Full Day Guided Wellington Tour Including Entry To Te Papa

We spent the day with Nathan, a local Wellingtonian. It was our good fortune to be the only people on the tour (4 people) which meant we got some personalised flexibility in our itinerary. Nathan took great care of the family members with mobility limitations and gave me extra time at the WETA shop because he knew I was a LOTR fan. We had a guided tour of Te Papa built into our day and Nathan gave us extra time to go through the Gallipoli exhibition afterwards (honestly its a must see!) We all agreed it was a fantastic experience. I booked through Viator and Nathan is part of Ka Rawe Tours - highly recommend. 5/5 in all aspects.

We were on the Holland America Line Noordam and visited Wellington on March 4, 2026. The tour operator picked us up near the pier in a relatively new van. The guide was excellent; she had lived her entire life in the Wellington area and told us many stories (some true, some folklore) about the city. We visited the published itinerary; she kept us on schedule. She returned us back to the port in plenty of time to get back on board the Noordam, I heartily recommend this tour. ProTip: Have some warm clothes, the top of Mount Victoria, while beautiful, was a bit windy and cold. Much different temperature than the main parts of the city.

Our driver Sam was such good fun, with a wealth of knowledge about the places visited in this tour. People interested in Lord of the Rings will get a real buzz out of Weta Cave and various filming locations. Mount Victoria gives stunning views of Wellington and the Cable Car was a treat. All spots visited were interesting. Highly recommended tour and driver.

This was a wonderful tour of Wellington highlighting all the significant must sees in the area. We really appreciate our tour guide, Dave, calling and then waiting for us about 10 minutes to join the tour. He was very helpful and knowledgeable about the area making this a memorable tour!

Great overall view of Wellington, including beautiful vistas, cultural sites, and buildings of architectural interest. Our guide, Dave, was knowledgeable, personable, and very informative.

This tour was fantastic!!! Our tour guide was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. We saw almost all the important stops. We also had ice cream which was very good.

Very good itenary covered a wealth of sites around wellington area Not rushed Dave was very helpful -Timings were excellent which allowed for an informative and enjoyable trip.The museum was very informative .slight issue the microphone could have been clearer

We had the best day in Wellington! Our guide Dave was very knowledgeable and made sure we saw EVERYTHING! Great small group tour!

Tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and resides in the area. Was able to give us a guided speaking g tour of all the history and sights as she drove to each destination. We loved our guide and the overall tour.

Lorraine our tour guide made our Wellington experience absolutely awesome ( Ka Rawa). Her in depth knowledge -Geographical, Historical Cultural knowledge about Wellington was commendable . Her flare of sharing the information was very interesting. She was well informed about Peter Jackson’s films and although I was not a fan about his films now I will watch those films .She was very organised and made our experience 100% memorable.

Lovely tour of Wellington with Lenoir. Very informative and caring. Would book this tour again in a heartbeat.

Our ship docked several hours late so our tour time was adjusted to suit the ship. Excellent day with Davis as our guide. The guided tour with AJ of Te Papa Museum was fascinating. The meat and cheese pie in the Museum Cafe was scrumptious! We covered a lot of ground and got beautiful pictures to remember the day.

David Howard is an outstanding tour guide. He was friendly, professional, and provided a wealth of information. We would definitely consider another one of his tours should we return to New Zealand.

Tour Guide David Howard was friendly, professional, and provided a wealth of information about his hometown.

I enjoyed how we got to visit the museum and there were many opportunities for photos. Some parts were very historical when it came to facts and during a long van ride could cause drowsiness but if that is your thing it is quite nice. David is awesome and we are glad to see Wellington.

