Can I Take A Cruise To Hole In The Rock In The Bay Of Islands?

Yes. The Hole in the Rock, known to Maori as Motukokako, is the most common destination on the Bay of Islands water, and several operators run cruises there from Paihia, with Explore Group boats also departing from Russell. Options range from a 90-minute fast boat ride starting at $97.47 per person to a 3-hour cruise with an island stop from $88.87, so the real question is which boat suits you.

The rock sits at the tip of Cape Brett, on the eastern edge of a bay scattered with islands. Captain Cook named it Piercy Island, and it has been drawing boats ever since. Today the trip out to it is the backbone of the Bay of Islands boat tour industry, with motor cruises, catamarans and fast boats all making the run along the Cape Brett Peninsula past the historic lighthouse before easing in toward the arch. If you're still mapping out the exact route from Paihia or Russell, the guide to where the Hole in the Rock actually is covers the geography and the cruise options in detail.

The tours on this site cover the full spread. The Explore Group Ocean Adventure fast boat to the Hole in the Rock is the quickest way there at 1 hour 30 minutes, while the Island Getaway three-hour Hole in the Rock cruise pairs the rock with a remote island stopover and a smaller boat capped at 49 guests. Longer options include the Explore Group Hole in the Rock, Dolphins and Island Cruise at about 4.5 hours with roughly 1.5 hours on Urupukapuka Island, and the Island Getaway Hole in the Rock cruise with two island stops, which is the most reviewed tour on this site at 4.8 across 1,217 reviews. The Bay of Islands is where all of this happens, and Paihia and Russell are the two towns the boats leave from.

If you already know you want the standard full experience, this shortlist covers the three most useful versions of the trip: the fast boat for time-poor travellers, the dolphin-and-island cruise for the classic day out, and the two-island-stop cruise for the biggest review pool.

Which Cruises Visit The Hole In The Rock From Paihia?

Paihia is the main departure town, with five distinct Hole in the Rock cruises on this site leaving from its wharf area: the Explore Group Ocean Adventure fast boat, the Island Getaway three-hour cruise, the Explore Group Hole in the Rock Dolphins and Island cruise, the Island Getaway cruise with two island stops, and the Explore Group Discover the Bay cruise with island lunch. Explore Group also runs its Hole in the Rock dolphin cruise from Russell.

That spread matters because the boats are genuinely different products, not the same trip at different prices. The Explore Group Ocean Adventure fast boat, operated by Explore Group Limited, is a 1 hour 30 minute ride on a 30-guest fast boat with wet weather jackets and lifejackets included, aimed squarely at travellers who want the rock and the Cape Brett coastline without giving up half a day. It has a stated minimum age: children under 7 are not suitable. The Explore Group Ocean Blast fast boat trip, about 1 hour with an optional island stop from $68.23, is a fast boat around the bay and its listing does not state a Hole in the Rock visit.

The Island Getaway three-hour Hole in the Rock cruise, run by Island Getaway Tours from Paihia Wharf, Pier 10, mixes the run to the rock and Cape Brett Lighthouse with an island stopover, and the operator describes the trip as suitable for all ages. At the fuller end, the Explore Group Hole in the Rock, Dolphins and Island cruise spends about 1.5 of its roughly 4.5 hours at the Otehei Bay side of Urupukapuka Island, where you can swim, explore or sunbathe, and it runs from both Paihia and Russell from $90 per person. Dolphins are part of the operator's own description of the trip. The Island Getaway Hole in the Rock cruise with two island stops is the most reviewed of them all, 4.8 across 1,217 reviews, from $101.

A good companion read before choosing is the guide to Hole in the Rock cruise prices, which breaks the cost picture down across every category of boat.

Does The Boat Actually Go Through The Hole In The Rock?

The honest answer is that only two listings (the Island Getaway 4.5-hour day cruise and the Discover the Bay cruise with island lunch) mention going through the arch, conditions permitting. Every cruise describes a visit or photo stop at Motukokako, and any closer approach to the rock itself is weather dependent and never guaranteed.

