Interislander
Interislander, Wellington: Address, Phone Number, Interislander Reviews: 4.5/5
Interislander
Interislander
4.5
About
Cruise with Interislander from Wellington to Picton across the Cook Strait and through the stunning Marlborough Sounds in just over three hours on the three largest ferries in New Zealand. Interislander is one of The Great Journeys of New Zealand and our three ships each feature several outdoor viewing decks that allow you to soak up the gorgeous New Zealand scenery as it floats by. They also have plenty of lounges, cafes and bars to choose from, plenty to keep the kids entertained - including children's play areas - and plenty for mum and dad too. Cars, vans, caravans, campervans, motorhomes, motorcycles and coaches - all vehicles are welcome, just drive on, drive off. And for the rental car providers, just drop off your car at the rental depots within our terminals then pick up another at the other end - easy! Interislander operates a FREE shuttle bus. Departing 50 minutes before each sailing from Platform 9 at the Wellington Railway Station.
Suggested duration
More than 3 hours
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Top ways to experience Interislander and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
777 within 5 kms

La Cloche
166
0.6 km$$ - $$$ • Quick Bites • French • Cafe

Jungle bar coffee
1
0.5 km$ • Cafe • Street Food

Le Marche Francais
71
0.7 km$$ - $$$ • French • Cafe • European

The Dumpling Company
2
0.6 kmChinese
Le Maquis
1
0.7 kmFrench • New Zealand
The Foodstore
3
0.7 km

Bordeaux Bakery and Brasserie
175
0.9 km$$ - $$$ • Bakeries • French • Cafe

The Thistle Inn
854
1.6 km$$ - $$$ • Bar • Pub • Gastropub

The Wadestown Kitchen
19
1.1 km$$ - $$$ • Cafe • New Zealand

Thorndon Chippery
155
1.4 km$$ - $$$ • Quick Bites • Seafood • Fast food
Attractions
174 within 10 kms

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
14,074
2.9 kmSpeciality Museums

Old St Paul's
1,198
1.5 kmHistoric Sites • Architectural Buildings

Katherine Mansfield House and Garden
104
0.9 kmSpeciality Museums • Historic Sites

New Zealand Parliament
1,924
1.8 kmGovernment Buildings

Westpac Stadium
246
1 kmSports Complexes

Mount Kaukau
238
2.1 kmMountains • Lookouts

Northern Explorer Train
595
1.8 kmScenic Railroads

Otari-Wilton's Bush Native Botanic Garden
277
2.4 kmNature & Wildlife Areas • Forests

