E-Ko Tours
40 Rankers Reviews
28 Face-to-Face
2 Marine Animals
9 Boat Cruises
1 Dolphin Watching
4 Picton / Marlborough Sounds
Maps
Photos
Information
E-Ko Tours
Swim with Wild Dolphins in their natural environment of the calm sheltered waters of Marlborough Sounds, Scenic Wildlife & Nature Cruises and walks in Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough, Picton, New Zealand. TOURISM AWARD WINNER!
Dolphin Swimming & Viewing- "Want to see Flipper...we'll show you Flipper" :
Our Dolphin tours provide a wonderful opportunity to swim and view dolphins in calm and sheltered waters. You can expect to encounter bottlenose, dusky and rare Hector's dolphins. We also visit NZ fur seals and spot a variety of seabirds like blue penguins, Gannets and Shags on the water. Our knowledgeable skipper and guide will provide you with an informed and interesting commentary on the wildlife encountered along with local history of the Marlborough Sounds.
Our success rate in finding Dolphins is 98%.
Nature & Wildlife tour to Motuara Island Bird Sanctuary, Ship Cove or Bird Watchers Expedition:
See the very best of the Marlborough Sounds by combining a scenic and informative Eco-Cruise about the wild life and the region, with a fascinating walk on either “Motuara Island Bird Sanctuary” or “Historic ship cove”. In the “Bird Watches Expedition” we’ll go extra lengths to ensure the viewing of the rare King Shag and SI Saddle back. You can expect to encounter dolphins, NZ fur seals while spotting a variety of seabirds like blue Penguins, Gannets and King Shags on the water. Our knowledgeable skipper and guide will provide you with an informed and interesting commentary on the wildlife encountered along with a bit of local history.
Best of the Marlborough Sounds Wildlife, Nature & Art tour:
Join us for a magical experience as we cruise through the southern parts of the Queen Charlotte Sounds! Sit back and relax as we explore and educate. Enjoy our majestic seabirds, feed the friendly fish and be delighted by the cheeky NZ Fur Seals! Our journey continues as we disembark at Lochmara Lodge, venturing through the native bush and being inspired by the art and wildlife wonderland! After a true ‘kiwi-ana’ morning tea and a little retail therapy, it’s time to cruise towards home, relaxing and reflecting.
Details
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E-Ko ToursCommercial organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds |
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Marine Animals
Boat Cruises
Dolphin Watching
Reviews
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5.0/5
Our tour to Motuara island was amazing.
Paul the Skipper was spot on with his directions
and his knowledge of the area was second to none.
If Paul was the conductor then Will was his full orchestra,, very entertaining while still being informative at the same time.
If he’s not the top guide then there’s no man on the moon.
He was A1 quality,, and don’t get me started on his sun glasses.
Brilliant effort all round.
H and Janie.
Mozzies.
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5.0/5
Amazing day on the water!
Saw 2 types of dolphins, blue penguins, seals and heaps of birds. Well worth the money. Staff were friendly and very informative. Loved all the little extras that came with the tour that are not advertised, I wont spill what these are :)
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3.5/5
Nice boat, friendly crew, great knowledge sharing.
Positiv:
Seen loads of Hector dolphins even a new-born playing with its mother. They gave us enought time to enjoy the sighting.
Negativ:
- No dolphins to swim with. And as we heard afterwards they hadn't had dolphins for over a week. This is of course disappointing....but nature.
- Too many people on the boat 18 swimmers alright, but another approx. 10 additional ones for viewing.
- Kids are only allowed to swim once 8 years old. Very disappointing, if you have a 6 year old strong swimmer with various badges..
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5.0/5
We saw a lot of dolphins among others the rare Hector dolphin and we were in the water with a lot of big dolphins playing around really close to use - nice.
Good information about the dolphins and their environment with focus on behaviour in the dolphin's premises.
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5.0/5
Dolphin swimming and viewing: best experience from New Zealand.
Highly recommend. We swam with many dolphins. Guides took us close to a dolphin pack where we saw within an arms length of 12 dolphins.
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4.5/5
Nice trip, we saw the animal they said we could see, nice guides.
A smaller group would be nice, eg maximum 20.
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5.0/5
Superb tour, we easily found dolphins and were in the water within minutes.
Friendly, knowledgeable and hugely enthusiastic staff who tended to everyones individual needs. A must in Picton!!
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5.0/5
Our tour to Motuara island was amazing.
Paul the Skipper was spot on with his directions
and his knowledge of the area was second to none.
If Paul was the conductor then Will was his full orchestra,, very entertaining while still being informative at the same time.
