Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch)
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September 2026
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Who is going?
Adults
Age 13 and over
Children
Age 12 and under
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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Same price on Viator, Outty earns a commission.
Traveler rating
4.8/5
Based on 271 traveler reviews. Ratings and reviews provided by Viator and Tripadvisor.
Quick answer
Is Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch) worth booking?
Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch) is a 5-hour experience in Wellington, New Zealand, from $129 per person. It scores 82 out of 100 on the Outty Ranking, which we label “Exceptional”, based on a 4.8/5 rating across 271 reviews. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start time. Same-day spots are currently showing.
- Outty Ranking
- 82 / 100
- Rating
- 4.8/5 (271)
- Duration
- 5 hours
- From
- $129 per person
This five-hour experience offers outstanding value, giving you more time to explore, a wider variety of attractions, and a delicious lunch all in one tour. With its combination of sightseeing, local insights, coastal sce
What you get
About this experience
This five-hour experience offers outstanding value, giving you more time to explore, a wider variety of attractions, and a delicious lunch all in one tour. With its combination of sightseeing, local insights, coastal scenery, and quality dining, this tour offers a well-rounded introduction to the very best of Wellington. Discover Wellington's iconic highlights, including Mount Victoria Lookout, the Wētā Cave, the historic Wellington Cable Car, the Wellington Botanic Garden and Lady Norwood Rose Garden, Parliament Grounds, and Old St Paul's Cathedral. Venture beyond the city centre with a scenic drive along Wellington's dramatic south coast and a visit to the Brooklyn Wind Turbine, where you'll have time to soak up the panoramic views. To complete the experience, enjoy a relaxing seaside lunch at a popular local café, including one main meal and one drink.
What's included
Included
- Local driver/guide with live commentary on board
- Small group tour
- Lunch
- Hotel or cruise ship pickup and drop-off
Not included
- Gratuities
- Cable Car tickets (optional)
- Old St. Paul’s Cathedral (Optional)
What you'll see and do
Mount Victoria
Enjoy panoramic views of the city and harbour from the Mount Victoria Lookout.
15 minutes here
Visit to the Weta Cave retail and museum space. Optional exclusive behinds the scenes documentary viewing available if time and availability allows
15 minutes here
Shelly Bay
Lunch (mains and a drink) served at this lovely seaside cafe
45 minutes here · Admission included
Learn about the local history, geography, flora and fauna and enjoy amazing views across the Cook Strait to the South Island.
15 minutes here
Wellington Wind Turbine
Take in the epic views from the amazing vantage point above the city of Wellington. Learn about the history of the first wind turbine in New Zealand.
15 minutes here
Wellington Cable Car
Optional trip up the iconic Wellington Cable Car from Lambton Quay to Kelburn. Look across the valley from the Cable Car viewing platform and learn its history in the Cable Car Museum
30 minutes here · Admission not included
Lady Norwood Rose Garden
From the top of the Cable Car guests have the option to take a 20 minute walk down through the Botanical Gardens to the Lady Norwood Rose Garden (weather permitting). The drive guide will pick up guests at the Lady Norwood Rose Garden and continue the tour.
30 minutes here
Old St. Paul's
The final stop is Old St. Paul’s Cathedral (optional entry at guests’ own expense, $5 NZD per person), where you can explore this native hardwood timber cathedral, built in 1856, and admire its magnificent stained glass windows.
15 minutes here · Admission not included
Where it starts and ends
Meeting point
Wellington
The tour will depart at 10:00 AM from the Pick Up and Drop Off lane on the Wakefield Street side of Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre (217 Wakefield Street). Please ensure you arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.
Hotel pickup
Pickup is available for selected locations. Pickup begins about 30 minutes before departure.
Ends at
The tour will depart at 10:00 AM from the Pick Up and Drop Off lane on the Wakefield Street side of Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre (217 Wakefield Street). Please ensure you arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.
Before you book
- Cancellation
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
- Languages
- en
- Ticket
- Mobile Only
- Runs on
- Every day
- Group size
- Up to 11 travelers per booking
- Operated by
- Zozo Travel - Tours of Wellington. Scenic, Winery, Brewery and Foodie Tours
Know before you go
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Collapsible wheelchairs with removable wheels can be accommodated providing the passenger is accompanied by someone who can assist them to board and disembark
- To ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all guests, participants must be able to enter and exit our vans unassisted, using steps and grab rails. If this basic requirement cannot be met at the start of the tour, our guides reserve the right to decline participation. In such cases, a full refund will be provided.
