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Cycle the Otago Rail Trail (Small Group Tour)

  • Cycle the Otago Rail Trail (Small Group Tour)
The big skies and gorgeous landscapes of the Otago Central Rail Trail make it New Zealand's original Great Ride.
After the shuttle from Port Chalmers, you'll get a water bottle and snack pack and hit the road. Follow 24 kilometers of trail framed by mountains and paralleled by the Taieri River, past tracks carved out by miners heading to the Otago Goldfields (during the 1860s gold rush that put Dunedin on the map). You'll finish on a gentle downhill slope into Rock & Pillar Station, then bid farewell to your trusty bike and have lunch at the charming Kissing Gate Cafe in Middlemarch.

Virgin Select

This experience is exclusive to Virgin Voyages; additionally, a donation to our environmental and social impact charity partners will be made on behalf of your booking.

Shore Thing Highlights

  • Cycle a beautiful trail through Australia's big sky country, past the iconic Red Dwarf Hut — one of the few remaining original “gangers sheds”

  • End the ride in Middlemarch, whose rugged scenery was featured in The Hobbit

  • Enjoy lunch at the Kissing Gate Cafe before returning to port

Need to know

  • Sailors should know how to ride a bike

  • Sailors should be in good physical condition to participate

  • Closed-toed shoes are required

  • Sailors in wheelchairs or with limited mobility should not select this Shore Thing

  • Exclusive to Virgin Voyages

  • Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes of biking

  • Approximately 1 hour and 30-minute drive each way to/from the pier

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Shore Things are fully refundable to the original form of payment. However, please note that Shore Things are only fully refundable if they are canceled within 48 hours prior to the booked Shore Thing taking place, unless stated otherwise in a specific Shore Thing 'Need to Know' section. If you fail to either (a) cancel within 48 hours of the booked Shore Thing (or alternative time period as may be stated in a specific Shore Thing 'Need to Know' section), or (b) show up for a booked Shore Thing, you will be charged for 100% of the Shore Thing price. 

If you make a cancellation prior to the first day of your voyage and within 48 hours (unless otherwise stated in the tour details) of your Shore Thing, you will be refunded to the original form of payment after midnight Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the day of cancellation.

If you make another purchase prior to midnight EST, after canceling a booking eligible for a refund, the credit from the canceled booking will be applied to your new booking. Therefore, you’ll only be charged for the price difference between the canceled and new experience. If you have remaining temporary credit left on your account after you’ve made another experience purchase, the remaining credit will be refunded to your original form of payment after midnight EST.

If you cancel a Shore Thing during your voyage and are eligible for a refund, a credit will be applied to your folio and not to your original form of payment.


Shore Things departure times and/or meeting locations are subject to change. We will make every effort to notify Sailors in advance via the Sailor App of any tour departure and/or meeting changes.
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