E-Ko Tours
42 Rankers Reviews
1 Marine Animals
1 Boat Cruises
1 Dolphin Watching
10 Picton / Marlborough Sounds
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Information
E-Ko Tours
Swim with Wild Dolphins in their natural environment of the calm sheltered waters of Marlborough Sounds, Scenic Wildlife & Nature Cruises and walks in Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough, Picton, New Zealand. TOURISM AWARD WINNER!
Dolphin Swimming & Viewing- "Want to see Flipper...we'll show you Flipper" :
Our Dolphin tours provide a wonderful opportunity to swim and view dolphins in calm and sheltered waters. You can expect to encounter bottlenose, dusky and rare Hector's dolphins. We also visit NZ fur seals and spot a variety of seabirds like blue penguins, Gannets and Shags on the water. Our knowledgeable skipper and guide will provide you with an informed and interesting commentary on the wildlife encountered along with local history of the Marlborough Sounds.
Our success rate in finding Dolphins is 98%.
Nature & Wildlife tour to Motuara Island Bird Sanctuary, Ship Cove or Bird Watchers Expedition:
See the very best of the Marlborough Sounds by combining a scenic and informative Eco-Cruise about the wild life and the region, with a fascinating walk on either “Motuara Island Bird Sanctuary” or “Historic ship cove”. In the “Bird Watches Expedition” we’ll go extra lengths to ensure the viewing of the rare King Shag and SI Saddle back. You can expect to encounter dolphins, NZ fur seals while spotting a variety of seabirds like blue Penguins, Gannets and King Shags on the water. Our knowledgeable skipper and guide will provide you with an informed and interesting commentary on the wildlife encountered along with a bit of local history.
Best of the Marlborough Sounds Wildlife, Nature & Art tour:
Join us for a magical experience as we cruise through the southern parts of the Queen Charlotte Sounds! Sit back and relax as we explore and educate. Enjoy our majestic seabirds, feed the friendly fish and be delighted by the cheeky NZ Fur Seals! Our journey continues as we disembark at Lochmara Lodge, venturing through the native bush and being inspired by the art and wildlife wonderland! After a true ‘kiwi-ana’ morning tea and a little retail therapy, it’s time to cruise towards home, relaxing and reflecting.
Details
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E-Ko ToursCommercial organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Marlborough ▷ Picton / Marlborough Sounds |
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Marine Animals
Boat Cruises
Dolphin Watching
Reviews
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5.0/5
A really great trip.
Andy and Will were brilliant - very enthusiastic and knowledgeable and happy to answer our questions. We saw lots of different sea birds, fur seals and Hector's Dolphins.
L![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(137,92,96)" /><path d="m 150 520 Q 96 204 -220 150 Q 96 96 150 -220 Q 204 96 520 150 Q 204 204 150 520 z" fill="rgb(49,6,59)" /><path d="m 150 514 Q 159 141 -214 150 Q 159 159 150 -214 Q 141 159 514 150 Q 141 141 150 514 z" fill="rgb(206,249,196)" /><path d="m 150 294 Q 139 161 6 150 Q 139 139 150 6 Q 161 139 294 150 Q 161 161 150 294 z" fill="rgb(118,163,159)" /></svg>)
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4.0/5
Thanks Will and Dan!
Great duo, sharing lots of information in a relaxed environment. Shame weather wasn't in our favour and no dolphin sigtings (our reason for tour), but saw penguin, sealion and quite a few bird species. Fun boxing day outing.
LW![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(248,147,191)" /><path d="m 150 718 Q 272 28 -418 150 Q 272 272 150 -418 Q 28 272 718 150 Q 28 28 150 718 z" fill="rgb(99,229,58)" /><path d="m 150 440 Q 54 246 -140 150 Q 54 54 150 -140 Q 246 54 440 150 Q 246 246 150 440 z" fill="rgb(156,26,197)" /><path d="m 150 199 Q 280 20 101 150 Q 280 280 150 101 Q 20 280 199 150 Q 20 20 150 199 z" fill="rgb(7,108,64)" /></svg>)
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5.0/5
Our tour to Motuara island was amazing.
Paul the Skipper was spot on with his directions
and his knowledge of the area was second to none.
If Paul was the conductor then Will was his full orchestra,, very entertaining while still being informative at the same time.
If he’s not the top guide then there’s no man on the moon.
He was A1 quality,, and don’t get me started on his sun glasses.
Brilliant effort all round.
H and Janie.
Mozzies.