Photos
What travelers are saying
Outty’s summary of the themes that recur across 271 traveler reviews. Written by us, not quoted from reviewers.
The guide
6 mentionsTravelers single out the guide as the reason the experience works.
Food and drink
5 mentionsThe tastings and food stops are a highlight for most reviewers.
Knowledge and storytelling
4 mentionsReviewers describe the commentary as informative rather than scripted.
Photo opportunities
4 mentionsThe views and photo stops come up again and again.
Traveler reviews
271 verified traveler reviews for Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch). Ratings and reviews provided by Viator and Tripadvisor.
Wish I could give more than 5 stars!
Athena and Zozo tours made getting to many Wellington sites and landmarks so easy! As a solo traveler, their low minimum required bookings also meant I had a good chance to attend and not be left to my own transport. The locations were very interesting, spectacular, relevant, or all three! I loved the lunch spot, the conversation, and the momentum of the tour meant we got to squeeze a lot into approx. 5 hours. Athena was a breath of fresh air who made sure we felt welcome and informed. She was a highlight of an already lovely day! Thanks Zozo!
Response from the operator: Thanks for the great feedback Caitlin. Great to hear you enjoyed the tour locations and your wonderful guide for the day!
via Tripadvisor
Almost 5 stars but still provided a really good day in Wellington - shore excursion
An ideal way to spend a day in Wellington. I booked this shore excursion following a recommendation on a Cruise Critic Roll call for our New Zealand to Australia cruise in March. The fellow traveller had in fact been directed to this excursion by a friend who lived in Wellington so that was a positive from the start. The moment I booked this through Viator ZoZo Travel were in touch. Great. So reassuring. Customer care at its best. Our guide (think it was Mike) met us dock side promptly and we were all settled in and quickly on our way. Throughout the day he was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The tour covered a large area and as the itinerary details a lot of stops. A particular highlight for us was the lunch served at a local seaside cafe. I understand that the tour company reserves it for customers so you get a personal service. The staff were lovely and the food excellent. Most of us seemed to order the fish and chips and the portions were large. As I said at the start it is a full on tour with a lot to take in but it will give you a very good experience of highlights in Wellington. At the time of booking the tour was called cave, coasts. One of my fellow passengers commented that there were no caves. However I understand that the caves aspect could have been WETA stop. I personally felt that one of the coastal stops lasted longer than necessary which then had the knock on effect of meaning that we did not have the opportunity to visit the rose garden. Some of our group were keen to visit the church which is mentioned in the itinerary but when we arrived it was closed. Perhaps this could have been ascertained beforehand. My husband would also have liked to have had the chance for a photo stop at the Beehive (but that may not have been possible due to parking restrictions). On my return home I contacted ZoZo Travel with my feedback. I was delighted to receive a detailed reply which highlighted the care the proprietor takes in providing a great service to his customers. The tour name has now been changed to Wellington highlights removing reference to caves All in all this was a really good shore excursion offering value for money, customer care, an all round concise city and outskirts tour with a lovely lunch thrown in to boot.
Response from the operator: Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed review, and for choosing to spend your day in Wellington with us while visiting by cruise ship. It was lovely to read your comments about our communication before the tour, and I’ll be sure to pass your kind words on to Mike as well. He works hard to make the day informative, relaxed and enjoyable, so I know he’ll appreciate the feedback. Thank you also for taking the time to share your constructive comments after your tour. We genuinely value feedback like this as it helps us keep improving. You raised a great point about the previous tour name and the expectation it created around “caves.” You weren’t the only guest to interpret this as a natural cave experience rather than a reference to the Wētā Cave experience, so as you mentioned we’ve since resolved this internally by renaming the tour to better reflect the day and avoid future confusion. Regarding Old St Paul’s, unfortunately last-minute closures do happen from time to time and are not uncommon due to services, events, filming and operational requirements. That unpredictability is exactly why entry is not included as part of the tour — we treat it as an opportunistic stop whenever access allows rather than a guaranteed inclusion. Your comments around timing at certain stops and opportunities for additional photo stops are also appreciated and are something we continue to review as we refine the day’s flow. Thank you again for your balanced and generous review. We’re especially grateful that despite a few things not going entirely to plan, you still found the day offered good value, great customer care and a memorable introduction to Wellington. Safe travels and we’d love to welcome you back to New Zealand again in the future.
via Viator
Awesome
Peter was awesome guide. TripAdvisor needs to advertise in NZ dollars. Would highly recommend to anyone.
