15 Boat Tours in Marlborough Worth the Petrol

Queen Charlotte Sound Mail Boat Cruise from Picton - From Beachcomber Cruises in Picton to the open Sound

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 541 reviews · 4 hours · from $75Our pick

Review of the Queen Charlotte Sound Mail Boat Cruise from Picton, with route details, wildlife, price value, practical tips, and booking advice.

“Highly recommend.Wonderful commentary and history of the area by the captain who encouraged"come up and have a chat and happy to answer questions"It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon and was warmly greeted at reception, narrative on map,showing todays route and areas of deliveries and these were available on board too.”

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Queen Charlotte Track: Cruise & Self-Guided Hike from Picton

2.Queen Charlotte Track: Cruise & Self-Guided Hike from Picton

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 383 reviews · 8h 30m · from $66

Review of the Queen Charlotte Track cruise and hike from Picton, with route choices, costs, fitness advice, timing, wildlife, and practical tips.

“We missed out on the 5 day Queen Charlotte walk as it was full but the one day walk from Furneaux lodge to Punga Cove was 14 kms and a great compromise as we now have more time to explore the South Island. Communication was excellent and the staff were very attentive.”

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Full Day Iconic Mail Boat Cruise

3.Full Day Iconic Mail Boat Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 321 reviews · from $86Top rated

Cruise New Zealand’s Pelorus Sound by working mail boat, spotting wildlife, meeting remote locals, and enjoying sharp local commentary from Havelock.

“Remember to take your lunch & warm clothing, fabulous day, Mark & Ross were amazing hosts, so lucky to see a pod of bottlenose dolphins. Ross's commentary of the history & knowledge of the area was excellent.”

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Queen Charlotte Sound Mail Boat Cruise

4.Queen Charlotte Sound Mail Boat Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 295 reviews · from $75

Review of Picton’s Queen Charlotte Sound Mail Boat Cruise, with route details, pricing, boat tips, weather advice, and honest pros and cons.

“This trip was everything I hoped for. Jason ( skipper) is clearly very very committed to his land and sea . Rightfully proud and worried for its future, he educated all of us on the work that's been done, and to be done in the future. It was a beautiful day and I loved the peace and solace I felt being out on the water. We delivered mail to the remotest of areas in the Sound and dropped off a few residents along the way. The uniqueness of the job Jason has is wonderful. A man of many talents!It was truly wonderful and a day I won't forget. Picton is…”

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Marlborough Sounds and Ship Cove Cruise from Picton

5.Marlborough Sounds and Ship Cove Cruise from Picton

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 252 reviews · 3 hours · from $66

Cruise Queen Charlotte Sound from Picton to historic Ship Cove, with live commentary, wildlife chances, and three hours of superb coastal views.

“Captain Jason was lovely and did a great job in telling us about the environment and what needs to happen to restore it. An important reminder of what we need to do to protect NZ.”

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Motuara Wildlife Sanctuary Tour and Dolphin Cruise from Picton

6.Motuara Wildlife Sanctuary Tour and Dolphin Cruise from Picton

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 180 reviews · from $104

Review of E-Ko’s Picton wildlife cruise to Motuara Island, with dolphins, seals, seabirds, guided walks, pricing, tips, and honest drawbacks.

“Beautiful day and comfortable on the boat that we could go in and out of the covering. Lots of knowledge - we saw so much but when we saw the dolphins the driver was in a rush to leave we all would have enjoyed seeing more. Heads up you need to bring your own water - recommend it should be in the description. It still was a wonderful tour.”

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Picton Cruise Ship Shore Excursion Marlborough Wine Tour

7.Picton Cruise Ship Shore Excursion Marlborough Wine Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 165 reviews · from $155

Review of Picton’s small-group Marlborough wine tour, with four to five tastings, vineyard views, chocolate, lunch costs, and cruise timing tips.

“This is a great trip to the Marlborough wineries & our host, Marsley, picked 4 great wineries. We had lunch at a fantastic restaurant (on your own) and a last stop at a handmade chocolate company. The wineries were very welcoming and ready for our small group when we arrived. The day was well-planned by Marsley and I highly recommend Jade Tours.”

