My wife had been excited to do the dolphin encounter as she had been told it was a "life changing... read more
1,408
86
21
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7
Dolphin Encounter
96 Esplanade, Kaikoura 7300, New Zealand
Open today: 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Review Highlights
“Fantastic experience!”
We travelled a long way north to enjoy this experience as it had great reviews, but it was well... read more
lefre151
Sydney, Australia
4
Loved this experience
Review of Dolphin Encounter
via mobile Date of experience: January 2018
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All reviews wild dolphins swim with the dolphins amazing experience new zealand wet suits safety video once in a lifetime cold water bucket list boat ride open sea large pod of dolphins take photos south island their natural habitat swimmers wetsuits
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do001m
New York, NY
1210
This was the highlight of our trip and possibly our favorite thing we've ever done on any trip. It was not a touristy activity. The team from Dolphin Encounter drives around until they find a wild pod of dolphins and then the swimmers jump in.
The team was very professional and able to find the dolphins. They rented us a gopro which was the a must have. We wore full body wetsuits and wetsuit jackets so we were not cold. A few passengers got sick so if you have the option to bring seasickness medicine with you, it could be a good idea.
We feel so lucky to have spend a day with these majestic animals and realize just how important nature and Mother Earth is.
Date of experience: January 2018
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jinthewoods
9
via mobile
On vacation in new Zealand we planed to swim with dolphins since this was a dream thing to do.
We booked in Akaroa but the weather spoiled it unfortunately.
After three weeks we were getting close to Kaikoura and we booked our dream with Dolphin Encounters.
We got the last spots on the 5:30 (yes Am!!) cruise.
Everything was very professional from start to finish.
The staff was very serviceminded and knew what they were doing.
The cruise itself was quite an adventure and we got to see albatross, ORCAS!! And swim with dolphins.
We went with our children (11 and 14) and it was OK.
I would recommend that you have some snorkeling experience and have swimmed in open ocean before. If you don't it will be tough going as we saw on some of the other guests on our cruise.
Super happy with this experience and they know what they are doing!!
Date of experience: January 2018
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
529elisabeths
Gothenburg, Sweden
112
via mobile
Good service and a nice trip. Well organised and we got to see a lot of dolphins!
We had also a possibility to take a lot of photos after our swimming!
Date of experience: January 2018
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
J1980HDdavidc
Christchurch, New Zealand
2
via mobile
Wonderful experience. Plenty of dolphins to swim with. Met all my expectations. This is a bucket list must do when in new Zealand. Absolutely value for $175 nzd.
Date of experience: January 2018
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Italian_kilt
London, United Kingdom
340275
via mobile
We prebooked our tour via their website months in advance as we were visiting during peak season. Would suggest to book in advance as we saw many customers trying to book tours at short notice and it was sold out.
The tour was well organised. Staff were knowledgable providing lots of useful information during the boat trip. We felt safe and found the number of people on the boat was acceptable, not too busy. Especially once in the water everyone seemed to get activity with the dolphins.
Luckily our tour had pretty calm waters and we found a pod of dolphins which we swam with. For the spectators on the boat they also got very good views of the dolphins swimming and jumping along the boat.
Would recommend this tour.
Date of experience: January 2018
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.