Tours & tickets

Lady Norwood Rose Garden

Discover the best of Wellington on a guided tour of the city. Admire picturesque views of the city and harbor from Mount Victoria, visit the Weta Cave, and take a ride on the iconic Wellington Cable Car. Start your tour with a pick-up from your meeting point and head downtown past Te Papa and the QT hotel. See St Gerard’s Church and Monastery before driving up to the top of Mount Victoria to see spectacular views of Wellington’s city and harbor. Drive to Lyall Bay beach, pass Wellington airport, and see some of the rugged coastline. On a clear day, you may see some spectacular views of the South Island. Pass Barrett’s Reef, where on April 10, 1968, the roll-on/roll-off ferry Wahine hit the reef and capsized near Seatoun during a hurricane resulting in 52 lives being lost. Drive to the Wellington sign on your way to Weta Studios on the Miramar Peninsula for your Lord of the Rings experience with a short visit to Weta Cave where you will have a chance to purchase Lord of the Rings memorabilia and more photo opportunities. Continue around the coastline, passing popular Oriental Bay before venturing through the different parts of the inner city ending up at the bottom of the iconic Wellington Cable Car which first carried passengers in 1902. After you have traveled to the top in the cable car and visited the quaint museum at that end, you will have more breathtaking panoramic views of the harbor and city. Drive past the lovely Botanic Gardens and drive through the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, before seeing the Parliament Buildings and its grounds and finally Old St Paul’s Cathedral – one of the world’s best examples of Gothic Revival architecture. Be dropped off wherever you wish within the city center to take with you lasting fond memories of your visit to Wellington.

Explore Wellington's highlights on a 5-hour fully-guided tour. After pick-up at a meeting point your hotel, head along the Wellington Waterfront and up to the Mt. Victoria Lookout. Marvel at stunning 360-degree views of Wellington city and it's picturesque harbour. Journey along the coastal drive around Oriental Bay and Evans Bay Parades. Stop briefly at the iconic windy Wellington sign. Arrive at the famous Weta Cave Shop, the hub of Weta Studio Tours in Wellington. It's not just a retail store: it's a cavern of creativity. At the Weta Cave, snap a selfie with the life-sized sculptures, wander through the mini-museum, and watch the exclusive documentary.  Continue along to scenic Shelly Bay and around the Miramar Peninsula. Break for lunch at a seaside cafe or restaurant. Pause for a moment of remembrance at the Wahine Memorial Park. Explore the south Wellington coast, Taputarenga Marine Reserve, and Te Kopahou Reserve Visitors Centre. As the tour returns to the city, benefit from optional stops available at central city locations including the Cable Car, National War Memorial, Brooklyn Wind Turbine or Old St Paul’s Cathedral before the final drop off at Wellington I-SITE.

Discover the best of Wellington with a local guide on a shared tour. Learn about the city's history, culture, and landmarks as you explore many other places of interest. Our journey starts by safely collecting all of our guests & getting onboard our vehicle. If you are coming in by cruise ship, we will collect you directly from the port. If you are being collected from your hotel then please wait in reception or just outside where you can been seen by your friendly guide. If you are being collected from the iSite then pop out to the tour bus stop just outside/beside the iSite. What about this for a first stop! Check out the best vantage point in our beautiful city, breathtaking 360 degree views. Stunnnnning! Probably the best photo opportunity on the tour, our guide/host is your personal photographer for the day. We head due south to our stunning coastline. Did you know that no matter where you are in Wellington, you are 3km (1.8 miles) from a beach? How lucky are we!? We continue around our stunning coastline where you can breath the fresh, salt air & marvel in the picturesque views. As we turn the corner, we learn about Wellingtons worst ever maritime disaster in a more sombre moment. Next we stop at the Weta Cave, who are most famous for the incredible work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is also your chance to purchase some memorabilia, check out some of the items on show in the mini museum & you'll even have a photo opportunity with the Cave Trolls! We make our way back into the city via Oriental Bay & your guide will keep you informed as we go. Please laugh at his/her jokes! One of the most iconic attractions in Wellington is our Cable car. You'll take a short ride up to the suburb of Kelburn where you'll get to enjoy more spectacular views of Wellington on arrival. Your ride on the Cable Car is included in your tour price. Next stop, Botanical Gardens. Did you know that in 2015, the Lady Norwood Rose Garden received the Garden of Excellence award from the World Federation of Rose Societies? Well you do now! . Then we're off to the Parliament’s grounds, which are used regularly for many kinds of public gatherings. From the grounds you can admire Parliament’s buildings, the flags on the many flagpoles, the rose and camellia gardens, fine ironwork on the gates and lamp standards, and commemorative statues and plaques. Wow! Hopefully you'll agree that we've packed loads of Wellington goodness into your time spent with us today. However as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. We offer a few different locations for you to get dropped off & don't forget that Wellington is a very small, compact city that is easy to get around & you're never too far from where you want to be. What a day out!