Pros: It combines sightseeing and hiking in the park and good for a tour of Abel Taskman National Park for people with a limited time. You can also arrange drop off and pick up which allows for longer stay in the park.Cons: Lots of pick up and drop off stops, sometimes can be unconformtable if you are prone to seasickness.
My husband and I took the Aqua Taxi to Anchorage to begin our hike back to the car. The hike was expected to take 4 hours but we were able to complete it in closer to 2.5 hours (we walked fast and did stop a ton, but also weren't running the trail). The boat driver was informative and friendly. The facility was nice. Highly recommended. We took the 1:15(ish) trip. My opinion is to do this instead of sea kayaking as it can be quite windy and it's appeared to be mostly open water.
My daughter, son in law, 16 month grandson and I travelled out to Onetahuti Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park. We were camping there for two nights. The water taxi company were fantastic, friendly, great with my little grandson and all the gear we had.On the trip out to the bay, the skipper talked about things of local interest that we passed, plus showed us some of the wildlife that call the area home. It was very informative. The whole experience was great. On our way back we caught an earlier water taxi, which wasn't a problem. All of the staff we encountered were so helpful and friendly. I would definitely recommend traveling with them.
Aqua taxis shuttled our luggage along the track and transferred us from Awaroa to Totaranui Their boats are in good condition, have cheery captains, were on time and the staff at Marahau helpful
Fast and efficient service, a great way to travel around the park, we Used them a couple of times during our trip to the Abel Tasmin, to drop us off and pick us up at various locations in the park.Service was efficient, and very easy to use. Just be prepared to get wet, as the pick up / drop off locations are on the beach, and the tides. An mean you have to wade in / out to the boat
We booked a 2 day overnight trip with Abel Tasman Aqua Taxis. This cost $132pp (we got 10% off with a Go Play discount card) and included: - 1 way taxi from Marahau to Onetahuti - Bag transfer from Marahau to Aquapackers; and bag transfer from Aquapackers to Marahau - Overnight accommodation on the Aquapackers in Anchorage (we upgraded to a private room for $25pp extra) - Dinner and breakfastWe found the whole process very easy and professional. Car parking was provided for free. Our skipper was very interesting and knowledgable. The boat ride was lovely. The accommodation was great.Even if you're not doing the day trip, I would highly recommend the bag transfers. It will save you hiking with your big packs and at $15 each way, that's totally worth it!
My boyfriend had a broken foot so we couldn't do the trek but these guys sorted us out with a trip to see as much as we could in one day to make up for it. Staff were really helpful and on the way back they stopped off in loads of different places for us to take photos etc. It is a beautiful part of the world
I took an Aqua Taxi from Marahau to Totaranui after hiking the coast track, and was very impressed with the service. The girls taking the bookings were great. The skipper took us to a few interesting places along the way and stopped so we could see the sights and take photos. The trip up the coast is pretty quick, but not so quick that you can't see anything!
Depending on what trip you decide to take this tour enables you to see as much or as little of the national park by boat and jump off, jump on when you like. We took a tour half way down the coast, jump off and did a 2 hour walk though the forest to be picked up by the boat at the next bay.
Booked this trip online from Australia, but paid on the day...great friendly and clear communication from the girls. When you use the taxi you are able to pick whatever sections of the park you want to explore, depending on your physical ability and time restraints, We opted for the Falls River trip which is touted as the most scenic part of the track. The taxi left a few minutes late but made good time and we were at Torrent Bay at the allocated time, unfortunately the tide was way out and we had to walk quite a distance through knee deep water to the beach (not an issue for the majority of us, except the teenage daughter who wasn't wearing shorts). The track was a pleasant walk, without any steep sections and we easily did it in the allocated timeframe. Views from the track were lovely, and the section crossing the suspension bridge at Falls River was particularly lovely. We arrived at Bark Bay about one and a half hours before our pick up time but went to the hut and ate our packaged lunch, before wandering to the beach for the kids to have a play before pickup. Quite choppy going home but the driver did a great job of making it as smooth as possible. Great day, would love to do more of the track at some stage.