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Half-Day Cruise in Marlborough Sounds from Picton

8.Half-Day Cruise in Marlborough Sounds from Picton

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 145 reviews · from $65

Review of the 3.5-hour Ship Cove cruise from Picton, with wildlife, Māori carvings, practical tips, value, and honest drawbacks.

“The cruise was amazing - We saw some amazing views while on the boat. My daughter had a blast and she is a year and a half. VERY KIDS FRIENDLY.”

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Marlborough Sounds Ultimate Cruise

9.Marlborough Sounds Ultimate Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 128 reviews · from $104

Review of the Marlborough Sounds Ultimate Cruise from Picton, with wildlife, Motuara Island, practical tips, costs, and honest advice.

“Take water with you. Make sure you have sunblock and have some warm clothing on standby. You will have amazing day. The staff were very informative. We got to see fur seals, dolphins and a vast range of birds. Being old and slow, I missed most of the information on the walk up the island.”

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Seafood Odyssea Marlborough Sounds Cruise from Picton

10.Seafood Odyssea Marlborough Sounds Cruise from Picton

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 128 reviews · from $111

Review of Picton’s 3-hour Seafood Odyssea Cruise, with Marlborough Sounds scenery, fresh mussels, salmon, commentary, and practical tips.

“Boat was comfortable; views gorgeous; captain informative. Mussels & salmon served were exceptional. Saw some fish with chumming. Expected to see more sea life.”

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From Havelock: Marlborough Sounds Mail Boat Full-Day Cruise

11.From Havelock: Marlborough Sounds Mail Boat Full-Day Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 92 reviews · 6 hours · from $86

Cruise the remote Marlborough Sounds on a working mail boat, meet locals, spot wildlife, tour a mussel farm, and enjoy a six-hour Kiwi adventure.

“Very special and so very beautiful. An insight into living in the Pelorus Sounds.”

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CRUISE SHIP DAY Marlborough Hop On Hop Off Wine Tours

12.CRUISE SHIP DAY Marlborough Hop On Hop Off Wine Tours

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 88 reviews · from $80

Review of Marlborough Hop On Hop Off Wine Tours from Picton, with winery stops, museums, food, pricing, timing tips, and cruise-day advice.

“Wine country is beautiful. We stopped at the car museum and aviation museum first. Friendly staff and good mix of antique cars. Next, the Spy Winery was perfect for a tasting. Transportation on small buses was fine”

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Marlborough Icons Tour – Wine tasting + Cruise

13.Marlborough Icons Tour – Wine tasting + Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 76 reviews · from $198

Review of Marlborough Icons Tour, pairing two winery tastings, light lunch, and a seafood cruise through the Marlborough Sounds.

“This was a wonderful tour. After I was picked up in Picton by Matt right on time, we picked up others on the tour at various places along the way, giving me the chance to see a lot of the local countryside. We then visited to two Marlborough wineries - the larger Marlborough icon Cloudy Bay and the smaller, family-run Wairau River Winery. We were given a good range of quality wines to taste at each. Throughout the winery leg of the tour Matt provided excellent commentary on the region and its wines. We then drove to the Slip Inn in Havelock for lunch before boarding the boat for a…”

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Picton Shore Excursion: Queen Charlotte Sounds Cruise

14.Picton Shore Excursion: Queen Charlotte Sounds Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 65 reviews · 1h 30m · from $50Best value

Review of Picton's 90-minute Queen Charlotte Sounds cruise, with wildlife, calm bays, practical port tips, pricing, accessibility, and booking advice.

“Its was very relaxing a lovely riding around the bays”

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Marlborough: Full-Day Wine and Seafood Tour with Cruise

15.Marlborough: Full-Day Wine and Seafood Tour with Cruise

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 57 reviews · 7 hours · from $191

A full-day Marlborough outing pairing two winery tastings with a seafood cruise through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds.

“I had a wonderful time with the tour. Our guide Karen was super friendly and knowledgeable. The wine tasting was good although early drinking isn’t my thing. The cruise was just lovely and the food was amazing. I was not impressed by the burgers and sausages that were initially served but mussels and salmon were just fantastic! And we had more than enough that we fed the leftover to the ducks and the fishes.”

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