The wording operators use is careful for a reason. The Explore Group Ocean Adventure fast boat describes travel to Motukokako Island and return; the Island Getaway three-hour cruise describes a visit to the famous Hole in the Rock and Cape Brett Lighthouse. No tour here sells a guaranteed sail beneath the arch. Two listings, the Island Getaway 4.5-hour day cruise and the Explore Group Discover the Bay cruise with island lunch, say you can travel through the arch when conditions permit, which is never guaranteed. But if you are booking specifically to go under the rock, go in knowing it is a possibility the crew works toward, not a line item on your ticket.

The rock is worth the trip either way. The DOC page for the Cape Brett hut describes the lighthouse settlement at the end of the peninsula, a former keeper's house now run as a serviced 23-bunk hut for walkers on the Cape Brett Track. That track runs 16 km from Oke Bay in Rawhiti, a serious day's walk with a permit fee on its private-land section, so for almost everyone the practical way to stand off this coastline is by boat from Paihia or Russell. Hardened walkers can read more about the route on the Bay of Islands tours compared guide, which covers land options alongside the water ones.

What the boats do promise is the cruise along the peninsula itself, the lighthouse on the point, and the cluster of islands on the way home. Those are fixed geography. The arch is the variable, and a good crew will tell you honestly how it is looking as you round the cape.

How Long Does A Hole In The Rock Cruise Take?

Durations run from 1 hour 30 minutes on the Ocean Adventure fast boat, 3 hours on the Island Getaway three-hour cruise, about 4.5 hours on the Explore Group dolphin and island cruise and the two-island-stop cruise, and about 8.5 hours on the Day in the Bay cream trip.

The Explore Group Hole in the Rock, Dolphins and Island cruise splits its 4.5 hours as roughly 1.5 hours on Urupukapuka Island and the rest on the water, with food and drinks available to purchase on board. The Island Getaway cruise with two island stops spends its time across two stopovers and a scenic cruise, with snorkeling equipment included.

The Day in the Bay cream trip cruise, Explore Group's about 8.5 hour product from Paihia, is the longest day version and the one tour on this site that states a dolphin viewing and marine mammal guarantee in its own inclusions. Lunch is not included but can be bought on board or at the Otehei Bay cafe. For travellers comparing purely on time, the fast boat products exist precisely for this decision: the Ocean Adventure run gives you the cape and the rock in 90 minutes flat, which matters if you are on a tight schedule or travelling with people who would rather not spend a morning at sea.

For a deeper look at how tour lengths compare across the whole bay, the how long does a dolphin cruise last article covers the full range of durations.

What Does A Hole In The Rock Cruise Cost?

One-day per-person prices across the tours on this site run from $63.07 to $166, with a median of $111.80. The Hole in the Rock cruises themselves cluster tightly: $88.87 for the Island Getaway three-hour cruise, $90 for the Explore Group dolphin and island cruise, $97.47 for the Ocean Adventure fast boat, and $101 for the two-island-stop cruise.

Two of those four sit at the value end of the entire price scale. The Island Getaway three-hour cruise is the cheapest tour in the dolphin-and-Hole-in-the-Rock category at $88.87, and it carries a 4.9 rating across 197 reviews, which is a strong combination of price and feedback. The two-island-stop cruise at $101 is the most reviewed tour of any kind on this site. The Explore Group dolphin and island cruise at $90, rated 4.6 across 902 reviews, is the cheapest cruise here that names dolphins in its own description. More of these guides are collected on Bay Of Islands Dolphin Cruises.

Above them sit the fuller days: the Explore Group Discover the Bay cruise with an island lunch at $121, the Carino Wildlife Cruises island and wildlife day cruise at $131.87 with lunch and snorkelling gear included on a 20-guest wildlife boat, and the Explore Group Day in the Bay cream trip at $127. The Ocean Adventure fast boat at $97.47 is the quickest way to reach the rock.

Twenty of the 22 tours on this site offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure, so booking ahead rarely locks you in.

Can You See Dolphins On A Hole In The Rock Cruise?