H![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(242,146,185)" /><path d="m 150 554 Q 197 103 -254 150 Q 197 197 150 -254 Q 103 197 554 150 Q 103 103 150 554 z" fill="rgb(175,36,60)" /><path d="m 150 390 Q 87 213 -90 150 Q 87 87 150 -90 Q 213 87 390 150 Q 213 213 150 390 z" fill="rgb(80,219,195)" /><path d="m 150 319 Q 131 169 -19 150 Q 131 131 150 -19 Q 169 131 319 150 Q 169 169 150 319 z" fill="rgb(13,109,70)" /></svg>)
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5.0/5
Amazing day on the water!
Saw 2 types of dolphins, blue penguins, seals and heaps of birds. Well worth the money. Staff were friendly and very informative. Loved all the little extras that came with the tour that are not advertised, I wont spill what these are :)
R![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(215,116,43)" /><path d="m 150 520 Q 119 181 -220 150 Q 119 119 150 -220 Q 181 119 520 150 Q 181 181 150 520 z" fill="rgb(177,224,24)" /><path d="m 150 366 Q 73 227 -66 150 Q 73 73 150 -66 Q 227 73 366 150 Q 227 227 150 366 z" fill="rgb(78,31,231)" /><path d="m 150 146 Q 75 225 154 150 Q 75 75 150 154 Q 225 75 146 150 Q 225 225 150 146 z" fill="rgb(40,139,212)" /></svg>)
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4.5/5
Very friendly staff, care about the dolphins.
Price is worth it. Great experience.
AS![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(74,120,244)" /><path d="m 150 652 Q 196 104 -352 150 Q 196 196 150 -352 Q 104 196 652 150 Q 104 104 150 652 z" fill="rgb(174,30,54)" /><path d="m 150 469 Q 72 228 -169 150 Q 72 72 150 -169 Q 228 72 469 150 Q 228 228 150 469 z" fill="rgb(81,225,201)" /><path d="m 150 349 Q 116 184 -49 150 Q 116 116 150 -49 Q 184 116 349 150 Q 184 184 150 349 z" fill="rgb(181,135,11)" /></svg>)
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3.5/5
Nice boat, friendly crew, great knowledge sharing.
Positiv:
Seen loads of Hector dolphins even a new-born playing with its mother. They gave us enought time to enjoy the sighting.
Negativ:
- No dolphins to swim with. And as we heard afterwards they hadn't had dolphins for over a week. This is of course disappointing....but nature.
- Too many people on the boat 18 swimmers alright, but another approx. 10 additional ones for viewing.
- Kids are only allowed to swim once 8 years old. Very disappointing, if you have a 6 year old strong swimmer with various badges..
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5.0/5
Superb tour, we easily found dolphins and were in the water within minutes.
Friendly, knowledgeable and hugely enthusiastic staff who tended to everyones individual needs. A must in Picton!!
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4.5/5
Half day wildlife cruise and nature walk (cruise in Marlborough Sounds plus bush walk on Motuana Island) In one word: excellent!!
We enjoyed the dolphins, seals and many birds and the guide and skipper were excellent.
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4.0/5
Went on the "Marine Wildlife & Motuara Island" tour and it was a lovely afternoon activity !
You get to see some more remote part of the Queen Charlotte Sound and its wildlife ! The Motuara island is also a bird paradise, you see so many of them ! Good times !
ki![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(242,133,230)" /><path d="m 150 616 Q 194 106 -316 150 Q 194 194 150 -316 Q 106 194 616 150 Q 106 106 150 616 z" fill="rgb(210,136,182)" /><path d="m 150 528 Q 128 172 -228 150 Q 128 128 150 -228 Q 172 128 528 150 Q 172 172 150 528 z" fill="rgb(45,119,73)" /><path d="m 150 331 Q 146 154 -31 150 Q 146 146 150 -31 Q 154 146 331 150 Q 154 154 150 331 z" fill="rgb(13,122,25)" /></svg>)
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5.0/5
We saw a lot of dolphins among others the rare Hector dolphin and we were in the water with a lot of big dolphins playing around really close to use - nice.
Good information about the dolphins and their environment with focus on behaviour in the dolphin's premises.
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5.0/5
Dolphin swimming and viewing: best experience from New Zealand.
Highly recommend. We swam with many dolphins. Guides took us close to a dolphin pack where we saw within an arms length of 12 dolphins.
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4.5/5
Very friendly and enthusiastic guide with a great knowledge about what we saw.
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4.5/5
Nice trip, we saw the animal they said we could see, nice guides.
A smaller group would be nice, eg maximum 20.
