Island Getaway Tours — Attraction in Bay of Islands-Whangaroa Community

What an incredible experience!! In summary:

Incredible tour guides (Lin + Blue) Great value for money Not just a boat tour... we got to paddleboard, snorkel and walk around in islands (they provide kit)

We went on the 5 hour tour and completely lucked out with the conditions... sunny, calm and warm!

We met our tour guides Blue and Linford at the meeting spot outside the Salt Air Offices with everyone else and instantly had a warm and friendly welcome from both of them.

Linford (Lin) was our skipper and had fantastic group/guide communications skills, meaning everyone was fully engaged and interested with what ever he was telling us, whether it was safety info at the start or all the amazing historical and environmental information along the way. He explained the plan for the day clearly and always asked if people had questions. Along the journey around the islands he stopped regularly to explained the history of that area or point out wildlife he had spotted with his keen eyes.

Blue was our other guide on the tour, initially greeted us upon arrival and we were all soon in full swing of conversation about all things in life and sharing stories! Whilst Lin was driving the boat Blue would take time to get to know the customers on board and was lovely to talk with. When we stopped on the second island for our longer break, we had the opportunity to borrow the paddleboards and snorkels, at which point Blue was great at making sure everyone had what the needed, how to do things safely and where was best to go. Blue also took photos of people during the day and on the way back asked people for emails so that she could send them to us. The email she sent us was so sweet and personal and was a lovely thing to receive a couple of days later.

For us the day went as follows but i'm sure it is always slightly different, depending on the group and weather conditions:

09:50 - Met at Salt Air Offices 10:10 - Departure from Paihia Wharf 10:45 - Arrived on Roberton Island (time to walk to the look out and then tea/coffee/biscuits on the beach). We also saw a stingray in the bay! 11:45 - Depart Roberton Island (lots of little stops on our way to the next island) 12:15 - Arrived on second island (which island is dependant on weather conditions) for longer stop and activities (paddleboarding, snorkelling, walking, picnic, more talking/info on the wildlife). 14:00 - Depart second island and head back to the Wharf (we were lucky and saw a huge pod of dolphins on our way back!!) 14:50 - Arrived back at the Wharf. We said goodbye to Lin and Blue with big hugs and thank yous!

ALL of this made for an incredible day out for us and this is down to Adam and the business for carefully recruiting great staff, planning a fantastic experience and providing great training to the team.

I would 100% recommended if you are in the Bay of Islands to go on a tour with these guys! Thank you Adam, Lin and Blue from Sea...

Amazing trip! We went on the 4.5 hr tour on Saturday morning and it was the best boat trip we've ever been on. The boat is modern but not too big which meant we could move easily around, chat to the lovely crew and make new friends with other passengers which made for an excellent atmosphere on board. The skipper was really friendly and accommodating to spotting wildlife. He explained about the marine reserve and the protection rules in place for the sea mammals in the bay and was so careful to follow the rules and protect the dolphins we were lucky to encounter. We love an ethical company! We had the most incredible encounter with a very sociable pod of dolphins who didn't want to leave us alone and we got to spend a considerable amount of time enjoying their company which was wonderful. The rest of the trip was also fantastic. Robertson Island is beautiful and the viewpoint gives a great view of the island and around us. The Hole in the Rock was fun and the crew shared some interesting history with us. The final island stop off was also stunning and my son loved spotting sting ray and feeding the fish with Nicola, one of the lovely crew. All the crew were really friendly and clearly love their job. A special mention of Nicola who was really friendly, kind and knowledgable. She was great with chatting to my son and answering his questions. Thank you! If you are looking for a family friendly, locally run company with a small friendly feel then you can't go wrong with Island Getaways. If we ever come back, we would book again with this company. Thanks for an...

Hands down the best tour we have done while in the bay. The information, the crew, the conditions. Everything was perfect. Awesome size boat, and very comfortable. The skipper Nick, crew Tisha and Blue Bell. Awesome attention to customers, very attentive and informative. Special mention to skipper Hamish as well. Who i was very fortunate to have met while I was squid fishing on the russel wharf at night. Great guy, and great chats and stories he had to share of his charter days. My daughter was fortunate enough ( for her ) to have done the cruise 4 days before had. What we got to see was amazing. The fish in the surface busting up at the hole in the rock was superb. Completely at the grasp of nature. Feeding the fish at Cafe bay as well is awesome fun.

Completely out of control of this tour operator, but it would pay to take some snacks or lunch due to the bay you stop at for lunch with the cafe, is owned and operated by another operator. So if they don't have a cruise that day or afternoon. The Cafe will not be open. How ever the crew on out boat. Very quickly scrambled to make tea and coffee for everyone on our boat, as we where in this predicament. But again. Completely out of control of...