Choose the beach where you want to start or stop walking, read the low-tide times for Awaroa Inlet, and then book a seat. Abel Tasman AquaTaxi, now the only water taxi company based at Mārahau, sends four boats up the coast on a summer day and calls at five landings between Anchorage and Tōtaranui. A one-way seat costs $63 to $75 in NZD, depending on how far north you go.
Summer timetable, 1 October 2026 to 30 April 2027, as printed on AquaTaxi's 2026/27 map and its online timetable; checked 9 October 2026 Abel Tasman AquaTaxi – one-way water taxi timetable · 2026-10-09
Use the boat for one leg and walk the other. That is how DOC describes most trips on the Abel Tasman Coast Track: walkers cover the 60 km track, or a section of it, in one direction and ride a water taxi the other way. AquaTaxi's scheduled boats work the coast between Mārahau or Kaiteriteri and Tōtaranui, landing at Anchorage, Bark Bay, Onetahuti and Awaroa on the way, plus drop-offs at Torrent Bay before noon.
Book before you arrive. DOC says the water taxis run year round and must be booked in advance; AquaTaxi takes full payment when you reserve. In summer, from 1 October 2026 to 30 April 2027, boats leave Mārahau at 09:00, 10:30, 12:00 and 13:30 and turn round at Tōtaranui; the last one lands back at Mārahau at 16:30.
Price the trip by the beach, not the hour. A one-way seat from Mārahau or Kaiteriteri is $63 to Anchorage, about 45 minutes away by the operator's reckoning, and $75 to Tōtaranui, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
These are AquaTaxi's published one-way fares from Mārahau or Kaiteriteri, the same figures on its fare list and on its 2026/27 map. A seat has to be booked and paid in advance online or by phone; a fare between two beaches inside the park, or a child's seat, is priced by the booking system rather than printed. Torrent Bay is only bookable on 0800 278 282.
Each fare already contains the Environmental Access Fee, which passes on DOC's compulsory levy for crossing the national park foreshore, plus the Kaiteriteri Domain Board levy or a voluntary Mārahau Environmental Trust contribution, depending on the beach you leave from. One pack or bag of up to 20 kg rides free with every full fare.
| To Anchorage | $ 63 |
| To Bark Bay | $ 67 |
| To Onetahuti | $ 69 |
| To Awaroa | $ 73 |
| To Tōtaranui | $ 75 |
2026/27 fares published by Abel Tasman AquaTaxi in October 2026; read 9 October 2026 Abel Tasman AquaTaxi – one-way water taxi fares · 2026-10-09
Northbound, the boats run up the coast of Abel Tasman National Park in a fixed order: Anchorage, Torrent Bay (drop-offs only), Bark Bay, Onetahuti, Awaroa and Tōtaranui. Southbound they collect in reverse and finish at Mārahau. DOC's list of scheduled water taxi landings also names Apple Tree Bay, Medlands Bay and Tonga Quarry; AquaTaxi does not time stops there, but Wilsons from Kaiteriteri does.
On the map the track and the boat line run side by side, which is what makes the one-way plan work. AquaTaxi prints DOC-style walking times on its map: Bark Bay Hut to Onetahuti about 2 hours over 6.1 km, Onetahuti to Awaroa Hut about 2.5 hours over 7.1 km. So a 09:00 boat to Bark Bay leaves time to walk to Onetahuti and still catch an afternoon pick-up there.
AquaTaxi's office and boats are at 275 Sandy Bay–Marahau Road, which the operator puts 1 km from the start of the Coast Track. DOC runs a car park at the Mārahau road end, and the water taxi and kayak companies keep their own parking for customers. Kaiteriteri sits on the same timetable line; AquaTaxi's partner site says the Kaiteriteri option is for the busy summer season, so confirm which beach you are boarding from when you book.
Tōtaranui is the last stop: DOC does not allow water taxis any further north, so there is no boat to Wainui or the northern bays. DOC gives the drive as 160 km from Nelson, 32 km from Tākaka, with the final 12 km unsealed. There is a car park and a campsite at the beach, though the campsite can only be booked for one night at a time.
DOC allows the Awaroa crossing only in daylight, from 1 hour 30 minutes before to 2 hours after low tide, and prints monthly low-tide tables. If your walk and your boat sit on opposite sides of the inlet, plan around the tide first.
Every hut and campsite on the Coast Track needs a booking all year, and between October and the end of April each one can be booked for two nights at most. DOC opened bookings for the 2026/27 season; arriving without one can mean a penalty fee.
A full fare covers one bag or pack up to 20 kg going to the same beach as you. AquaTaxi also hires out tents, sleeping mats and cookers if you are travelling light.
The online booking form stops at the six main beaches. For a Torrent Bay drop-off, before noon only, ring AquaTaxi on 0800 278 282.
AquaTaxi points walkers to The Better Bus for the run from Nelson or Motueka to Mārahau; book it separately and match it to your boat.
The Coast Track is a no-dogs track, so there is nowhere to land with one.
Since Marahau Water Taxis merged into AquaTaxi on 1 October 2025, Mārahau has one water taxi company. Kaiteriteri, further south, has two more operators with their own timetables: Wilsons Abel Tasman, whose day trips check in at 1 Kaiteriteri–Sandy Bay Road at least 20 minutes before sailing, splits its year into a shoulder season in October and April and a high season from 1 November to 31 March, and adds stops at Apple Tree Bay, Medlands Beach and Tonga Quarry; Abel Tasman Sea Shuttles runs catamarans from Kaiteriteri with its own bus from Nelson and Motueka. Both sell one-way fares to the beaches as well as cruises, so compare their tables if Kaiteriteri suits you better.
Transfer or cruise? Every operator here also sells a scenic cruise, where you stay aboard to Tōtaranui and back, and packages that bundle a boat ride with a guided walk, kayak or lunch. Those prices are not fares: the table on this page is for a seat that puts you ashore. If you are planning walks on more than one track this summer, the Queen Charlotte Track boats from Picton work on the same idea in the Marlborough Sounds, and closer to home the short Māpua crossing to Moturoa/Rabbit Island carries walkers and Great Taste Trail riders across the Waimea Estuary.
Plan not to. DOC says Abel Tasman water taxis must be booked in advance, and AquaTaxi takes payment when you reserve.
$75 from Mārahau or Kaiteriteri with AquaTaxi. Anchorage is $63, Bark Bay $67, Onetahuti $69 and Awaroa $73.
The final southbound boat leaves Tōtaranui at 15:15, collects at Anchorage at 16:00 and is back at Mārahau at 16:30.
No. AquaTaxi only drops off at Torrent Bay, before noon, and that seat is booked by phone. Walk on to Anchorage or Bark Bay for a pick-up.
No. DOC does not permit water taxis north of Tōtaranui. Walkers going further usually loop back to Tōtaranui over the Gibbs Hill Track.
Only if you stay overnight. Day walks and park entry are free, but every hut and campsite on the Coast Track must be booked in advance all year.
No. DOC lists the Abel Tasman Coast Track as no dogs, so a water taxi drop-off with a dog has nowhere to go.