![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(65,225,200)" /><path d="m 150 679 Q 252 48 -379 150 Q 252 252 150 -379 Q 48 252 679 150 Q 48 48 150 679 z" fill="rgb(216,53,186)" /><path d="m 150 330 Q 138 162 -30 150 Q 138 138 150 -30 Q 162 138 330 150 Q 162 162 150 330 z" fill="rgb(39,202,69)" /><path d="m 150 296 Q 60 240 4 150 Q 60 60 150 4 Q 240 60 296 150 Q 240 240 150 296 z" fill="rgb(190,30,55)" /></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(62,168,231)" /><path d="m 150 656 Q 256 44 -356 150 Q 256 256 150 -356 Q 44 256 656 150 Q 44 44 150 656 z" fill="rgb(180,173,102)" /><path d="m 150 398 Q 66 234 -98 150 Q 66 66 150 -98 Q 234 66 398 150 Q 234 234 150 398 z" fill="rgb(75,82,153)" /><path d="m 150 286 Q 77 223 14 150 Q 77 77 150 14 Q 223 77 286 150 Q 223 223 150 286 z" fill="rgb(193,87,24)" /></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(130,6,234)" /><path d="m 150 657 Q 89 211 -357 150 Q 89 89 150 -357 Q 211 89 657 150 Q 211 211 150 657 z" fill="rgb(51,6,126)" /><path d="m 150 396 Q 170 130 -96 150 Q 170 170 150 -96 Q 130 170 396 150 Q 130 130 150 396 z" fill="rgb(204,249,129)" /><path d="m 150 221 Q 244 56 79 150 Q 244 244 150 79 Q 56 244 221 150 Q 56 56 150 221 z" fill="rgb(125,249,21)" /></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(165,101,94)" /><path d="m 150 630 Q 98 202 -330 150 Q 98 98 150 -330 Q 202 98 630 150 Q 202 202 150 630 z" fill="rgb(90,82,89)" /><path d="m 150 304 Q 167 133 -4 150 Q 167 167 150 -4 Q 133 167 304 150 Q 133 133 150 304 z" fill="rgb(165,173,166)" /><path d="m 150 125 Q 241 59 175 150 Q 241 241 150 175 Q 59 241 125 150 Q 59 59 150 125 z" fill="rgb(90,154,161)" /></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(95,234,232)" /><path d="m 150 556 Q 255 45 -256 150 Q 255 255 150 -256 Q 45 255 556 150 Q 45 45 150 556 z" fill="rgb(21,155,175)" /><path d="m 150 417 Q 191 109 -117 150 Q 191 191 150 -117 Q 109 191 417 150 Q 109 109 150 417 z" fill="rgb(234,100,80)" /><path d="m 150 318 Q 236 64 -18 150 Q 236 236 150 -18 Q 64 236 318 150 Q 64 64 150 318 z" fill="rgb(160,21,23)" /></svg>)
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![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(185,70,114)" /><path d="m 150 736 Q 234 66 -436 150 Q 234 234 150 -436 Q 66 234 736 150 Q 66 66 150 736 z" fill="rgb(208,217,214)" /><path d="m 150 351 Q 204 96 -51 150 Q 204 204 150 -51 Q 96 204 351 150 Q 96 96 150 351 z" fill="rgb(47,38,41)" /><path d="m 150 312 Q 73 227 -12 150 Q 73 73 150 -12 Q 227 73 312 150 Q 227 227 150 312 z" fill="rgb(70,185,141)" /></svg>)
![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(3,81,16)" /><path d="m 150 562 Q 132 168 -262 150 Q 132 132 150 -262 Q 168 132 562 150 Q 168 168 150 562 z" fill="rgb(234,69,82)" /><path d="m 150 413 Q 293 7 -113 150 Q 293 293 150 -113 Q 7 293 413 150 Q 7 7 150 413 z" fill="rgb(21,186,173)" /><path d="m 150 187 Q 71 229 113 150 Q 71 71 150 113 Q 229 71 187 150 Q 229 229 150 187 z" fill="rgb(252,174,239)" /></svg>)
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5.0/5
A really great trip.
Andy and Will were brilliant - very enthusiastic and knowledgeable and happy to answer our questions. We saw lots of different sea birds, fur seals and Hector's Dolphins.
L -
4.0/5
Thanks Will and Dan!
Great duo, sharing lots of information in a relaxed environment. Shame weather wasn't in our favour and no dolphin sigtings (our reason for tour), but saw penguin, sealion and quite a few bird species. Fun boxing day outing.
LW -
5.0/5
Our tour to Motuara island was amazing.
Paul the Skipper was spot on with his directions
and his knowledge of the area was second to none.
