Wellington Travel Guides (Updated October 2026)

Great day in Martinborough and Steve was an excellent Driver and Guide for the day, very informative and friendly.

We did the overnight experience in a cabin with another couple. The accommodation was great with comfortable beds and a clean environment. All meals were provided and were delicious. The bird life on the Island was truely amazing. We did both walks to the peaks. The Okupe Vallley Track on the second day was probably my favourite . We took our time and were rewarded with an abundance of birds especially Whiteheads (Popokotea) with their beautiful song. (The Wilkinson Track was not an easy walk for all. It was long and suitable for fit people, if you are carrying an injury you will probably wont get to the top in our experience. But well worth the effort if you are able). Most of the bird life was on the lower to middle slopes of the walks anyway. We were lucky and saw two Little Spotted Kiwi and a Little Blue Penguin on our night time walk. The guides and Host were very friendly and very knowledgeable and made the trip all the more enjoyable. My only disappointment was that the Kakas and Wekas around our accommodation who we were warned about, did not annoy us in anyway at all! I would highly recommend this trip.

I am a member so I can visit anytime and walk which is always lovely - but a few nights ago did the night tour. We saw 3 kiwis which was fabulous ... one even falling off a bank right next to us - hilarious... plus an eel, gerkin slug, Maude island frog, Pateke (rare as anything duck), shags, kaka, tuatara, glow worms- was wonderful quietly walking through the bush in the dark and only 3 of us on the tour so we saw so much.. completely worth it - will do again and again to visit the kiwis.

Great tour guide, very interesting collections and excellent description of how things are made. Fascinating.

This is a fabulous place to visit and a great gift to give someone. I have been and loved it. Gave this as a gift to my brother in law and he loved it. He went with my son (his second visit). He enjoyed it just as much the second time. It's a great opportunity to learn more about our fabulously talented country and people who do the most amazing things. I learned such a lot, and so did my brother in law and son. I will definitely be back.

I was totally enthralled with the complexity of the work that goes on behind the scenes! What a fabulous way to show the dedication, passion and creativity of the staff.

Even on an extremely windy and rainy day, our tour guide, Steve, made sure we had the best experience. He’s extremely knowledgeable about the history of the area and highlighted cool facts along the way. All three wine tastings were excellent. The sommeliers were friendly and knowledgeable. You get a lot of value for the cost of the tour. I highly recommend.

Fantastic. Fascinating, with wonderful, cheery guide. Lots of info and the chance to see what we could do with crumpled aluminium foil! I’m keen to try out some sculpting mediums.

Enjoy the surroundings of this amazing structure. Listen to the woman owns this property, she gives a very detailed description of the Stonehenge, and what to do to enjoy your visit.

Informative fun nightlife.. peaceful in outdoor with animals great leaders Katie and Claire . passionate about their work and love of animals. Great experience would highly recommend… saw a ruru and kiwi … beautiful to be surrounded by nature animals and the moon in the sky.

My husband and I booked the Kapiti Island Rangatira Experience Day Trip. The communication from Kapiti Island Nature Tours in the lead-up to the day was fantastic. On the day, the lady (maybe Paula?) who checked us in was friendly and helpful, and then Tamihana, our guide, was awesome at getting us through the preparation for the trip. The ferry left on time, and the second guy (sorry didn't catch his name) on the ferry was also super friendly and informative. Once on the island, we enjoyed the info about what birds we could expect to see and info about the various walks that are available (as well as a safety briefing). The walk itself was awesome. We took the Wilkinson's track to the summit and then did the lower loop walk after that. It was a pretty overcast day, so the views weren't as good as I would imagine they are on a clear day; however, still absolutely stunning. The time on the island was perfect (not too short so you were rushing, but not too long that you were waiting for ages at the end). Once again, the ferry came at the planned time, and we got back as expected. Everything was well organised and managed from start to finish, and the welcoming and passionate staff made the experience even more enjoyable. We will definitely be back again and will challenge ourselves with the Trig Track next time. 😀

Comfortable enjoyable cruise ride. Good informative great crew and music Beautiful views and history about Wellington Saw a seal and lucky we got a nice day except the wind .. I recommend it !!

It was great, a beautiful harbour..

Our overnight trip to Kapiti Island was a an incredible experience. The wonderful team looking after us were welcoming, friendly, knowledgeable and made our stay easy and enjoyable. The accommodation was comfortable and food was amazing. It was interesting finding out about the history of the Island and the wildlife, and we got to see a kiwi on our night excursion which was a special moment. The birdlife was amazing around the lodge and around the walking tracks. It was a fabulous weekend and we would thoroughly recommend. Thank you so much to our lovely hosts. Nga mihi nui

We spent the day with Nathan, a local Wellingtonian. It was our good fortune to be the only people on the tour (4 people) which meant we got some personalised flexibility in our itinerary. Nathan took great care of the family members with mobility limitations and gave me extra time at the WETA shop because he knew I was a LOTR fan. We had a guided tour of Te Papa built into our day and Nathan gave us extra time to go through the Gallipoli exhibition afterwards (honestly its a must see!) We all agreed it was a fantastic experience. I booked through Cool Destinations and Nathan is part of Ka Rawe Tours - highly recommend. 5/5 in all aspects.

I came into Te Papa to check out the new Whakairo (carving) exhibition on the weekend and it was an amazing exhibit made even better by the knowledge and passion of the Te Papa staff.By chance I struck up a conversation with one of the staff (Robbie from Kāi Tahu/ Kāti Māmoe - please excuse me if I misremembered his name). He was so helpful and knowledgeable about the exhibit.As a wāhine Māori it gave me so much peace and comfort to meet staff who truely value our taonga and share their stories with the respect and appreciation they deserve.I had intended to briefly look at the exhibit but after an amazing and insightful kōrero from Robbie I stayed twice as long to enjoy the taonga. I’ve now encouraged my friends and whānau to come along and see it themselves.Thank you Robbie for sharing the kōrero of these taonga with me, your passion and aroha translated into your kōrero. You are a great kaitiaki of these taonga and an amazing reflection of Te Papa and its values.