The Royal Albatross Centre is owned and operated by NZ’s first private charitable conservation trust Otago Peninsula Trust. Your help and funds raised go to projects which protect and enhance the environment and wildlife of Dunedin’s Otago Peninsula.

Noise Level: to reduce disturbance on the albatross, including when nesting. We do ask and remind all visitors to keep noise level to a minimum. Our guides do reserve the right to send visitors back down from the tour if visitors don’t adhere to this rule as we are under a permit and do not want to disturb albatross.

Clothing:

We highly recommend bringing your own warm and wet weather clothing as the weather can change and solid footwear is recommended. Waterproof jackets are provided.

Photography:

We do not allow flash photography on our tours as this can disturb the albatross & wildlife and frighten them or even blind them.

Is there much walking? 

A reasonable level of fitness is required to walk from the Centre to the observatory and the fortifications – its a five minute walk up a hill to the inside observato ry If you are taking the Unique Tour there are a two small staircases. We have mobility scooters, please give us advance notice if you’d like to use one, so we can have a staff member available. On the penguin tour there are steps and a 150 metre walk down to the beach and back.

• What might I see at what time of the year? Albatross have a two year breeding cycle. Check out what you might see while visiting Albatross and Penguin Lifecycles
• Do I need to book a tour? It’s strongly advised for a few reasons. Firstly, this is the only place in the world where albatross nest on a mainland, so you don’t want to miss out! The only way to get to the observatory to have the chance to see albatross is on a guided tour. Tours are limited to 18-21 people per tour, so space is limited.
• Can you guarantee viewing and flying? The Albatrosses are not in captivity. They are wild creatures. So we cannot guarantee their behaviour or sightings on any given day, most usually we have nests in sight of our observatory for most months of the year. Some times of year and some seasonal and weather variations create more suitable conditions for albatrosses to fly. Please contact us for more information prior to your visit to check what viewing is like.
• Have you got Disability Access?  Our centre is accessible with accessible toilets, cafe and displays we have 2 self-drive mobility carts available (limited availability), we ask visitors to contact us to book a cart and to advise the centre of any special requirements.
• Do we get to go on the albatross reserve? Our guided tour is within an observatory over the albatross nesting area, only DOC Rangers are allowed on the albatross nature reserve. A one way glass and sound deadening system is in place to minimise our disturbance to the nesting albatrosses. Photography is behind glass windows.
• How many come come on a family pass? Two adults and up to 3 school aged children (5-17 years of age) 18 + is an adult. Infants 4 and under are free on tour.
• How far are is the Royal Albatross Centre from Dunedin city? We’re a 32km scenic drive from Dunedin city centre. Allow about 45-50 minutes and check for roadworks as Dunedin is building a cycleway along the peninsula road. Plan to be 15 minutes before your booked tour.
• Tour Capacity, our Unique, Albatross and Fort tours take up 18 people (including infants)
• Early tour Request, we can accommodate group bookings outside our operation of hours, e-mail reservations@albatross.org.nz
• How can I donate to help the wildlife? Check out our Givealittle Fundraising Page
• NO PUBLIC access to the wildlife reserve/albatross colony, access is granted by booking on a guided tour. Bookings are essential to guarantee a place on a tour. No self-guided tour options