Bolton Street Cemetery
225
2 kmCemeteries

Wellington Museum
1,347
2.5 kmHistory Museums
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Popular mentions
4.5
4,331 reviews
Excellent
2,131
Very good
1,568
Average
380
Poor
120
Terrible
132
Harikrishnan639
London, UK2 contributions
May 2022
Terrible experience. The ferry got delayed for 24 hours. Updates were so unprofessional. No refund or offer for accommodation. Luckily I could able to afford it. But I've seen people getting worried about the whole scenario and the employees were so helpless
Written 17 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Guide813458
2 contributions
Apr. 2022
The ferry crossing is always good, but the mask situation was like the keystone cops. For no reason anyone around me could work out people had to wear masks, with no masks if you are in the cafe or eating, or have an exemption. This security guard kept going around telling people to put them on and as soon as he passed everyone took them off. So they're on and off and wear them here, but not there, it was ridiculous and completely unnecessary and made the trip really not very nice. The InterIslander needs to get rid of masks.
Written 1 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Eva W
1 contribution
Apr. 2022 • Friends
On board the Aratere at sunrise is the best place to be. Travel on the ships bow and a smaller passenger capacity means less people on board, with still all the facilities you need for all ages. Great food.
Written 1 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Sparky12
1 contribution
Apr. 2022 • Couples
Delayed by an hour they told us, 2.5hours late will take bluebridge next time and would be nice if they keeper us more informed
Written 28 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Jenny C
Wellington, New Zealand7 contributions
Apr. 2022 • Couples
This business is constantly late without any communication to those awaiting in vehicles. We have been waiting in queues, in the sun for almost 2 hours! No word or explanation!
Written 27 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Jane A
Wellington, New Zealand155 contributions
Jan. 2022 • Family
Havn't been on the Interislander in 12years.
Our experience on the Kai taki was very enjoyable.
Look forward to doing it again.
Our experience on the Kai taki was very enjoyable.
Look forward to doing it again.
Written 23 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Gray's Reviews
Timaru, New Zealand1,395 contributions
Apr. 2022 • Couples
The Kaitaki is THE vessel on which to travel between the islands. Our journey felt safe, despite 4m seas near Wellington Heads, and all crew were wonderful, cheery and helpful throughout.
Food was really good, but under Covid, nothing is self-service. However, that didn't detract from having a great trip.
Would highly recommend, although it's not as cheap as it was...
Food was really good, but under Covid, nothing is self-service. However, that didn't detract from having a great trip.
Would highly recommend, although it's not as cheap as it was...
Written 11 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Simon D
Auckland, New Zealand645 contributions
Mar. 2022
Walk on passengers leaving from Picton to Wellington.
The not so good stuff firstly - sailing was delayed - no real updates aside form saying they were delayed and sitting on the top deck (it was a beautiful day) the announcements were hard to hear. Fortunately a young staff member emptying the rubbish bins was able to give a best guess on the delay not being too much longer (I think we departed about an hour late?).
Masks were mandatory on board both inside and outside.
The good stuff - a beautiful day, although the wind did funnel down the sounds at one point sending us in out of the cold, and the Cook Strait was very foggy meaning we saw little on the trip over. The ship was clean and tidy, coffee was ok and overall the seating comfortable enough. They also run a bus from the terminal to Wellington train station as the dock isn't in the CBD.
The not so good stuff firstly - sailing was delayed - no real updates aside form saying they were delayed and sitting on the top deck (it was a beautiful day) the announcements were hard to hear. Fortunately a young staff member emptying the rubbish bins was able to give a best guess on the delay not being too much longer (I think we departed about an hour late?).
Masks were mandatory on board both inside and outside.
The good stuff - a beautiful day, although the wind did funnel down the sounds at one point sending us in out of the cold, and the Cook Strait was very foggy meaning we saw little on the trip over. The ship was clean and tidy, coffee was ok and overall the seating comfortable enough. They also run a bus from the terminal to Wellington train station as the dock isn't in the CBD.
Written 11 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Donald T
1 contribution
Apr. 2022
April 05 2022
What a sad day for NZ, Interisland ferry (state owned by kiwi rail) chooses to keep discriminatory vax passes after the rest of the country drops them.
They are shameful and will be held to account for segregating kiwis, shame shame shame on them.
*However competitor Blue bridge removes all unlawful restrictions to all kiwis.
Vote with your feet and your $$$
Never again Interislander.
What a sad day for NZ, Interisland ferry (state owned by kiwi rail) chooses to keep discriminatory vax passes after the rest of the country drops them.
They are shameful and will be held to account for segregating kiwis, shame shame shame on them.
*However competitor Blue bridge removes all unlawful restrictions to all kiwis.
Vote with your feet and your $$$
Never again Interislander.
Written 4 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Renee A
1 contribution
Feb. 2022 • Solo
Was very nice sailing, the crew are very nice and very good at helping with questions and getting on to the ships wifi if you need it.
Written 21 February 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Will parking be available long term ie one week at the ferry terminal.
Shona K
Wellington, New Zealand26 contributions
No it's only available for 3 days long term only
Hi, does anyone know if you can take a bus on the ferry? Im looking at an 11m Hino rainbow from north island to south.
Love to hear from anyone with experience and costs ect
cheers
Sachin K
Plainview, NY5,840 contributions
Seen several vehicles of different shapes and sizes get onto and off the ferry. However, it may be wise to email them directly with your query because of COVID 19 pandemic. Their customer service is great and they respond quite fast via email for any queries.
Hafitri Wahyu A
12 contributions
Can I buy tickets prior to departure or I need to buy at least 24hours before?
We are a group of 5 with a campervan.
Chris F
Wroughton, UK245 contributions
Recommend buying in advance if you want to go on a specific sailing.
FYQ
27 contributions
Why did some people mention rental cars can’t get on the ferry? Is that true? Thanks
Gary H
Saint Louis, MO70 contributions
The ferry company doesn't care. It is actually up to the rental car company or agency you rent from. Some allow it and others don't. I can say for certain that Avis does NOT allow it. Not a big deal though since they have rental facilities at both the North and South island terminals. We dropped our Avis car off at the South terminal rode the ferry to the North Island and went to the Avis counter at the North terminal and they had a car waiting for us. It was all part of a single rental and didn't cost anything additional. It actually worked out better since we didn't have to pay the extra cost of transporting a vehicle on the ferry.
Crystalism
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia9,024 contributions
Out of curiosity, has anybody used DirectFerries and been cancelled by them before?
stevelotte
Montville, NJ481 contributions
Never used DirectFerries.
hi do you drive on and off the ferry or do you have to back off and is it first on first off or last on last off
Colleen
Paihia, New Zealand45 contributions
hi there, You drive straight onto the ferry and drive straight out again at the other end. The cars are loaded according to the lane you are directed to. It is very easy and no trouble at all.
Vyacheslav D
Moscow, Russia11 contributions
Hi,
We are traveling on December,23 but almost 2 months in advance the ferry is booked for the date (apart from night 2.30 am). Is this normal? Or there is chance tickets could be available?
Otherwise, we are taking AVIS car, so we need to take “no vehicle” rate. For some strange reason rates with vehicles are still available, but pedestrians are not. What would you advise? Shall we wait, or take vehicle rate and have no vehicles there or change car company (which allows to cross strait with the car?
Thanks in advance!
Tiina K
East Tamaki, New Zealand
Hi, are camper vans able to park up the night before? Are there bathroom facilities and anywhere to plug in for power? Thanks heaps!
René S
Berlin, Germany189 contributions
There is a camper park near Cuba Street with power but without toilets. It‘s 20 minutes far from the ferry.
RCN
Singapore, Singapore1 contribution
Hi, is there long term parking available at the Wellington ferry terminal? Or where is the cheapest place to park our car for 3 days as we are not bringing our car over to Picton?
urbanite88
Auckland, New Zealand708 contributions
Not sure, maybe if you look at the Wellington city council website or facebook message them they might be able to point you in the right direction.
Frequently Asked Questions about Interislander
- We recommend booking Interislander tours ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. See all 3 Interislander tours on Tripadvisor
- Hotels near Interislander:
- (0.36 km) Acapella Bed and Breakfast
- (1.20 km) The Dwellington
- (0.57 km) Harbour Lodge Wellington
- (0.69 km) Orchard Street Boutique Accommodation
- (1.97 km) Bolton Hotel
- Restaurants near Interislander:
- (0.63 km) La Cloche
- (0.48 km) Jungle bar coffee
- (1.63 km) The Thistle Inn
- (0.72 km) Le Marche Francais
- (0.56 km) The Dumpling Company