Average rating Dive the Poor Knights Islands

Discover the spectacular flora and fauna of New Zealand’s Poor Knights Islands, one of the world’s top ten diving destinations! This one-day dive tour includes everything you need for some serious submarine adventure!

Located just 22km off New Zealand’s Tutukaka Coast, the uninhabited Poor Knights Islands are one of the world’s top ten diving destinations. This awesome marine reserve (and pending World Heritage Site) is home to an incredible diversity of sub-tropical and temperate plant and animal life, including soft corals, encrusting sponges, ecklonia kelp forests and over 125 species of fish! These myriad life forms inhabit an underwater wonderland of caves, tunnels and wrecks like the Tui and Waikato, making for some truly unique dive expeditions!

This one-day dive tour is the perfect introduction to this magical seascape! The day begins around 8am, when you’ll meet your guide, fill in a few forms and get kitted out. It’s then out to the Poor Knights on your custom dive boat (complete with toilets and hot showers), watching for whales and dolphins as you go! Once the team have decided on the best spot, it’s time to get diving! You’ll encounter a fantastic array of sea life, from rays to rainbow fish, as you explore the corals and kelp forests of this Technicolor terrene. Lunch follows back on deck, then you’ll move elsewhere for a second scintillating dive (optional) before returning to Tutukaka Marina between 3:30 and 4:30pm.

These one-day dive tours have something for everyone. Beginners can be guided through their first dive(s) by an experienced instructor, while more experienced divers can hire equipment or simply catch a ride out to the islands for more independent exploration. There are a range of additional options, from free kayak use to snorkelling, so even non-divers can enjoy a trip to the Poor Knights. Whatever your interests or experience, you can be guaranteed a delightful day full of sun, sea and spectacle!

Getting there

It takes 2.5 hours to drive from Auckland and 1 1/4 hours drive from Paihia. Alternatively, if you get a bus to Whangarei, you can be picked up by a complimentary shuttle bus.

Price includes

Equipment hire, tuition (optional), boat transfers, refreshments, kayak use

Price details

275 NZD (tuition, one dive)


225 NZD (no tuition, two dives)


45 NZD (extra dive)

Available

Jan—Dec

Typical Duration

1 day

Experience required

Some previous experience is needed

1. There's lots of interesting life at the Poor Knights because of the mixture of warm and cold currents. My log says: Snapper, Bigeyes, Nudibranch and Scorpion Fish as well as Morays and a whole bunch of stuff I couldn't identify. Vis was excellent. Water temperature 20C. Dolphins on the bow wave each trip I went on.

   Dive Tutukaka are a very professional outfit, with good procedures and comfortable boats. I will dive with them again if I go back to the North Island.

   peters reviewing Dive the Poor Knights Islands