CHRISTCHURCH - Is it worthwhile for a visit from Akaroa?
 

Off a cruise at Akaroa for 1 day - is a visit to Christchurch worthwhile, or are there better sights to see in Akaroa?

That's a tough one. Most people visit Akaroa from Christchurch, not the other way around.

It depends on your particular interests - Akaroa offers dolphin cruises (and swimming with dolphins), some fabulous scenery, great hiking, a nice little town with assorted cafes, a lighthouse, a penguin tour, etc.

Christchurch is a full on city, and offers museums, tours of the earthquake damage, the botanic garden and the usual city sights, plus traffic, more people, etc.

If it were me, I'd stick around Akaroa, but having said that, I've never been there when a cruise boat unloaded...that alone might make me change my mind.

It would probably be about 90 minutes drive from Akaroa to Christchurch, so that's three hours out of your day. If you haven't been to Christchurch before, it may be worth it for a quick look.

We've cruised into Akaroa. Lots of people wandering around but still easy to find a café for coffee. Pretty town and pleasant walk around the bay.

As an aside and in case you are thinking about it, on one cruise we took the Transalpine train excursion organised by our ship and were very disappointed - very pricey and didn't get anywhere near the spectacular country around Arthur's Pass.

Thanks for the info ! we were thinking about the train
*