Updated March 2026
General
- These Terms & Conditions generally relate to direct bookings only. Agents please contact us directly for agent-specific terms and conditions.
- Rakiura Charters and Rakiura Water Taxi are divisions of Rakiura Charters Limited.
- All photographs copyright to Rakiura Charters Limited unless otherwise stated.
- You may provide any credit card or other details over the internet at your own risk; email is not a secure facility. Rakiura Charters Limited will not be held liable for any fraud resulting from this activity. We recommend phoning through your confirmation details, or booking through our instant book function instead.
Minimum Fares
All services require a minimum fare to be met before a service can proceed.
Please note that, where there may be other passengers on board at the time of departure, if they are being transferred to (or picked up from) a different location than you, any applicable minimum fare for the service to or from your booked location is required to be paid by you.
All online bookings will be checked to ensure that the minimum fare requirements have been met. After making your booking, if a minimum fare is applicable which exceeds the fare paid by you, you may:
- Retain your booking after paying the balance of the minimum fare requirement;
- Have your booking amended to pending status, pending others booking to meet the minimum fare requirement (please note this option does not guarantee your seats), and have your fare refunded if the minimum fare is not met; or
- Cancel your booking with a full refund.
Price Adjustments
World events are currently having significant effects on fuel prices including sudden movements, very significant increases in price and supply certainty. These are matters we cannot control and, like many small businesses in NZ, our margins don’t allow us to absorb significant increases in fuel prices without accounting for those. Our transport-related services are particularly vulnerable as fuel is a major cost factor in pricing.
Therefore, if fuel prices have increased since you booked your trip and as a result we feel the need to increase prices, we reserve the right to increase the trip price provided we give you at least five days’ notice by way of email to the email address you provided when booking. Upon receipt of a price increase notification, you have the option, until the day of travel, to email back cancelling the trip, and if you do, we will refund any deposit. If you do not respond you will be deemed to have accepted the increased price and that is the price which we will charge and which you agree to pay.
Note, if at the time your trip was booked we priced it on a then inflated fuel price due to current circumstances, we will also offer reduced prices should prices return to “the old” normal.
Fuel supply disruption is a force majeure event; if we are able to provide your booked service, even in limited supply conditions, we will, but as an isolated community use of our vessels also has a community aspect, and if the fuel supply situation changes we reserve the right to maintain fuel reserves necessary to meet our community responsibilities. In such an event you will be provided with a refund of any deposit paid but we will not be otherwise liable arising from the cancellation of your trip.
We hope that you will understand that while our primary aim is to provide each client with the best service possible, current world circumstances require us to address these issues.
Vessels
We reserve the right to alter tour itineraries including departure and return times, and to substitute vessels, for any reason and at any time, without prior notice.
Departure and Return Wharf Locations
We reserve the right to alter tour departure and return locations between the two main wharf locations utilised by tour operators based on Stewart Island/ Rakiura. These are the Halfmoon Bay wharf and the Golden Bay wharf. The Halfmoon Bay wharf is located in Halfmoon Bay directly across from the South Sea Hotel, and is where the Bluff ferry disembarks. The Golden Bay wharf is an approximate 20 min walk from the Oban waterfront. Please see the map attached and make yourself familiar with these locations. Any changes will be communicated with the customer via text, phone or email. This may include a voicemail.
Aurora Cab service can be reached on 0277227935 to arrange any required transfers.
Please ensure that you have provided us with your direct cell phone contact number so that we are able to advise you of any changes to your service’s start or finish locations.
Rakiura Charters Limited does not accept any liability for transfer fees, travel or other fees, related to transfers that may be booked by the customer in the case of a departure or return location change, or for any cancellation fees that may be related to a No Show due to customer’s failure to check-in at the correct departure location.
Payment
Full payment of your service is due at the time of booking. Please note that confirmation of your booking is deemed as acceptance of having your credit or debit card (as provided), charged remotely by us through our secure online payment gateway, unless you have a written agreement to pay cash at check in. An email receipt is available on request. Please note that a 2.5% card surcharge will be added to card payments.
No Compensation
Please be advised that we may not be able to honour this booking if more stringent COVID restrictions are in place at the time of your scheduled booking, or if we as employers believe that there is an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of our employees, customers and community at that time. No compensation will be made for our inability to provide services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cancellation Policies
Urgent cancellations (within 48 hrs of departure) should be called through to our booking office on (03) 2191487 during office hours, in addition to sending an email, per the below policy. Cancellations are not considered “received” outside of normal office hours:
Cancellation Policy – Tours
(Including Pelagic Bird Cruise, Paterson Inlet Discovery Cruise, Whaler’s Base History Tour, Marine Farms Tour, Wildlife Tour, Guided Ulva Island Walks, Guided Kiwi Spotting tours, and any other tour/cruise, in addition to Tour/Ulva Island Combos)
All Cancellations should be made in writing via email and should state the reason for the cancellation:
a) If a cancellation is received 30 days or more prior to travel, a full refund will be issued, less any merchant service and administration fees payable (currently 5%) plus any commission payable to agents for agent bookings;
b) If a cancellation is received 29 days or less prior to travel, 100% of the booking fare is due.
