Larnach Castle

Larnach Castle was good, but not quite worth the $39pp fee to visit the castle and the gardens.The owners have done a great job of fixing up the place, and the furnishings were impressive, but overall it just didn't feel worth the entrance cost.

So, it's a nice place, full of interesting history of a family that sort of ended tragically. (Try to get a docent tour.) The views are great, particularly from the tower. A great job of restoration. However, if I only had one day in Dunedin, I'm not sure if this would be a priority. Personal preference probably, but at the end of the day, the town center seems more interesting and I could easily spend a day exploring that instead.

The only castle in New Zealand. Not the usual castle architecture from Europe. The first thing I noticed is the glass veranda. The garden takes on the Alice in Wonderland theme so look out for the King, Queen and also Cheshire Cat.Castle interior is classic and elegant with practicality and view of the bay where ships come to and fro.The ballroom, I was told had spring on under the floor for the dances. It is now a cafe and serves food and beverage.A slightly different aspect of NZ, a change of the usual outdoor to historical, political and economic understanding of NZ.

Definitely worth a visit when in Dunedin! Pretty expensive but understandable with the ongoing renovations and upkeep required. Very interesting history of the original & current owners. Take your time as you’ll miss details if you rush.Great to end the tour in the ballroom cafe but again pricing is a little higher than a regular cafe.Make sure you take a look around the grounds too & catch the view out to the peninsula and from the tower!

Larnach Castle is an incredible experience that anyone visiting the South Island of New Zealand should not miss. The history, architecture, and the views from the castle are breathtaking. The castle is beautifully maintained, and the guided tours are informative and engaging. The gardens are also stunning and well worth exploring. There are restaurants and cafes on the property, making it a perfect spot to spend the whole day. Overall, a must-see attraction that will leave you in awe of New Zealand's fascinating history and beauty. Highly recommended!

A very special visit to a special place. We had our wedding reception in the ballroom nearly 47 yrs ago and this time we were lucky to dine with a group of 20 others in the music room in the castle. Excellent staff, excellent food, and a great private tour of the lower level rooms. The ceilings are outstanding... as is the staircase. The accommodation is beautiful; carefully decorated and attention to detail. A wonderful experience . If you can, treat yourself.The gardens too, are magnificent

I love visiting places of historical significance. The brochures provided were very informative and make a lovely keep sake. The gardens were glorious and the castle was most impressive. The views were incredible. They have a lovely cafe and a really nice gift shop. A must see.

Very friendly accommodating staff. Our tour guide David was fantastic! He is informative, personable, enthusiastic, empathetic, and also has great sense of humour. I love how he was interactive, questions and linking. If you want to know more about the history of the family then and now, history of the castle, building materials, how it all came to be, and how it is restored, all worth the private guided tour. All worth the ticket price going towards restoration and maintenance.

Fair warning this is mostly about getting to and from the castle by bus/walking since I haven't seen much online and had no warning about the experience and would like to give others the heads-up. (The Castle was great, high tea was great, definitely worth a visit.)So. Being backpackers with no car we did some googling and decided based on what little information we could find to take Bus Line 18 to the Broad Bay stop on Portabello Rd. on the peninsula and walk from there. The walk didn't look too far (less than 5 kilometers) and we figured we would enjoy walking through what looked like nature on the maps... To be fair if we'd dressed and mentally prepared for a hike we would have been fine. Luckily we were very early for our scheduled visit, but seeing as that booking included the high tea offered in the castle ballroom... Well, we weren't really dressed for the walk up AND UP AND UP camp st. This road quickly becomes a walking only track to the castle (stripping away all hopes for hitchhiking) almost entirely uphill, mostly at a fairly steep incline. It is reasonably well taken care of and there are a few benches along the way for breaks that you will be very glad for. Be warned that some of the track is through grassy areas that would probably be very muddy if it had been raining a lot. There is also some shaded areas but almost 90% of the walk is in the sun. Water and decent shoes are a very good idea. Sunscreen is also a good idea. The way back down does go much more quickly, but there are parts where the gravel road is so steep that you do worry a bit about slipping, again, some good walking/hiking shoes wouldn't have gone amiss. Altogether though the walk provides beautiful landscape and scenic views with some horses and sheep (fenced away from you) to keep you company. Tip for tourists: whether you go to the castle or not, the line 18 bus is a super cheap way to get a beautiful ride down the peninsula and back, every few hours it goes most of the way down the peninsula so instead of straight back to downtown Dunedin we got on going the wrong way and had a beautiful ride down and back to see more of the coast of the peninsula with great views of the islands off the coast!

The drive out there for us was a 4 hour event. I am so happy we went! It was windy and cold up there, pack a hoodie! The view of the peninsula from the castle roof were stunning! The castle is intriguing and you can grab lunch there. Food was fast and delicious. Fun day!