Dolphin Encounter Kaikoura

A dream for many of us is to visit dolphins in the wild! Since the summer of 1989 Encounter Kaikoura operates two boat based activities: Dolphin Encounter and Albatross Encounter.

Dolphin Encounter has operated tours to the dusky dolphins found traditionally quite close to shore at Kaikoura. Whether you choose to view from the boat or swim in the dolphin’s natural environment, you will have a unique experience that will stay with you for a lifetime!

Dolphin Encounter’s point of difference is the fact that they have the highest success rate for locating the marine mammals and swimming with dolphins than anywhere in New Zealand! Numbers of dusky dolphins vary depending on the time of year and weather conditions, but generally pods from 100 dolphins to 1000 dolphins can be found off the Kaikoura Coast.

Activity Options

• Swim with the dolphins in their natural environment
• Watch the dolphin’s acrobatic displays from the comfort of the boat

Departures

Dolphin Encounter tours operate at 8.30am and 12.30pm throughout the year and an additional tour at 5.30am during the summer.

Duration

The Dolphin Encounter tour is approximately three and a half hours in duration, however we do advise that flexibility is required as sometimes the tour can be longer as we are always dependent on sea conditions and dolphin behavior.

Facilities

Our complex has a fully licensed cafe and hot chocolate and biscuits are available on all boats. The boats have hot showers on board to warm up the swimmers when they get back on board.

Other Information

• To swim on the tour you must be confident in the open ocean and preferably have snorkeling experience. The Dolphin Encounter tour is an adventure activity and we always emphasise we do not feed or entice the dolphins in anyway and they are wild animals.
• To watch on the tour there are no special requirements, however you do need to be mobile to access the back of the boat.

Location

Kaikoura is a seaside town on the east coast of the south island, just two and a half hours drive north of Christchurch. The Encounter Kaikoura complex has a cafe and gallery displaying the work of local artists. We transport our passengers from our complex at 96 Esplanade to the departure point of our boats.