Otago Peninsula tour vs Dunedin

[Adventures ahead]

Using up some onboard credit for a tour. Thinking of by-passing Dunedin in favour of a full-day tour to the Otago Peninsula that includes a visit to the Blue Penguin Colony (daytime so will see nests), the Moeraki Boulders, a walking tour and lunch in Oamaru, with a couple of other stops including the Steampunk Train. Instead, should we be considering splitting our time between Dunedin and seeing less of the Peninsula, or just do one?

[OzKiwiJJ]

Neither Oamaru nor the Moeraki Boulders are on the Otago Peninsula. They are both a fair way north of Dunedin whereas the Peninsula is on the south-eastern side of Otago Harbour. To cover those places plus the Peninsula would be a very full day. 

 

Are you certain the blue penguin colony is the one on Otago Peninsula? It may actually be the one at Oamaru, in which case the tour probably doesn't go anywhere near the Peninsula.

Edited October 6, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[erewhon]

 Which ship  is offering that excursion to Moeraki and Oamaru  ?  

As stated above, Moeraki and Oamaru are not located the Otago Peninsula. 

[Adventures ahead]

My mistake, thanks for setting me straight. Geography-challenged, lol. The Princess description states driving along a dramatic stretch of the Otago Coast (not peninsula, my bad). BTW, on a different cruise, we'll be going to the Penguin Parade on Philip Island.

 

I'm asking if people who have been there think it's worthwhile to miss Dunedin for this tour.  It's 8.5 hrs and labelled a Discovery Exclusive. Other options are possibly a half-day in Dunedin and a half-day seeing something else, or simply spend the whole day in Dunedin. We're in port 8-5:30 in Jan.

[Tansy Mews]

3 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

I'm asking if people who have been there think it's worthwhile to miss Dunedin for this tour.  It's 8.5 hrs and labelled a Discovery Exclusive. Other options are possibly a half-day in Dunedin and a half-day seeing something else, or simply spend the whole day in Dunedin. We're in port 8-5:30 in Jan.

 

I have booked a tour that visits two sites on Otago - Natures Wonders and the Royal Albatross Centre and then visits a bit of Dunedin. It is a group tour, but not through my ship. They tweaked the start time to meet my ship's port time (Oceania Regatta). Good reviews. I didn't have to organize other participants, but I did let others on my roll call know.

https://awesometours.co.nz

 

I realize that you are hoping for someone who has visited both Dunedin and Otago already, but I thought a tour that does both might appeal to you. The cost which doesn't include lunch is $195 NZD - just under $165 CAD. (about $124 USD). 

 

Enjoy!

 

Frances

Edited October 6, 2019 by Tansy Mews

[OzKiwiJJ]

The Moeraki Boulders are certainly fascinating, and Oamaru is an interesting town with some beautiful old buildings, plus the drive north of Dunedin is a pretty one.

 

On the other hand you could do an Otago Peninsula tour covering the Albatross Sanctuary, the Penguin Parade where you'll see the much rarer yellow-eyed penguins and possibly some seals as well, Larnach Castle, and highlights of the city which would include the railway station. The drive up the penisula is gorgeous - the "low road" runs along the harbour edge and the "high road" goes along the top of the hills.

 

Personally if it's your first trip to Dunedin I'd recommend the latter choice.

[erewhon]

11 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

My mistake, thanks for setting me straight. Geography-challenged, lol. The Princess description states driving along a dramatic stretch of the Otago Coast (not peninsula, my bad). BTW, on a different cruise, we'll be going to the Penguin Parade on Philip Island.

 

I'm asking if people who have been there think it's worthwhile to miss Dunedin for this tour.  It's 8.5 hrs and labelled a Discovery Exclusive. Other options are possibly a half-day in Dunedin and a half-day seeing something else, or simply spend the whole day in Dunedin. We're in port 8-5:30 in Jan.

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

The drive from Port Chalmers to Oamaru would probably take 90 minutes plus.

At the Moeraki Boulders there is a walk from the car park area down to the beach to get to the boulders. There is a cafe on the site.

As the above poster stated, if it's your first visit to Dunedin I agree with exploring the Peninsula and Dunedin City.

[mr walker]

Agree with above & recommend a Peninsula & Dunedin tour. Can thoroughly recommend you contact Russ at Tourworks https://www.tourworks.co.nz/

We did the Mainland Peninsula tour back in Jan. We had been to Dunedin on a previous cruise in which we had done a city tour, including brewery etc.

 

[Adventures ahead]

On 10/6/2019 at 12:57 PM, Tansy Mews said:

 

I have booked a tour that visits two sites on Otago - Natures Wonders and the Royal Albatross Centre and then visits a bit of Dunedin. It is a group tour, but not through my ship. They tweaked the start time to meet my ship's port time (Oceania Regatta). Good reviews. I didn't have to organize other participants, but I did let others on my roll call know.

https://awesometours.co.nz

 

I realize that you are hoping for someone who has visited both Dunedin and Otago already, but I thought a tour that does both might appeal to you. The cost which doesn't include lunch is $195 NZD - just under $165 CAD. (about $124 USD). 

 

Enjoy!

 

Frances

This is the same tour offered through Shoretripsandtours, also a local company, and for the same price. They pick you up at the port at 8:45 and you have some free time in the city before the tour leaves there at 10:30.

 

Thanks to everyone who replied, we now plan to visit the Peninsula and city instead of the ship's tour we had in mind. The ship doesn't offer this combination, and nothing to the Albatross Centre.