If Paul was the conductor then Will was his full orchestra,, very entertaining while still being informative at the same time.
If he’s not the top guide then there’s no man on the moon.
He was A1 quality,, and don’t get me started on his sun glasses.
Brilliant effort all round.
H and Janie.
Mozzies.
H -
5.0/5
Amazing day on the water!
Saw 2 types of dolphins, blue penguins, seals and heaps of birds. Well worth the money. Staff were friendly and very informative. Loved all the little extras that came with the tour that are not advertised, I wont spill what these are :)
R -
4.5/5
Very friendly staff, care about the dolphins.
Price is worth it. Great experience.
AS -
3.5/5
Nice boat, friendly crew, great knowledge sharing.
Positiv:
Seen loads of Hector dolphins even a new-born playing with its mother. They gave us enought time to enjoy the sighting.
Negativ:
- No dolphins to swim with. And as we heard afterwards they hadn't had dolphins for over a week. This is of course disappointing....but nature.
- Too many people on the boat 18 swimmers alright, but another approx. 10 additional ones for viewing.
- Kids are only allowed to swim once 8 years old. Very disappointing, if you have a 6 year old strong swimmer with various badges..
-
4.5/5
Nice trip, we saw the animal they said we could see, nice guides.
A smaller group would be nice, eg maximum 20.
-
4.5/5
Very friendly and enthusiastic guide with a great knowledge about what we saw.
-
5.0/5
Dolphin swimming and viewing: best experience from New Zealand.
Highly recommend. We swam with many dolphins. Guides took us close to a dolphin pack where we saw within an arms length of 12 dolphins.
-
5.0/5
We saw a lot of dolphins among others the rare Hector dolphin and we were in the water with a lot of big dolphins playing around really close to use - nice.
Good information about the dolphins and their environment with focus on behaviour in the dolphin's premises.
-
5.0/5
Superb tour, we easily found dolphins and were in the water within minutes.
Friendly, knowledgeable and hugely enthusiastic staff who tended to everyones individual needs. A must in Picton!!
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-
4.5/5
Half day wildlife cruise and nature walk (cruise in Marlborough Sounds plus bush walk on Motuana Island) In one word: excellent!!
We enjoyed the dolphins, seals and many birds and the guide and skipper were excellent.
-
4.0/5
Went on the "Marine Wildlife & Motuara Island" tour and it was a lovely afternoon activity !
You get to see some more remote part of the Queen Charlotte Sound and its wildlife ! The Motuara island is also a bird paradise, you see so many of them ! Good times !
ki -
5.0/5
Charming, informative guide - Marlborough Sounds are beautiful, Motuara Island is a fascinating piece of conservation - even a great biscuit with our cup of tea.
SE![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(40,152,238)" /><path d="m 150 513 Q 112 188 -213 150 Q 112 112 150 -213 Q 188 112 513 150 Q 188 188 150 513 z" fill="rgb(247,90,132)" /><path d="m 150 517 Q 116 184 -217 150 Q 116 116 150 -217 Q 184 116 517 150 Q 184 184 150 517 z" fill="rgb(8,165,123)" /><path d="m 150 204 Q 87 213 96 150 Q 87 87 150 96 Q 213 87 204 150 Q 213 213 150 204 z" fill="rgb(215,103,17)" /></svg>)
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4.0/5
Sometimes you see dolphins, in the evening penguins.
When there is sun and wind its wonderful at the beach.
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4.0/5
Good guides who did their best to give us a good experience,however the dolphins were not very friendly on the day.
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4.5/5
Guide very enthusiastic, made it fun.
Tried hard to make sure our kids had a good time.
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5.0/5
What a magical time, had a woonderful morning cruising the sounds and then swimming with the Bottlenose Dolphins.
Very impressed by the company's knowledge and attitude towards the dolphins and respecting their freedom. Very different to my experiences in Mexico with dolphins! Amazing in the water and very lucky that the dolphins wanted to play! Special, a big THANKYOU Dolphin Watch!
Ca![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(79,2,138)" /><path d="m 150 711 Q 232 68 -411 150 Q 232 232 150 -411 Q 68 232 711 150 Q 68 68 150 711 z" fill="rgb(37,107,181)" /><path d="m 150 466 Q 64 236 -166 150 Q 64 64 150 -166 Q 236 64 466 150 Q 236 236 150 466 z" fill="rgb(218,148,74)" /><path d="m 150 280 Q 211 89 20 150 Q 211 211 150 20 Q 89 211 280 150 Q 89 89 150 280 z" fill="rgb(176,253,117)" /></svg>)
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