On some boats, yes as a possibility, and on most boats here dolphins are not the pitch at all. Only 7 of the 22 tours on this site mention dolphins in their own descriptions, among them the Explore Group Hole in the Rock Dolphins and Island cruise, its Discover the Bay cruise, the Dolphin Eco Cruise and the Day in the Bay cream trip. No tour except the cream trip states a viewing guarantee.

If dolphins matter to your day, pick accordingly. The Explore Group Hole in the Rock, Dolphins and Island cruise is built around both: the operator mentions dolphins in its description, and the trip still delivers the Urupukapuka Island stop and the visit to Motukokako. Its sister product, the Explore Group Dolphin Eco Cruise, is a 5 hour 30 minute marine wildlife trip from $97.47 that carries up to 100 guests, though as a new tour it has no reviews yet. The only tour on this site that states a dolphin viewing and marine mammal guarantee is the Day in the Bay cream trip cruise, and its terms are not spelled out here.

The backdrop to all of this is sobering and worth knowing before you book. The local bottlenose population has fallen sharply: a NIWA and Far Out Ocean Research Collective report for DOC counted 540 unique individuals across surveys from 1994 to 2024, but local abundance dropped from 244 in summer 1997 to a low of 16 in summer 2019, with an autumn 2024 estimate of 40. DOC's bottlenose dolphin page puts the wider North Island population at about 450 animals from Doubtless Bay to Tauranga, with 26 individuals visiting the Bay of Islands in 2020 data. Sightings absolutely happen, but nobody honest will promise you a pod.

Swimming with dolphins, to be clear once, is not permitted in the Bay of Islands at all. The Te Pewhairangi Marine Mammal Sanctuary rules keep everyone out of the water within 300 m of any dolphin, whale or seal. Swims on these cruises happen at island beaches like Otehei Bay, and only as island activities.

Which Pier Do Hole In The Rock Cruises Leave From?

Paihia is the departure town for most of them, with 17 of the 22 tours on this site leaving from Paihia, 9 from Russell and 2 from Auckland. The Island Getaway three-hour cruise leaves from Paihia Wharf, Pier 10, the Ocean Adventure fast boat from 69A Marsden Rd, and the two-island-stop cruise lists both Paihia and Russell. The two towns are a 15-minute passenger ferry apart.

That 15-minute ferry crossing between Paihia and Russell is worth planning around if you are staying on the Russell side. Russell, once called Kororareka and famously the "hell hole of the Pacific" in its whaling days, is a quiet historic village now, and several Explore Group boats serve it directly. If your tour departs Paihia and you are based in Russell, the passenger ferry bridges the two easily, and the same applies in reverse. The Explore Group Discover the Bay cruise with island lunch departs Paihia Wharf with a Russell option.

For anyone coming from farther afield, the getting to Paihia for a Bay of Islands cruise guide covers the drive, coach and flight options, including the roughly three-hour drive without stops from Auckland and the daily coach from the SkyCity Terminal on Hobson Street. There are also two Auckland day trips that fold a 4.5 hour bay cruise into a 12 to 13 hour day, from $255.42 and $263.16, if you truly cannot stay overnight.

Auckland day trip guests get hotel pickup in the CBD area included, and the shorter tours from Paihia generally do not include hotel pickup, with several operators stating plainly that it is excluded. Check the meeting point for the specific tour you book rather than assuming, because Paihia Wharf, Pier 10 and Marsden Road are close together but not identical spots.

What Else Happens On A Hole In The Rock Cruise?

Most of the longer cruises pair the rock with an island stop, usually Urupukapuka Island, and several include snorkel gear or a walk. Urupukapuka is the largest island in the bay at 208 hectares, with at least 66 recorded archaeological sites including eight pa.

The Otehei Bay side of Urupukapuka is the hub: a summer cafe, swimming and paddling off the beach, a conservation centre, and a wharf served by scheduled ferries and tour boats. The Explore Group dolphin and island cruise gives you about 1.5 hours there, and the Discover the Bay cruise with island lunch does the same with a buffet lunch in summer or a main menu item in winter, plus optional hire of kayaks, paddleboards and lawn games in summer. The island was even a game-fishing base for the American author Zane Grey in 1927, and its walking track past the archaeological sites can be joined from several bays, according to the DOC Urupukapuka Island walk page.

