Taieri Gorge Railway
Taieri Gorge Railway
4.5
About
A highlight of your visit to Dunedin is a trip on the Taieri Gorge Railway - one of Dunedin's top attractions. Departing from downtown Dunedin into the Taieri Gorge, this trip travels through some of New Zealand's most beautiful and ever changing scenery which can not seen from the road! With sightseeing stop at Hindon, on board cafe, outside viewing platforms it is the perfect all weather activity and one of the key attractions in Dunedin - not to be missed. Check our website for more information and our current summer schedule!
Dunedin, New Zealand

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles2,092 reviews
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1,267
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568
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183
Poor
45
Terrible
29

need2trvl
Miamisburg, OH471 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
The train station was beautiful look like a Harry Potter kind of a deal. A nice chance to see inland of NZ and the gorge. When entering the rail car, best seating is to sit on left side of rail car.,the side not closest to the train station., back to the entrance. We were on a shore excursion and they provided lunch. Not too bad for a box lunch lots of food including fresh fruit. And the box lunch was a veggie wrap, cheese and crackers, chocolate, and I can't remember everything but I know I didn't eat everything. The train provides someone who gives a commentary about interesting points on the overhead speakers. There's about a 15 minute stop at the very end. You can walk to see the dog statue. Thought it was quite pretty. This particular short excursion also gave the highlight of the city tour. Also the big highlight recommendation from our tour guide was to look toward the lighthouse to see the albatross as we were leaving Port.
Particular tour we were on was a little disorganized at first. They finally got a bus driver who knew what he was doing and was able to save the day. The other thing that I might have been really interested in was going into the penguin or albatross center.
Written 16 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jlw0lf
Brevard, NC273 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Solo
Took the train from the Dunedin Railway Station up through Taieri Gorge and back. The railway station and its gardens are beautiful. The train ride up through the gorge was pleasant, with wonderful scenery. The train host narrated the drive and provided some history of the region along the way. This was a nice way to spend half a day.
Written 15 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ann W
Sandringham, Australia437 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Solo
Princess Cruise $299 per person. Total waste of money. I couldn't walk to buffet car between carriages as use a Walker which was in end carriage. Overpriced. 40 minute stop. Nothing. So disappointed.
Written 5 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LR M
Sydney, Australia12 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Interesting option. Not usually one for train trips but thought this one would be interesting. I would origanise it differently however. There's a fairly useless 40 mins stop at the turn around point. Why not make it a lunch / dinner trip and make better use of the time? I was also not impressed with the seating arrangements -- I was happy to swap with someone so they geot the gorge view on the way back but a family group decided to jump the gun and took our seats. As the seats were open' there was nothing to be done about it.
Written 4 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mountainman827
Custer, SD1,357 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
booked the Taieri Gorge Railways as a 'shore excursion' whilst traveling around New Zealand on a cruise ship.

Having done multiple train trips before this was extremely disappointed as it certainly was not worth the cost of $199 US per person,

Previously the rail journey went further but understand the loss of a bridge in a bushfire about 5 years ago means the train no longer operates to Pakuranga.

Spent lot of time at end of line with nothing to see or do before returning.
Written 29 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kate M
Belper, UK31 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Solo
This was a great half day trip. Daryl gives an interesting and engaging commentary. The views were stunning. Buffet car impressive for a train! The Trip Advisor info is wrong - these trips are running!
Written 30 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian W
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
Advise for any with mobility disability issues planning on the Taieri Gorge Railway adventure.

Although we are not sure if this is a Cunard Queen Elizabeth and Taieri Gorge Railway issue with accepting people with mobility issues for the excursion, there is no excuse for the rudeness and discrimination to both my wife and another lady by Tairi Gorge Railway staff on December 7th 2023.

I have emailed the details below to Taieri Gorge Railway and have not had a response.

This may seem to be a very long description, but highlights the circumstances that both ladies endured on the day.

As Australian's on board the cruise ship Cunard, Queen Elizabeth, we booked the train excursion which had a note that a short distance would need to be walked to the train, which as we had been to Dunedin railway station on previous visits we knew was suitable for mobility disability, as my wife uses a portable travel scooter.
All had been visually approved staff on board the Queen Elizabeth as we got shuttle transfer tickets for my wife, with her portable folding electric travel scooter, and myself.
However when we went to board the shuttle bus to the train station, we were very abruptly and arrogantly spoken to "that we cannot take the travel scooter" in front of many other cruise ship passengers by the train staff. We would have to leave it outside on the wharf, unsecured. There was no reasonable explanation, even though previously friends had done the excursion with a wheelchair.
We were being continually strongly spoken to by the train staff, holding up the bus departure. There was no reasonable explanation, causing embarrassment to my wife.
She needs the travel scooter for mobility, it is an essential part of her mobility, yet she and the travel scooter were treated with total disrespect.
Eventually a bus shuttle member allowed me to place the scooter in the secure office, only then to be yelled at again by the train staff.
At the train station there was a distance to walk and of course without the scooter, walking was very slow, especially as the wheelchair access ramp, to avoid the stairs was the other side of the entry to the station.
Due to the time taken to get to the train carriage allocation, we were allocated to the last train carriage, the furthest away. I asked for a wheelchair, but not one available, once again arrogantly spoken to and causing a departure delay, once again with every one waiting for us.
To our dismay when arriving at the destination, there was infact a carriage which had walkers and baby strollers stored for the excursion. There was plenty of room on the train.
On the return to the train station, a long walk from the end carriage, but when I was asked for a wheelchair, once again sharply spoken to that one was not available, as the lady who experienced the same scenario, had in fact hurt herself due to the ordeal.
Eventually a staff member with some empathy, allowed us to use the wheelchair.
Unfortunately what should have been a wonderful experience turned out to be a traumatic experience for both my wife and an other lady in the group who also has a portable travel scooter.
We have visited NZ several times, and have always found public transportation, tours and venues to be very accommodating to disability, but this was a very unpleasant and unacceptable experience.
Written 16 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Adpo01
Melbourne, Australia206 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
We booked the Taieri Gorge Railways as a 'shore excursion' whilst travelling around New Zealand on a cruise ship.
We were extremely disappointed as it certainly did not represent value for money, costing $299.95 (Australian $'s) per person, noting that when the charters are not running to cost from Dunedin to Hindon and return is only $69.00 (New Zealand $'s).
Previously the rail journey went further but understand the loss of a bridge in a bushfire about 5 years ago means the train no longer operates to Pakuranga. We were not told this when booking, nor was it mentioned on the train journey.
We were in Car P, where the seating was uncomfortable and the air conditioning compromised because there are no curtains on the window to 'keep the sun out'.
Written 14 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

wallybee43
Sherwood Park, Canada393 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
We took the excursion from the Holland America Noordam. We have done several unique train rides and this one doesn't rate anywhere near the top. The first stop was in Dunedin and it was the market day at the station. It was interesting to visit the market and also to view and visit some of the older buildings in town. But the only reason we took this excursion was when we seen the word "Gorge" in the description. It sounding really interesting, But there was no gorge. Only a valley into some of the back country. If one wants to see a gorge I highly recommend taking the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. Not only will you see a gorge, but you will enjoy riding on a train that is pulled by an authentic period steam locomotive. And this route is over the highest mountain pass by rail in the United States reaching a summit of 10,015 feet. No deisel locomotive here!
Written 26 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marilyn F
Melbourne, Australia167 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
Very professional. Daryl is a very good narrator. Great picnic lunch which mostly gluten free by default. Perhaps needs more to do with the 40 minutes when engines need to be changed
Written 7 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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TAIERI GORGE RAILWAY (Dunedin) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go