TRIP REPORT: Interislander ferry between Wellington and Picton, New Zealand

• NEW ZEALAND: Introduction — Wellington, a ferry to Picton for a South Island holiday
• LOUNGE REVIEW: Update to Qantas First Lounge Sydney for Autumn 2025
• HOTEL REVIEW: Too much style? Naumi Hotel, Wellington, New Zealand
• TRIP REPORT: Interislander ferry between Wellington and Picton, New Zealand

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Ferry’s are a much underrated form of transport. The inter-island ferry between the capital of New Zealand, Wellington on the North Island, and the port of Picton on the north of the South Island, is an experience I have long hoped to have. Or in water terms, its a ferry trip that traverses the Cook Strait — that’s the water between the two islands.

Reports indicate the trip can either be on a millpond like sea, or with swells akin to rounding one of the capes.

The two ferry services

There are two companies that service the route, providing for transport of cars and trucks, and passengers without transport. They are Interislander and Bluebridge. Both have a range of services travelling across the day and evening, offering different experiences. We opted for Interislander as the times suited us best, and the nature of their premier lounge appealed. If you want cabins or overnight services, then Bluebridge might serve you better.

Bluebridge

They currently run two ships, the Connemara and the Strait Feronia. The Strait Feronia has a quiet room, movie room, a café and bar and outdoor viewing decks. Families rooms are available, plus work stations, baby change areas and private cabins.

The Connemara has similar facilities, but with the addition of dog friendly and private cabins, plus the adults-only Pōhutukawa Lounge.

The Bluebridge sailing schedule with alternating ships from Wellington is 2:00am, 8:15 am, 1:30 pm and 8:30 pm. Departures from Picton are 2:30 am, 7:45 am, 2:00 pm and 7:15 pm.

Interislander

They have three ferries, the Kaitaki (their biggest taking 1,000 passengers, the Aratere and the Kaiārahi at 550 passengers. Again the facilities of each ferry is slightly different, although all three have lounges providing food and drinks, that are either included, or can be added to your chosen fare. Other facilities include various food outlets, facilities for kids, and on the Kaitaki, private cabins with ensuites.

The ferries are distributed across the schedule, with some exclusions on certain days. Wellington departure times are: 2:00 am, 6:15 am, 8:45 am, 1:00 pm, 4:00 pm and 8:30pm. Departing out of Picton, the schedule is: 2:30 am, 7:30 am, 11:00 am, 2:15 pm, 6:30 pm and 8:50 pm.

Cost

Obiously prices vary widely whether you are transporting a car, with or without caravan, a truck, or just as a transportless passenger. Add to that the various options of lounges, or cabins andit becomes quite a complex pricing structure. Fares are similar across the two companies. It’s worth looking at your particularly sailing, and what facilities you want across the two companies before you book.

Some examples might assist. For saver fares on Interislander, its NZ$20 per person, $30 per vehicle, $15 for a motorbike. Saver fares and flexible are not refundable if cancelled, although they have some flexibility if you change the date and or time of your sailing. It usually involves paying the fare difference if any. Refundable fares are what they say on the can.

More popular sailing times, which tend to be in the afternoon and evening are more expensive, and sailings do get sold out, so plan ahead.

What we did

We had no vehicle, so it was just the two of us one way from Wellington to Picton. We opted for a refundable fare, and to pay for the premium lounge access (NZ$89 each, one way), because, you know, we get hungry and thirsty.

For a 1:00 pm departure on a Monday in March 2025, the cost of a refundable fare for each of us, was NZ$165 per person, including the access to the comfortable lounge seating with food and drink.

The Experience, food and beverage

If you are a landscape freak, particularly seascapes, then this trip is for you.

Around two-thirds of the journey is spectacularly scenic. The ferry trip loops around Wellington Harbour. It then navigates Te Moana o Raukawakawa / Cook Strait. This can be a dramatic and rugged channel where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately for us, it was relatively calm.

You then get to drift through the fjord-like channels and inlets of the Marlborough Sounds. We glided past small populated bays, wood export ports, fishing villages and precarious shoreline holiday shacks, or ‘Bach’s’ (pronounced ‘batch’) as they call them in New Zealand.

The premium cabin lounge sat about 20 people and had its own dedicated attendant. Food was buffet style, and alcohol was mostly of the beer and wine variety. The food was delicious, and seemed plentiful. It was in the nature of multiple snacks rather than hearty country fare.

The lounge was packed, so sorry for the lack of pictures, but it was just impossible to shoot without snapping a guest.

All round at over three hours of travel, this was an exceedingly calm and measured way to travel, with gorgeous scenery changing by the minute. It was a great way to transition from a city to a tiny country village like Picton. It made you slow down.

The journey takes about 3 and a half hours, but add in the hour ahead you have to get to the port, and the 15 to 20 minutes from docking to hitting the shore, and it makes for a full day trip. That’s where the comforts of the Premium Lounge come in. The trip covers 52 nautical miles or 96 kilometres. You can see from the map, that after crossing the straight, there is quite some scenery.

2PAXfly Takeout

Would I do it again? Yes, especially if travelling with someone who was a novice. Is flying to Blenheim quicker — of course.

It was a great way to start our three nights around the Marlborough Sounds, spending the days on walks, and lunching at wineries. Much more relaxing than the hustle and bustle of airports and flying.

We picked up a hire car in Picton. Book ahead, as two people travelling on the ferry hadn’t and there were no vehicles available from any of the three hire companies.

Next installment will be about our Picton digs. Another tale in the oddness of Air BnB style rentals!

Other Posts in the Series

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