Dolphin Encounter Kaikoura
Swim with Dolphins in Kaikoura
All prices shown in NZD$.
Genuine Customer Reviews powered by 
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Amazing
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Fantastic happy team that support you from the moment you book.
Lots of interesting information and the experience itself cannot be expressed in words. To be that close to these amazing animals is just awe inspiring.
All the respect and love that this tour teaches and shows adds to the moments.
Thank you xox
Amazing
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Fantastic happy team that support you from the moment you book.
Lots of interesting information and the experience itself cannot be expressed in words. To be that close to these amazing animals is just awe inspiring.
All the respect and love that this tour teaches and shows adds to the moments.
Thank you xox
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You have to be able to snorkle
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I thought it was all too centred around making money. Go pro is a complete waste if you're not a confident snorkler. They need to slow down the whole process and reduce numbers by about 25%.
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One of the best experiences of my life. Worth every cent and more. The staff were amazing and I had four swimming sessions, surrounded by dolphins each time.
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Incredible experience. Once in a lifetime .
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It was the best thing Iโve ever did!!! Just magical! Thank you for this great experience. Really really nice and helpful people, thanks! ๐๐ฌ
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Easy booking, very good Management
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Just everything wasgood
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Such a good experience, with such nice and caring People.
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Amazing experience the guides clearly love what they do and gave lots of information it felt really personal. I cannot recommend enough
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Incredible experience the most amazing day
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A very professional service and an amazing experience, thanks team! Iโve been welcomed very personally, the check-in went smooth, staff is very friendly and knows whatโs happening. Informs well and feels responsible. Great teamwork. And of course to watch and swim with the dolphins is an amazing experience. Would definitely recommend them!
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A very professional team, smooth processes, clear communication and taking great care of you! Very well informed and enthousiast!
Would really recommend them, they also take care of the environment.
Absolute unforgettable experience with the dolphins!
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Great service.
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Easy booking and a great trip!
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Very helpful in changing time slots for us, quick and smooth response
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Super memorable experience, got to swim with so many dolphins
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Was very good
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Amazing experience! Absolutely loved it! If I could give one piece of advice, it might be that given the water conditions, we should have put our goproยด's on a wider angle, as none of us got a dolphin underwater on the gopro. Saw tons tho, so that was amazing!
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So worth it. Really good tour guides and a great experience
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Amazing experience would do again
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Service in all areas of safety and enjoyment and staff interaction were fantastic.
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Fantastic information with all related aspects of this trip.
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They are very reliable, friendly and reply quick to the emails.
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I purchased the Dolphin Swim - Kaikoura and it was an amazing experience to be so close to this wonderful mammal.
After the swim we encountered more than 50 dolphins which swam, jumped and flipped around our boat warming our hearts :-)
Reply from Everything Travel Group
Thank you so much for your feedback. We really appreciate you taking the time to tell us about your great experience. We hope you had an amazing time in New Zealand!
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The Dolphin Encounter was well organized from the get go. Great communication. The knowledgable guides were enthusiastic and informative.
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This was a special afternoon - to swim with dolphins in their environment!
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๋งค์ฐ ๋ง์กฑ์ค๋ฐ ์กํฐ๋นํฐ ์์ต๋๋ค.
์คํญ๋ค๋ ์น์ ํ๊ณ ์ ๋ฐ ์์ค๋ฑ์ด ๋งค์ฐ ํ๋ฅญํ์ต๋๋ค.
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ํฌ์ด ํ๋ก๊ทธ๋จ์ด ๋งค์ฐ ์ ์ง์ผ์ง ๋๋์ด์๊ณ ,
์์ค์ด๋ ์คํญ ๋ชจ๋ ๋ง์กฑ์ค๋ฌ์ ์๋๋ค.
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Staff were fantastic and supportive give the rough seas . Highly recommended
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Excellent service
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Amazing experience! We saw tons and tons of dolphins, including three different species. The water was very cold, but well worth it.
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Wings over whales pilots were friendly, informative and views were spectacular.
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The dolphin encounter experience in the water was incredible. Felt safe and staff were wonderful.
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Wonderful staff and amazing experience. Very efficient and professional experience.
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One of our booking forms stated a departure time which ended up being the checkin time but a second form was correctly marked
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Both of us ended up being extremely sea sick on the dolphin encounter which could have been prevented if we had been advised to purchase (on the booking form) motion sickness tablets from the local pharmacy prior to sailing. This would have added to our comfort and pleasure. It would have been useful to have staff check my wetsuit headgear and goggle fitting before entering the water at least at the beginning. Mine was not fitted correctly and so really hindered my participation, enjoyment and comfort. Overall still a good experience aided by the extremely personable, friendly and professional staff.
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Wonderful family service from the Swimming with Seals team
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It was actually the Seal Swimming and it was brilliant. We didn't really have many expectations as we had originally wanted to go on the Dolphin Encounter but are really pleased we ended up doing the Seals. It was a very personal and intimate experiences as opposed to the big tourist boats of Dolphin Encounters
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response quickly and effectively
cancelled
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Staff were very good instructions were good and clear desk staffexcellent and friendly
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an experience of a lifetime the crew were excellent very informative and easy to talk to and to swim with that many dolphins what an experience AWESOME!!!!
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Everything was very easy, good customer service would highly recommend.
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I would rate this as excellent but unfortunately due to engine problems on the boat we were unable to swim with the dolphins. They were very apologetic and we received a full prompt refund. Was very disappointed but we were lucky enough to see dolphins. The staff were brilliant and tried everything to fix the problem but to no avail. Will definitely be back to do this again.
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It was a brilliant day out. The team were very nice
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Dolphins are my favourite animals, it was nice to see them in their natural habitat.
