Kaikoura, NZ

Restaurant in a 1900s wooden hotel on the southern foreshore, with sea views from the deck and a seafood-led menu. The grown-up casual dinner in town.

Long-running foreshore restaurant with the village's most consistent dinner kitchen, a seafood-led menu and a strong wine list. The reliable evening choice.

Foreshore brunch cafe attached to the Encounter Kaikoura tour office, with a casual brunch menu and the village's best coffee. The pre-tour breakfast spot.

Counter fish-and-chips shop on West End with the village's best fresh-fish takeaway. Eat them on the foreshore five minutes away.

A long-running organic-leaning cafe on Beach Road with a strong cabinet and a tight brunch menu. The locals' weekday cafe.

A small cafe on West End with the village's strongest coffee and a tight breakfast menu. The morning stop for the pre-whale-watch crowd.

A casual Mediterranean-leaning restaurant on Beach Road with a tight chef-driven menu and the kind of room that fills with locals after work. The under-the-radar dinner option.

A lobster-shack pickup window on the south foreshore selling Kaikoura crayfish straight from the boat — boiled, halved, with garlic butter. The casual seafood pilgrimage.

A roadside BBQ kiosk on the highway just north of town selling crayfish, scallops, and grilled fish straight from the smoker. The local pilgrimage stop on the drive in or out.

A small wine-bar restaurant on Avoca Street with a chef-driven small-plates menu and a tight wine list. The grown-up evening alternative.

The village pub on West End, with the casual pub menu, a long taps list, and the kind of room locals end the day at. Walk-in friendly.

A small cafe with the village's best lunch sandwiches and a tight cabinet. The lunch stop between morning whale watch and afternoon walk.

Iconic 3.5km coastal clifftop walk around the perimeter of the Kaikoura peninsula, with views of the snow-capped Kaikoura ranges and a fur seal colony at the eastern tip. Easy gradients, well-signed. The defining short walk in town.

A 6-7 hour return summit walk on the 1602m peak that backdrops Kaikoura, with a 1500m elevation gain and a panoramic view over the Pacific and the inland ranges. Serious hiker territory.

A short flat walk just north of town to the waterfall where fur seal pups gather in pools below the falls in autumn. Pram-friendly, family-friendly, and the most photogenic wildlife walk in the country in season.

A 90-minute steep climb from town to a panoramic lookout above Kaikoura, with views of the ranges and the peninsula. The local Sunday workout.

A flat 2km walk along South Bay with views of the harbour, the marina and Kaikoura ranges. Pram-friendly, family-friendly. The casual after-lunch stretch.

A 90-minute return walk on the lower slopes of Mt Fyffe, with native bush and views down to the coast. Family-friendly version of the full summit climb.

A 2-hour return native-bush walk to a bush viewpoint above the village, quieter than the more popular peninsula walk. The under-the-radar local option.

The marine-mammal-focused boat tour from the South Bay wharf, with a 95% success rate spotting sperm whales. Maori-owned and DOC-accredited; the country's flagship whale watch and the reason most visitors come to Kaikoura. 2.5-hour tour.

Boat-based dolphin tour with optional swim-with-dolphins immersion, focused on dusky dolphins in the Kaikoura coastal waters. The country's most successful swim-with-dolphins operation.

A 2.5-hour albatross-and-seabird boat tour from the South Bay wharf, with the country's best albatross viewing. Specialist-led, the under-the-radar wildlife tour that birders love.

Small fixed-wing scenic flights over the whales from Kaikoura airfield, the all-weather alternative to the boat tours. Dramatic from the air, especially over breaching sperm whales.

Helicopter tours over the whales from the airfield, the splurge alternative to the boat or fixed-wing. Quieter, slower over the whales, and the dramatic vertical perspective.

Snorkel-with-seals tour from the South Bay wharf, with the country's most reliable wild fur seal interaction in the water. Wetsuits and snorkel gear included.

Small museum upstairs at the West End information centre with displays on the whaling era, the 2016 earthquake that lifted the seabed, and the local Maori heritage. Quietly excellent.

Family-run cultural and natural-history tours from a local Ngati Kuri family, with the deepest Maori-perspective storytelling of the region's natural history. Small group, half-day.

A local operator runs day tours from Kaikoura to Marlborough wine country, with cellar-door pickups and a winery lunch. Useful if Kaikoura is your base.

Small Saturday morning market on the West End grounds with local produce, baking and craft. The local weekend ritual.

The blunt rocky peninsula that gives the town its silhouette, with the Peninsula Walkway around its perimeter, a fur-seal colony at the eastern tip, and the Kaikoura ranges dropping straight into the Pacific in the background. The defining feature of the town.

The fur seal colony at the eastern tip of the peninsula, free to visit, with seals snoozing within metres of the carpark. The country's most accessible wild fur seal encounter.

The waterfront strip of the village, with the marina, a row of restaurants and the start of most water-based tours. The orientation point.

The 1602m peak that backdrops the town, with a steep 6-7 hour return summit walk and a panoramic view over the Pacific and the inland ranges. The big walk for fit hikers.

A short walk just north of Kaikoura to a waterfall where fur seal pups gather in pools below the falls. The most photogenic wildlife scene in the country in autumn (July-November) when the pups are present.

A small limestone cave on the southern outskirts of the town, with stalactites and a stalagmite formation worth a 45-minute guided tour. Family-friendly, dry, the rainy-day plan.

An 1844 cob-and-whalebone cottage on the southern foreshore, the oldest surviving European building in Kaikoura, built on a foundation of whale vertebrae. A small museum tells the whaling-era story.

A 30-minute river-bed walk north of town to a sculpture tree by the Hapuku River. Family-friendly, slightly random, and the under-the-radar local stop.

The official information centre and railway station on West End, with maps, tour bookings and the small Kaikoura Museum upstairs. The orientation point.