Christchurch

Travelers' Takes

Rates and Deals

Christchurch Tramway

More Photos
LenR
LenR
First Reviewer
3 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
3
Reviews
7
Photos
Sort by: Most Recent|Positive|Negative|Most Useful
1-3 of 3

Christchurch Tramway: Drive Through a Building or Crash into It?

  • October 2, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by beckyX from Cambridge, United Kingdom
Christchurch Tramway: Drive Through a Building or Crash into It?

The Christchurch tramway is a 2.5km long tourist tramway that loops around the city centre of Christchurch in New Zealand. Although vintage trams are used, this is not a historical remnant (the tram networked stopped being used in the 1950s), but were reinstated as a tourist attraction in 1995.

Each tram has its own quirks and features, and each driver tells you different interesting stories about the places you are going around. We thought that some of the stories may have had fictional elements added to them - the drivers were all charming and eccentric. Some of the trams are a little more rickety than others, though I found that they were comfortable enough inside for short distances. With these being vintage trams, accessibility isn't great - wheelchair access to the trams is available, though not from every station, and you get the driver to help you with pushchairs.

You buy a ticket that lasts for 2 days (current cost NZD15, about £7) and hop on and off at one of the 11 stops. The trams take about 25 minutes to go around the whole circuit. The number of trams on the circuit at one time goes down outside of peak times, but it's usually every 8-12 minutes or so, so we found that we didn't need to plan too carefully, but just kept an eye out for how far away the next tram was (you can often see them in the distance some time before they get there). Sadly, as this is a tourist attraction and not public transport, they do not run very late or very early (9am-6pm in winter).

It's more of a fun activity to do in itself than a sensible method of getting around the city centre - I found that the centre of Christchurch was so small that once I'd seen everything once, I got a bit bored with the tram and it was generally quicker just to walk places rather than use the tram as transport. So a ticket that lasted two days wasn't much use to me - I just wanted to go once around the loop and the ticket is quite expensive for that. But they do have some special tickets that combine a tram ticket with entrance to other attractions - if you are going to lots in this area, this might make it more affordable.

In the evening, they run a restaurant tram, which goes round and round the loop over a period of 2h or so as it serves dinner. We didn't do this as with the exchange rates it was very pricey (about £30-50 per person!), but even though the catering facilities are not large (they don't have a range for children), they do have vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free options.

The tram station is a shopping mall that was re-engineered to take the tram route through it. So this tram actually goes through a building! There are sliding glass doors at the entrance to the building to keep the draughts out when the trams are not around. The tram is supposed to wait for a traffic light to say it is time to go, but when I was on it, they went a bit too late and the tram crashed into the closing doors and pulled them off! Fortunately, nobody was hurt and we all got an excellent story for our postcards "I was on a tram. It crashed into a building!"

In summary, this is a fun tourist attraction and if you can afford it and like rickety vintage vehicles, it's worth a go as a tourist attraction, but don't bother using it as your main method of transport.

From journal Travels in New Zealand

Editor Pick

Christchurch Tram

  • January 1, 2009
  • Rated 3 of 5 by rufusni from Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Christchurch Tram

Most cities have tour buses to see the sights, however Christchurch does it in style with a tram system. Having lived in Manchester and Dublin, trams for me are modern transport system used to commute, but Christchurch's trams are definitely a tourist mode of transport heading around 2.5km of a tramway through the city centre. There had been a tram system operating in the city from 1882 until 1954 - intially horse and steam trams and later electric trams. It has been partially reopened as a tourist attraction with beautifully restored historic trams operating on a short loop of the city centre, nothing like the tram network there had been. The drivers give commentary as the trams glide along with frequent stops close to most of the city centre tourist spots -Cathedral Square, Worchester Bridge, Art Gallery, Arts Centre, the Musuem, Hagley Park, Cranmer Square, the casino and Victoria Square, New Regent Street and then finally the tram station. So it cuts down on walking on seeing the city centre although the city centre is fairly compact and easily walkable.

At NZ$15 for an adult 2 day ticket its not the cheapest but it was great fun way to see the introduce the city taking less than half an hour to complete the entire loop. Tickets can be bought at some stops or on the tram itself depending where you decide to jump aboard. There is also a dining option in the evening which is supposed to be great fun - though I didn't get a chance to try it.

The wooden benches may not be the most comfortable seating but it is part of the experience as the tram trundles along the streets and across the Avon River. The driver's commentary was pretty good and reasonably interesting compared to many other tour guides. It also is hop-on hop-off, though I did go the whole way round the first time and then hopped off and on again a few times as I made my way round some of the sights. It was a good way to get the lay of the land in the city centre especially if you are short for time. Some of the stops are fairly useless and others are too close together to make much difference. It would be a fun way to see the city with small children though not exactly pram friendly. I did enjoy the day I had a ticket for the tram but if you have a little more time to walk around the city I think I would have skipped the tram.

From journal All Calm in Christchurch

Editor Pick

Christchurch Tramway

  • July 2, 2001
  • Rated 3 of 5 by LenR from Townsville, Australia
Christchurch Tramway

Christchurch had trams in the nineteenth century with horse-drawn and steam services operating different routes. Electric trams operated from 1905 until 1954 when they were discontinued. In 1995 trams returned to the city thanks to the tramway Historical Society and government/private enterprise cooperation.

The beautifully restored trams now follow a 2.5 kilometre loop around central Christchurch, taking in many of the historic city sights. It proved to be a fun, safe and easy way of seeing many of the interesting places in the central city. The live commentary added a lot to our enjoyment.

Tickets are purchased on board from the conductor and you can chose between a one-hour or all-day pass. You can hop on and off at any of 9 official stops. We took the one-hour ticket and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was a great orientation for further visits to particular places we wanted to see.

There is also a restaurant tram which operates for dinner all year round and for lunch during peak periods. We had previously experienced something similar in Melbourne, Australia (and in fact the restaurant tram is an ex-Melbourne tram) so we did not try it in Christchurch but can imagine that it would be the same fun experience.

Times: April-October 9am-6pm; November-March 9am-9pm
Telephone: (03) 366 7511

From journal Top Stuff in Christchurch

Sort by: Most Recent|Positive|Negative|Most Useful
1-3 of 3

Compare Christchurch Rates

1. Enter travel information

City

2. Select websites to compare rates

Each selected website will open a new window.

Helpful Christchurch Links

Christchurch Travel Deals