Discover Christchurch Sightseeing Tour with optional International Antarctic Center Admission

Start your 3-hour tour with hotel pickup in Christchurch, and board the comfortable coach for sightseeing in the central city. Listen to your guide’s informative commentary as you cover the central city highlights such as the Museum and Art Centre, the Bridge of Remembrance and the Christchurch Botanic Gardens alongside the Avon River.

Depart the city for nearby Mona Vale, a historic homestead undergoing renovation from the 2011 earthquake. You have time to explore the 13.5-acre (5.5-hectare) landscaped gardens while strolling past lovely trees, ponds and fountains.

Next, travel up to Sign of the Takahe, a historical manor-turned-restaurant tucked away in the Cashmere Hills. From the vista point, look out over Christchurch, the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps before returning to the city via Lyttelton Port. Pass through the harbor tunnel to see Sumner Beach and Cave Rock before returning to the CBD where the tour ends with hotel drop-off.

Optional Upgrade 1: International Antarctic CenterCombine your Christchurch sightseeing tour with admission to the International Antarctic Center — only available with the morning departure. Your entry ticket includes the Snow and Ice Experience, which recreates atmospheric conditions of Antarctica with an indoor storm complete with blizzard audio, lightning and arctic winds. Meet a couple dozen blue penguins — the smallest penguins in the world — at the Penguin Encounter. 

Optional Upgrade 2: International Antarctic Center and Hagglung rideIf you’d like, opt for an exhilarating Hagglung ride: it’s an extreme all-terrain adventure on an amphibious vehicle that traverses through water, across an ice pack and over a crevasse to emulate conditions scientists face while riding across Antarctica.