Fullers GreatSights

We did this tour as part of our North Island holiday. All the arrangements were great. The skipper was concerned about the waves and said we may not get to hole in the rock. We finally made it and it was great. But even better was stopping and walking at Otehei Bay which was most wonderful. Beautiful scenery all around. Highly recommended

Had a great time on the hole in the rock cruise. I originally booked the dolphin eco cruise, but unfortunately there were not enough people…so they rebooked it to this one.The captain had some nice information about the islands and told it in a funny way as well. Boat was great, till the point that there was a problem with the motor. The itinerary was a bit changed because of that, but a new boat was settled. In the meantime we could already chill on the island stop and go for a swim/walk. Good solution, didn’t miss anything. The other boat was smaller, which made the tour way more windy and cold..but all in all good experience.

On 30 December we went on the Cape Reinga/Ninety Mile Beach bus tour. Our driver was Wi (pronounced We, not sure on spelling).We are just wanting to drop in a message to say how amazing he was. We got full commentary as well as sing alongs with him, he was the friendliest of people and even gave us all watermelon at the end of the trip for the out of new Zealand tourists to try.He really is an asset to your company and we have been recommending this tour to everyone we know based on our experience with him.

We booked on the cream tour and loved it they take you to some beautifully scenic spots educate you about the local history.you can swim with dolphins (regulations permitting) we couldn't but understand why as the pod had babieswe then had lunch on a beach before riding the net on the side of the boat (see pic/vid)Then visited the hole in the rock which was awesomeThe staff were fun, informative and helpful would definitely recommend!!

The day had turned wet and windy and we weren't sure if the Discover the bay trip in the afternoon was going to go ahead but thankfully it did. We caught the boat on the Russell side and were given a few maps to check out on what we would be seeing on the trip. There was also a audio commentary by a member of the crew (who was quite entertaining). Plenty of photo opportunities and on a good sunny day the pictures would be better than I managed to capture. Lots of history and Roberton Island (Moturohia) and the rock where Captain Cook anchored off and Cape Brett Light House were highlights. Due to swells we didn't manage to go through the hole in the rock (safety first) but we did stop and see Dolphins who swam around the boat for ages before we moved on. I'd recommended getting the early trip so you can spend more time walking around Urupukapuka Island (if that's your thing) than we had. Overall, even on a wet and windy day, a great experience.

We went on the Bay of Islands Hole in the Rock tour. This is a fun option if you don't mind a bigger boat and a crowd. The boat was very comfortable with plenty of seating and the captain and crew were pleasant and professional. It was fun to be able to stop at Otehei bay for a little hike & have the option to buy some drinks and snacks. The boat was too big to go through the rock, but that wasn't a big deal. It was still really cool and they got us up super close, and even turned around so the people in the back could get photos, too. On the way there and back we saw dolphins, and the option to get off early at Russell was a nice perk.

VISIT: end of February 2020COMPANY: Great SightsTOUR: Full-Day Bay of Islands Dolphin Cruise with Hole in the Rock VisitOverall this cruise was beautiful and cool to see this side of New Zealand and we had a GREAT time. They DO recommend sunscreen and even offer it for free on the ship because of the ozone layer you will get burnt. I hardly ever burn and tan easily and I was definitely red the next day!I recommend lining up early, there is limited seating towards the front of the boat and was a bit of a bum rush to get those seats. I also wouldn't sit at the absolute FRONT of the boat as we got seats to the side and the boat turns around often, so you'll get close to all the sights you need to see.ON THE BOAT: there are plenty of bathrooms and snacks/drinks to order. There are also several restaurants nearby the port to stop before the cruise startsOne of the major disadvantages of our trip is that it was a WHOLE day tour and the cruise itself doesn't take that long. The way Great Sights structures it is that they pick up from Auckland and some people have an earlier tour, so we get to Paihia and had 2.5 hours to kill, which was fine, but we hadn't really planned for this. So, we stopped at a restaurant to eat, but you get there so early that they're not yet ready for serving lunch, so it was a small bit of a scrambling, as you don't want to go too far, as they start lining up for the cruise soonWe both LOVED this tour and it was WORTH it, but to save on travel time, it would have been nicer to stay in Paihia. You have to be at the port for pickup from Auckland so early and it takes 2 hours to get to Paihia...so we had to leave our hotel before 7am for a tour that started at 1:15-1:30pm.

This is the company to use when you want to do tours in the area! I did both the hole in the rock & 90 mile beach/Cape Reigna tour!The hole in the rock tour was really nice as we saw dolphins which swam with us for multiple minutes, and conditions allowed us to go through the hole in the rock. We also landed on urupukapuka island and had 1 hour and 15 minutes to explore the island. Did a little walk with that time, very pretty island with lots of sheep!The Cape Reigna & 90 mile beach tour stole the show though, and this is especially because of our driver. He was of Maori descent and he told us so much of his Maori childhood, sang Maori songs to us and really cared for our enjoyment.For the 90 mile beach part of the tour we drove over the beach which is a public highway. Sadly because of the cyclone we couldn't go sandboarding on the giant sand dunes, while most drivers would skip sand boarding all together, this legend actually found a different spot to do it at and still gave us the opportunity to do it as he himself loves it aswell. I highly appreciate this as sandboarding was one of the highlights for me and a big reason I booked the tour.The Cape Reigna part of the tour was Also great as the nature is beautiful and you can see the clashing of the Tasman sea and pacific ocean. After this we had lunch (included) which was delicious and went to get ice cream (not included).Overall I really enjoyed both tours and will use Fullers again in the future!

We did the full day bus tour to Cape Reinga, which was great. Our driver ‘Wee’ really made the trip with his homespun humorous stories about his Māori upbringing in Northland as well as insights about the region and singalongs. Well worth the cost.

We did hole in the rock and dolphin cruise today, it was great, started in Paihia then went out around some of the islands and saw some young orcas (killer whales) and then headed to the hole in the rock. On the way back we saw a few dolphins. The crew and captain were fantastic with their commentary and overall enthusiasm.