If he’s not the top guide then there’s no man on the moon.
He was A1 quality,, and don’t get me started on his sun glasses.
Brilliant effort all round.
H and Janie.
Mozzies.
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5.0/5
Amazing day on the water!
Saw 2 types of dolphins, blue penguins, seals and heaps of birds. Well worth the money. Staff were friendly and very informative. Loved all the little extras that came with the tour that are not advertised, I wont spill what these are :)
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3.5/5
Nice boat, friendly crew, great knowledge sharing.
Positiv:
Seen loads of Hector dolphins even a new-born playing with its mother. They gave us enought time to enjoy the sighting.
Negativ:
- No dolphins to swim with. And as we heard afterwards they hadn't had dolphins for over a week. This is of course disappointing....but nature.
- Too many people on the boat 18 swimmers alright, but another approx. 10 additional ones for viewing.
- Kids are only allowed to swim once 8 years old. Very disappointing, if you have a 6 year old strong swimmer with various badges..
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4.5/5
Nice trip, we saw the animal they said we could see, nice guides.
A smaller group would be nice, eg maximum 20.
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5.0/5
Dolphin swimming and viewing: best experience from New Zealand.
Highly recommend. We swam with many dolphins. Guides took us close to a dolphin pack where we saw within an arms length of 12 dolphins.
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5.0/5
We saw a lot of dolphins among others the rare Hector dolphin and we were in the water with a lot of big dolphins playing around really close to use - nice.
Good information about the dolphins and their environment with focus on behaviour in the dolphin's premises.
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5.0/5
Superb tour, we easily found dolphins and were in the water within minutes.
Friendly, knowledgeable and hugely enthusiastic staff who tended to everyones individual needs. A must in Picton!!
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4.5/5
Half day wildlife cruise and nature walk (cruise in Marlborough Sounds plus bush walk on Motuana Island) In one word: excellent!!
We enjoyed the dolphins, seals and many birds and the guide and skipper were excellent.
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4.0/5
Went on the "Marine Wildlife & Motuara Island" tour and it was a lovely afternoon activity !
You get to see some more remote part of the Queen Charlotte Sound and its wildlife ! The Motuara island is also a bird paradise, you see so many of them ! Good times !
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5.0/5
Charming, informative guide - Marlborough Sounds are beautiful, Motuara Island is a fascinating piece of conservation - even a great biscuit with our cup of tea.
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4.0/5
Sometimes you see dolphins, in the evening penguins.
When there is sun and wind its wonderful at the beach.
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4.0/5
Good guides who did their best to give us a good experience,however the dolphins were not very friendly on the day.
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4.5/5
Guide very enthusiastic, made it fun.
Tried hard to make sure our kids had a good time.
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5.0/5
What a magical time, had a woonderful morning cruising the sounds and then swimming with the Bottlenose Dolphins.
Very impressed by the company's knowledge and attitude towards the dolphins and respecting their freedom. Very different to my experiences in Mexico with dolphins! Amazing in the water and very lucky that the dolphins wanted to play! Special, a big THANKYOU Dolphin Watch!
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5.0/5
Trip was even longer as booked (more than one hour!!) because there was so much wildlife to see in the sounds.
Guided walk on Motoua Island with a lot of birds and beautiful views.
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5.0/5
Even if there hadn't have been so much wildlife, the skipper and guide made the trip a memorbale one.
The guides knowledge of the flora and fauna was excellent. She worked hard.
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4.5/5
We did the Motuara Island eco cruise.
The guides were very knowledgable and interesting. We saw dusky dolphins and bottlenose dolphins, the king shag and lots of other birds. The island was lovely with a stunning view from the top of the island. A great trip for all ages.
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5.0/5
A very interactive cruise and we got to see killer whales and rare Hector's dolphins before walking on Motuara Island to see the little penguins.
These guys really know their stuff and as far as kiwi experiences go - a perfect 10!
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4.5/5
Professionals.
If you pay for swimming with dolphins & there aren't any, they refund you the money.
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4.5/5
Friendly staff, enjoyable day.
Company has a policy of refund if don't have interactive swim.
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5.0/5
Even though we didn't get to swim with them, the swimming with seals totally made up for it and we still got our 50 dollar back.
Great guarantee, no swimming = try again for free or 50 dollar refund
Maximum of 12 swimmers, great staff and apparently a success rate of 80%
Recommended!
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5.0/5
Great tours, great informative staff, and great scenery.
We actually saw two pods of playful dolphins, along with plenty of other wildlife. The stopover at Ship Cove was a nice touch, as well.
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