If I could give this tour 6 stars, I would do it. It was excellent. On the day of our tour, we were the only two to book it. Ka Rawe did not cancel, which we appreciate. Instead, Nathan (our guide) picked us up in a very comfortable sedan and we had a private tour. Nathan is an excellent guide and has a wealth of knowledge about New Zealand and its history. We enjoyed the almost constant conversations with him. The tour covered all of the highlights of Wellington including the Te Papa Museum (guided tour) and a ride on the cable car. Additionally, we drove all over Wellington to see the Parliament, Botanical Gardens, WETA office, and much more. We had a great day. If you are visiting Wellington, this is the tour to take!

Responded to all my pre excursion enquires promptly. Our Driver Ian was excellent he responded to changes in itinerary caused by the tram not working by providing alternative activities. We had lots of laughs and felt well looked after. Would strongly recommend this tour.

Ian was the perfect guide, we were lucky enough to be driven around in a nice car and his knowledge of Wellington's past and its present was excellent. We highly recommend this whole day tour of Wellington.

This was a great tour of Wellington and the surrounding area. Ian was a wonderful guide and kept us laughing!

All as indicated - even better. Guide is delightful Hope to come back and do it again! Please don’t miss

Nathan was simply awesome. Exceeded all expectations. He provided all we needed for Wellington. Highly recommended for anyone who needs awesome service

Excellent tour - was a small group which made it very personal. Guide was knowledgeable and friendly. Te Papa was very interesting and could have spent the day just looking around here. Having a personal guide really helped the experience by showing us the best bits of a few exhibits. The Wellington tram was another highlight. Highly recommend doing this tour in Wellington.

We had a wonderful experience. David was our tour guide. We had a fabulous time, and learned about the highlights of the area along the way. We agreed that Wellington is a super gorgeous area. The views were breathtaking. We appreciate the opportunity to hear about the the day to day life in Wellington, the average prices of the homes, etc. David took us to a wonderful place for lunch just across from the museum. The food as great !! We had a wonderful experience.

This was the best tour we have ever booked! Absolutely over the top! The tour operators will cater to your needs. On the day we toured, we were the only couple and the operators sent us Ian, in a black BMW car for our tour. Incredible comfort and while Ian showed us his favorite sights we had ample time to stop, and make suggestions of where we wanted to stop. Ian drove us to overlooks as well as shoreline views of the city. We had a guided tour of the Māori museum but we also got to see Weti studios where Lord of the Rings creatures came to life and we also saw the Parliament buildings. Ian gave us his take on his city and country and we loved the time spent with him.

Great way to see Wellington , we where on a cruise ship docked for the day , Lorraine was very informative, would of liked a bit more time at the museum to see all the amazing things in there

Fantastic tour. Nathan, our guide knows everything about his home city and proudly promotes it throughout this tour. He was very flexible in the itinery and we saw just about everything required in the few hours we were with him. He is everything you hope for in a guide. Pleasant, knowledgeable, flexible, and a good driver. Thank you again for showing us around your wonderful city. we hope to return again some day.

AC didn’t work for most of the ride, mic had the worst echo and was hard to keep up with the words but other then that its was pretty good, wellington isn’t a super interesting place like auckland is but was good paced and our driver was great and worked with what he had, the museum was the best part!

We were privileged to have the wonderful Nathan show us around Wellington for the day. He was very welcoming, knowledgeable & adapted the tour to fit our needs. The tour covered a wide aspect of Wellington from its views, industry, history & culture. It was even better than expected. Ka Rawe Tours, they are fabulous!!

Was swapped over to the half day tour a couple of days prior, however was more than enough to visit the important landmarks and provided with more time to explore on my own at the end.

Nathan, tour guide. Fabulous fun. Full of knowledge. Few questions he couldn’t answer. Went the extra mile all day!!

Nathan was our guide and was fantastic . He was knowledgable, flexible around the tour timings , the tour bus was clean and tidy, he was a very hospitable host, and happy to share information on the life of a New Zealander . We had lots of fun and giggles . Lots of sights to see , never rushed. A great highlight tour of wellington .highly recommend this tour

Fun, informative day with Nathan. Few questions he couldn’t answer. He took us all over the city. He was loads of fun. Telling dad jokes along the way.