Cancellation Policy – Water Taxi
(including unguided Ulva Island services, unguided Port William services, Freshwater River, North Arm, Fred’s Camp, all other drop off or pick up locations, as well as Hunting Transfers). Please ensure you read the additional conditions further below regarding particular remote locations eg. Freshwater River.
All Cancellations should be made in writing via email and should state the reason for the cancellation:
a) If a cancellation is made more than 48 hrs prior to travel, a full refund will be issued, less any merchant service and administration fees payable (currently 5%) plus any commission payable to agents for agent bookings;
b) If a cancellation is received within 48 hrs prior to travel, 100% of the booking fare is due.
Additional Cancellation Terms – Remote Location Water Taxi Services
(Including, but not limited to, Freshwater River, Rakeāhua, Fred’s Camp, North Arm, The Neck)
- In the case that other existing or potential customers cancel this service outside of their cancellation policy, resulting in the minimum fare no longer being met, the minimum fare will need to be covered by you, and your credit/ debit card as supplied will be charged the full minimum fare, to ensure that we are able to honour this service.
- In extreme weather circumstances, or in other situations out of our control, there is a possibility that our service may be cancelled. Customers on the track should be prepared to stay at their scheduled pick up location overnight (or for an extra night), or until the weather allows a safe pick up. Please ensure you are carrying at least one extra night’s food, water and clothing.
- If, after having commenced your scheduled service (after consideration of the weather forecast and conditions are deemed safe) we are forced to abandon or are unable to complete your scheduled service due to poor weather, you may be liable to pay the full fare, part fare, or minimum fare (whichever is applicable at the time) for both the failed attempt at your service, in addition to a successful service completed during more appropriate weather conditions. This payment may be charged to your supplied credit or debit card without further notice.
Cancellation Policy – Coast to Coast
Cancellation of a booking outside 48 prior to the flight departure time or water taxi departure time, whichever is the earliest, will incur a cancellation fee of 20% of the applicable fare. Cancellation inside 48 hours of the flight departure time, or water taxi departure time, whichever is the earliest, or failure to avail a flight or water taxi for which a reservation is held, will incur forfeiture of the fare. Any refund application must be lodged with us in writing via email within 30 days of the date of travel.
Cancellation due to weather
If we cancel due to adverse weather, a postponement or gift voucher to the value of your booking will be offered. If you prefer not to accept a postponement or gift voucher, a full refund will be issued, less any commission payable to agents for agent bookings.
If, after having already commenced your scheduled service (after consideration of the weather forecast and conditions are deemed safe) we are forced to abandon or are unable to complete your scheduled service due to poor weather, you may be liable to pay the full fare, part fare, or minimum fare (whichever is applicable at the time) for both the failed attempt at your service, in addition to a successful service completed during more appropriate weather conditions. This payment may be charged to your supplied credit or debit card without further notice. Booking of this service is deemed acceptance of this condition.
If you decide to cancel due to weather conditions that don’t meet your satisfaction (but we deem to be acceptable to continue the trip), our General Cancellation Policy (or Coast to Coast Cancellation Policy, whichever applies) will apply.
If you are unable to meet your scheduled service due to poor weather, and have already commenced your trip (ie you are already tramping in the Rakiura National Park and have a scheduled service to bring you out of the park), we are happy to consider your circumstances on a case-by-case basis, however please note that you may be liable to pay the full fare where cancellation is inside 48 hrs prior to scheduled departure.
Refunds
To apply for a refund, please either phone us or email info@rakiuracharters.co.nz. Please advise Order number, reason for refund and contact details. On assessment of eligibility and approval, we will process a refund. Please note all transactions are conducted in New Zealand Dollars (NZD). Due to exchange rate fluctuations, at times there may be some variance in the amounts refunded compared to the amount initially charged. Rakiura Charters Limited does not accept any liability for these variances or any subsequent credit card/bank charges relating to these transfers to customer’s accounts.
Please note that refunds are generally not permitted via a method (or to a different card) other than that used for the original transaction; this condition is in line with Payment Card Industry security standards, and within the limits of our payment gateway software capabilities.
Amendment Fees
If you would like to request an amendment to your existing booking, an Amendment Fee of $30NZD net per request may apply. Amendment Fees may apply whether the change was able to be accommodated or not, to offset administrative costs incurred by us to consider the change.
Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend travel insurance for all travelers.
COVID-19
There is no legal requirement for people to isolate when they test positive for COVID-19. Our staff and visitors are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
To support public health efforts, we will continue to:
- Maintain hygiene measures as per Ministry of Health guidelines;
- Support any staff or customers who choose to wear a mask in our work environments;
- Ventilate our work spaces regularly; and
- Ask anyone (including staff, contractors and customers) who is experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms, awaiting a test, or who needs to self-isolate, to stay away from our premises/ vessels, and contact Healthline or their GP.
Our business may be subject to additional public health requirements, and this policy may be amended from time to time without notice.
Booking Office
Our booking office is located on 10 Main Road and is open between 8:30am and 5pm (Summer). We can also be contacted by phone +64 (0)3 219 1487 or email info@rakiuracharters.co.nz during office hours, year round except Christmas Day.
Ngā mihi nui, kia pai tō rā,
The Rakiura Charters & Water Taxi Team