Response from the operator: Thank you for your review and recommendation! We're delighted to hear you enjoyed the Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour and that Pieter helped make your day a memorable one. We'll be sure to pass on your kind words to him. Regarding the currency display, TripAdvisor operates in multiple countries and often shows prices in different currencies depending on a user's location and account settings. We appreciate you highlighting this, as we understand it can sometimes be confusing. Thank you again for joining us, and we hope to welcome you back to Wellington in the future.
via Tripadvisor
It’s a fantastic tour! We...
It’s a fantastic tour! We lucked out and had Phil all to ourselves. Very good view of Wellington and very informative of the area.
Response from the operator: Thanks Tami! Lovely to host you both for the day. Thanks for the wonderful feedback.
via Viator
Nice tour
Got to see some great sites, lunch was good, and Michael did an awesome job making sure everyone had a good time.
Response from the operator: Thanks Annie. Great to hear!
via Viator
Good to know
- Duration
- 5 hours
- Free cancellation
- Up to 24h before
- Minimum age to book
- All ages
- Availability
- Bookable today
- Runs on
- Every day
- Price range
- $129 to $215
- Hotel pickup
- Available for selected locations
- Booked in 30 days
- 95
- Verdict
- Exceptional
Why this scores 82
The Outty Ranking is a weighted composite. Here is how this experience performed on each component.
Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch): questions travelers ask
Practical detail on this experience, plus the wider planning questions for Wellington.
How much does Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch) cost?
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Prices start at $129 per person. The final price depends on the date, the time slot and the number of travelers, and peak weekends in Wellington usually price higher than midweek mornings. Live pricing and remaining availability are confirmed on the booking screen before you pay.
How long does Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch) take?
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Plan for about 5 hours from start to finish, not counting travel to the meeting point. Most travelers leave another 30 minutes on either side so the rest of the day in Wellington is not rushed.
Is Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch) worth it?
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It holds an Outty Ranking of 82 out of 100, which we label "Exceptional". That score blends traveler sentiment (4.8/5 across 271 reviews), the depth of that review evidence, recent booking momentum, value for money against comparable last minute in Wellington, and how flexible the cancellation terms are.
Can I cancel or reschedule Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch)?
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Yes. Cancel free up to 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Inside that window the booking is non-refundable, and no-shows are not refunded.
Is Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch) suitable for kids and families?
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Yes, all ages are welcome. Families should still weigh the 5-hour running time, and strollers are easier on the earlier, quieter departures.
How far in advance should I book Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch)?
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Around 95 people booked this in the last 30 days, so popular slots go early. Two to three weeks ahead is comfortable in shoulder season, while summer weekends and holidays in Wellington can sell out a month out. Same-day spots do open up when other travelers cancel, so it is worth checking if you are already in town.
What should I bring or wear?
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Bring photo ID, your booking confirmation on your phone, a refillable water bottle and comfortable shoes. Dress for the weather in Wellington and add a light layer if any part of the 5-hour experience runs outdoors or after sunset.
Where does Wellington City to Coast Highlights Tour (with Lunch) start and how do I get there?
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The exact meeting point and directions are on your voucher once you book, and they sit in central Wellington within reach of public transport. Arrive 15 minutes early: late arrivals are treated as no-shows by most operators.
What are the best things to do in Wellington?
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On Outty we rank every Wellington experience on the same 0 to 100 scale, and alongside this one the highest scorers right now include Overnight Experience Tour on Kapiti Island, Discover Wellington 3 hour City Tour, Martinborough Wine and Wild Coast Tour from Wellington. The city page groups everything into most popular, highest reviewed, last minute and family-friendly so you can build a day around what actually delivers.
When is the best time to visit Wellington?
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Booking patterns follow the same curve: prices and queues climb in peak weeks, while shoulder season gives you better availability on the top-ranked experiences and more room to change plans.
How many days do you need in Wellington?
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Three full days covers the headline sights without sprinting. A workable rhythm is one anchor experience each morning, such as this one, an unhurried afternoon in a single neighborhood, then a food or nightlife booking in the evening. Five days lets you add a day trip outside the city.
Do I book through Outty or through the operator?
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Outty ranks and explains the experiences, then hands you to Viator to complete the booking with the operator directly. The price is the same as booking on Viator yourself, and Outty earns an affiliate commission on the referral, which is how the rankings stay free to read.
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