Goat Island Dive & Snorkel

I took my family of 10 on a snorkeling tour with Goat Island Dive & Snorkel in early October 2025 when visiting New Zealand on vacation. The staff was very friendly, informative, and accomodating. It was still early spring in NZ and we are from Arizona (USA) so we were concerned about the cold water. Although we were not "warm" (this is not the Caribbean), the full body wetsuits did an excellent job of keeping up relatively comfortable and make this an enjoyable experience. We had a great time and got to snorkel longer after the tour at no additional charge using their equipment. Our guides were wonderful and the whole experience was excellent. 5 stars!

Great experience. We were bit unfortunate as weather wasn't good otherwise it was definitely worth it. Staff and instructor were quite friendly and very supportive. We had old people and kids in our group, she took care of them and kept them quite comfortable throughout snorkeling experience.

Pros: Naia was a friendly and informed guide. It's a very reasonably priced tour for the gear provided. The water is very still. Cons: I went at the beginning of September and it was still much too cold to fully enjoy (this probably would have been a 4/5 if the water was warmer). The water wasn't cloudy, but it also wasn't as clear as I was expecting. I saw a lot of big snapper and teeny jellyfish and that was very cool, but I didn't see as many different animals as I was expecting. Takeaway: I would recommend this in later spring or summer if you're trying to stay close to Auckland, are on a budget, want a guided tour, and want to use proper scuba gear.

About a year ago a friend and I travelled up from Auckland hoping to snorkel at Goat Island. A very helpful young lady let us know that the water was a bit rough and that we would probably not see much that day. She recommended another spot we could go to and went through the fish we might encounter. She was very attentive, gave us nice gear and even chucked a freebie in there. We also liked the dogs they had on the premises!

We had the best experience as first-time ocean snorkelers going out with tour guide Naia! Naia was calm and attentive in the water when we needed tips on how to adjust and clear our snorkels. She was very knowledgeable and passionate about the marine reserve wildlife and she did an excellent job pointing out various species - ranging from teeny baby jellyfish to a large eagle ray (pictured). Can’t speak highly enough of this experience and of Naia - 10/10! We recommend renting your equipment for the rest of the day, to try out the snorkeling techniques you’ve learned!

Had an amazing time with friends snorkelling . Could only spot few fishes

Great experience. Did the snorkeling for beginners guide tour. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on our side, so the water wasn't that clear, but they did offer a chance to reschedule. We all decided that we still wanted to go. Will definitely do it again.

The "Try Dive" is an amazing experience not too far out of Auckland. Makayla is an excellent guide/instructor, the service, preparation, and equipment are all good, and it's quite reasonably priced. I've now been convinced to continue and get an open-water diving certification :)