The Island Getaway three-hour cruise keeps groups to 49 guests max, which is worth weighing if you dislike crowds. Birdlife is part of the island story too, with reintroduced native species like tieke and kakariki on the pest-free islands through Project Island Song, a partnership with iwi and DOC.

For the full picture on the island-stop side of these tours, the Urupukapuka Island cruises guide compares every boat that puts you ashore there. A well-planned day pairs the rock run with an hour or two on an island beach, and that combination is exactly what the mid-length cruises sell.

How Do You Choose Between The Hole In The Rock Boats?

Pick the Ocean Adventure fast boat if time is short, the Island Getaway three-hour cruise for the cheapest full tour with an island stop and small groups, the Explore Group dolphin and island cruise for the classic 4.5 hour day from $90, and the two-island-stop cruise if you want the biggest review pool and the most time ashore. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start applies to all four.

Time, budget and sea tolerance decide it more than anything. Fast boats deliver speed and spray, and the Ocean Adventure includes wet weather jackets, but 90 minutes of open-water riding is a different experience from a seated cruise, and its minimum age of 7 rules it out for younger families. The three-hour and 4.5-hour cruises suit most travellers best, and the price gap between them is small: $88.87 against $90. The two-island-stop cruise costs $101 and adds snorkeling equipment plus a second stopover.

Sailing fans have options too, though the tall ships and yachts, like the R. Tucker Thompson day sail from Russell and the Barefoot Sailing Adventures catamaran, are sailing products first and foremost rather than dedicated rock runs. The sailing versus motor cruise comparison works through that trade-off in detail, and the Hole in the Rock cruise reviews guide covers what past guests rated.

However you book, go with the right expectation: the cruise to the rock, the cape and the islands is the product. A closer look at the arch, and any dolphins along the way, are bonuses the crew will chase when conditions and the animals allow.

Common Questions About Hole In The Rock Cruises

Can I Take A Cruise To Hole In The Rock In The Bay Of Islands?

Yes. Several cruises run to Motukokako from Paihia, and Explore Group boats also leave from Russell. Options range from a 1 hour 30 minute fast boat from $97.47 to a 3-hour cruise with an island stop from $88.87 and a 4.5-hour cruise from $90.

Does The Boat Go Through The Hole In The Rock?

The operators describe a visit or photo stop at Motukokako, and only two listings (the Island Getaway 4.5-hour day cruise and the Discover the Bay cruise with island lunch) mention going through the arch, conditions permitting. Any closer approach is weather dependent and decided by the skipper on the day.

How Long Is The Hole In The Rock Cruise?

Between about 1 hour 30 minutes on the fast boat and about 4.5 hours on the full cruises with island stops. The Day in the Bay cream trip runs about 8.5 hours including its Urupukapuka Island stop.

What Is The Cheapest Hole In The Rock Cruise?

The cheapest full tour in the dolphin-and-Hole-in-the-Rock category is the Island Getaway three-hour cruise at $88.87 per person, rated 4.9 across 197 reviews.

Can You Swim At The Islands On These Cruises?

Yes, on cruises that include an island stop, swimming is an island beach activity at places like Otehei Bay. Swimming with dolphins is not permitted in the Bay of Islands; the sanctuary rule keeps everyone out of the water within 300 m of any marine mammal.

Is Lunch Included On A Hole In The Rock Cruise?

No, most of the Hole in the Rock cruises do not include lunch. The Island Getaway three-hour cruise, the Ocean Adventure fast boat, the Explore Group dolphin and island cruise and the two-island-stop cruise all leave meals off the ticket. On the Explore Group dolphin and island cruise you can buy food and drinks on board, or use the Otehei Bay cafe on the cream trip. The Discover the Bay cruise with island lunch, at $121, is the option with a meal built in.