportunity to explore this unique environment with one of our local operators. There are activities for everyone including wildlife cruises, sailing, swimming with the dolphins, boat hire and sea kayaking.

For those in search of relaxation there is nothing more satisfying than lazing on the sand as the family enjoy paddling at the safe beach. The harbour's edge is home to plenty of activities for those who prefer to stay on dry land. Enjoy farm, outer bay or seal and penguin colony tours or visit one of the neighbouring surf beaches.

Getting There

The journey to Akaroa is a delightful trip through changing landscapes with many natural and cultural features. Visitors to Akaroa travel by car or coach and making the trip on a bicycle is increasing popular.

The Journey will take about one and a half hours directly by car - but if you're able to stop off along the way you could discover some unexpected highlights of your trip.

The road nestles against the Banks Peninsula hills as it leads to Te Waihora - the expansive 20,000 hectare lagoon of Lake Ellesmere, rich with eel, flounder and waterfowl of all types. You will pass through the village of Little River, a worthwhile stop to check out the cafes, art and craft galleries. On reaching the hilltop take time to enjoy the stunning panoramic view of Akaroa harbour, here you can choose the SH75 or the Tourist Drive route - don't forget your camera.

Cruise around an extinct volcanic crater and experience majestic scenery and stunning wildlife on daily harbour cruises. Your cruise is packed with highlights including the rare, native dolphin - the Hector's Dolphin as well as penguins and other sea birds. And you'll see giant volcanic sea cliffs and hear about Akaroa's fascinating past.

Your modern catamaran, the 60 feet / 20 meter Black Cat is perfect for viewing the natural wonders of the harbour. The vessel is the largest and most luxurious on the harbour. There's lots of space on the 2 decks for unimpeded viewing and there's plenty of covered seating, in case you need to get out of the sunshine. Inside there's a bar and toilets. And being the largest it's both stable and safe.

The cruise is fully narrated by your skipper who has extensive knowledge of the nature, wildlife and history of the harbour. The highlight of this trip is undoubtedly the sighting of one of the world's smallest and rarest dolphins, the Hector's or New Zealand Dolphin. These friendly and inquisitive mammals meet the boat most days throughout the year and their calves can be seen between October and March.

Also on the trip you will catch glimpses of the White Flippered Blue Penguin, the smallest penguin in the world. There are many different bird species in the Harbour, including five different cormorant species and the chance of sighting the endangered yellow-eyed penguin. You will also see the New Zealand Fur Seal sunning themselves on the harbours rocks near the entrance at Seal Bay.

We will stop at Lucas Bay to look at a salmon farm where thousands of salmon from fingerlings to adult fish are farmed in a series of cages. You will see them jumping as we approach the cages. This is where the world-famous 'Akaroa Salmon' are raised.

On each two-hour cruise we will endeavour to show you wildlife plus the many sea caves and volcanic cliffs. As Akaroa Harbour was a live volcano nine million years ago, there is many spectacular ancient lava flows to be seen. One cliff has a sheer 500-foot face and has a fascinating history while Nikau Palm Gully is the Southern most limit for these palm trees. There is also the incredible Scenery Nook, an amazing pink, purple and red volcanic amphitheatre that will take your breath away.