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The service was excellent. The staff were very friendly and had a great sense of humour.
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Swimming with the dolphins was one of the best days of my life and I am 53 years of age!!!!!!!!!!! The friendly and informative crew were exceptional and they kept taking us to pods of dolphins as the dolphins took off from us. Thank you so much for this awesome experience. I recommend everyone do it!!!!!!!!!
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I had no trouble checking in when I got to the dolphin encounter but it helps if you print out your voucher!
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I had a great time swimming with the dolphins. It was a perfect day and there were dolphins everywhere! I was on a waiting list to actually swim with the dolphins and the staff was very helpful in getting my fitted for a wetsuit last minute and making sure my trip was the best!
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Managed to get us tickets for Dolphin Encounter at short notice
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Fantastic experience swimming with wild dolphins. Do it if you can!
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No hickups....all went well......thanks
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Really friendly guys and Gals.....no drama....kids loved it.
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The booking went alright, it allworked smoothly.
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We really enjoyed swimming with the dolphins, it truly was a very special experience. At Dolphin Encounter, the staff were very well organised, it all ran very smoothly to get the whole group kitted out and on our way to the boat. At sea, they really did their best to give us a great time. Very helpful, very knowledgeable staff. Many thanks!
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very helpful
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The girls were fascinated by the dolphins, the staff was friendly and very helpful.
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super nice, kind and professional staff.
it was the first time, that all the promises fulfilled and even more.
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Ok nothing spectacluar
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Unfortunatly the dolphins were way offshore, the water cold and the weather was rough, none controllable by the event organisers. The staff were welcoming, knowledgable and helpful.
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The service was excellent.
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I would have rated this excursion excellent had I not experienced sea sickness (motion sickness). None the less, I highly recommend this excursions just remember to take the medication Dramamine if your prone to motion sickness. It was quite magical swimming among these highly intelligent creatures.
Latest Questions about Dolphin Encounter (Kaikoura)
If I go swimming with the Dolphins can my husband come on the boat but not swim with the Dolphin
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Yes, if one person does not want to swim they can choose the watch (cruise only) option -
Does the Dolphin Encounter boat have wheelchair access?
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Due to having limited space on the boat, there is no Wheelchair access
If you have never done snorkelling before, but am comfortable in the water. Do you think I would still be able to go swimming with the dolphins at Dolphin Encounter?
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If you're a confident swimmer you can certainly come on out for the Dolphin Swim experience
I was wondering what wetsuit shampoo you use on your wetsuits for Dolphin Encounter.
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I can confirm that the wetsuit shampoo used at Dolphin Encounter is Eclipse by Eco Chem
Is 5:30 am or 8:30 am best for the Dolphin Encounter cruise
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The Dolphin Encounter has a high chance of seeing Dolphins during any of their scheduled tour times.
The sun would be rising during the 5:30 am tour therefore giving it an amazing view
When are the Dolphin Super-pods in Kaikoura/best time to book the Dolphin Encounter
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Summer (November - March) is the best time to do dolphin swimming in Kaikoura. The dusky dolphins visit Kaikoura in large 'super-pods', so Dolphin Encounter Kaikoura have a 90% success rate of swimming with dolphins at this time of year.
Is the dolphin encounter available in winter
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Dolphin Encounter is available year-round! You are provided with wetsuits to keep you warm
What is the temperature of the water in Kaikoura for the Dolphin Encounter
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The average sea temperature in Kaikoura in December is about 14.9 degrees Celsius.
do you provide life jacket for swimming with dolphin and snorkelling at Dolphin Encounter
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The operator does not provide any life jackets due to the fact the wetsuit they provide is very buoyant. This will keep you afloat, also a life jacket keeps your head above the water and all of the dolphin action is beneath the service. So this would impair your ability to enjoy the experience to the fullest.
What age can you swim with dolphins.
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The minimum age for swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura is 8. Children under 8 and over 3 are welcome on board the boat (dolphin watch) but must be supervised at all times by a parent or guardian.
If I can't swim very well, would I be able to wear a lifejacket so I could participate in the Dolphin encounter?
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You don't have to be a great swimmer to go swimming with the dolphins in Kaikoura however you do have to be confident enough to be in the open water without hanging on to anything. There is additional buoyancy aids such as float boards and noodles which you can use in the water. As long as you feel comfortable enough swimming a short distance away from the boat then you will be fine.
What to wear underneath a wetsuit for warmth and comfort. and does the Dolphin Encounter boat have any cubicle to change in privacy?
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For the Dolphin Encounter, you will be provided with a two-piece 5mm wetsuit, mask and snorkel, flippers and a hood. Under your wetsuit you just need to wear your swimwear and nothing else.
It is easier if you wear your swimwear underneath your clothes on the day of your dolphin swim and you will be given time to put your wetsuit on.
How do I get this encounter from Christchurch
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Hi Barb. It's about a 2 hour drive from Christchurch to Kaikoura or there is a train that goes there and back. If you are thinking of booking the train please check the Kaikoura dolphin encounter availability with us first to make sure there is space for you on the date you wish to travel.
Hi Madushika. Luckily in Kaikoura there is a resident pod of Dusky dolphins that can be found just off the coast all year round so no matter what time of year you are visiting Kaikoura you will be able to see and also swim with dolphins.
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93% of new customers that used Everything New Zealand to provide advice and securely book their NZ activities have let us know they've had a good or excellent experience with us. Thank you.
Reply from Everything Travel Group
Thank you so much for your feedback. We really appreciate you taking the time to tell us about your great experience. We hope you had a great time in New Zealand! All the best & stay safe!
Posted 29-Mar-2020