Apr 19, 2024
Great local knowledge took us to some wonderful vineyards. - Pamela showed us around some great local vineyards which we had never been to before, as well as an amazing viewpoint other the whole region and a lovely local chocolate factory to finish the day.
It was brilliant that we could all enjoy the wine tour without needing to worry about having a designated driver.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 24, 2024
A super day - We had a super day with Ian as our chauffeur. Along the way we saw many names that we know from buying some at home. We visited six wineries and had very informative chats with the staff at each one. Lunch at the Fancy Cow was good, and we met up with Pamela and another group. A really great day, informative and fun. Thank you Ian and Pamela.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 14, 2024
Feel free to go out with 'Your local driver' and be surprised - We really enjoyed our private tour with Pamela! We were surprised that we were the only participants. Pamela had made an alternative program because one of the wineries and the lunch location were not open just after the wine festival. Chapeau Pamela!
We thought it was fantastic. Nice wineries, locations and delicious wines.
Lunch at Allen Scott was a pleasant surprise. So good!
A special thank you to Wijnhuis Bladen. They give a very special explanation about the origins of their winery and take you into the vineyard for an explanation and their way of growing. Top! And they also have fantastic wines.
After wine tasting, we also drove past a Chocolaterie and picked a nice spot to see the vineyards from above. We had a great day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 7, 2021
Amazing 🤩 - This tour was fantastic!
Our guide was so informative, guide was approachable and taught us lots about wine! She has a fantastic connection with the wineries and with this we received special treatment and we went to the best locations.
Such an enjoyable day and have great memories!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 30, 2020
An interesting and informative day - We were collected from our accommodation near Blenheim by Cliff. He was on time and greeted us cheerfully and with a smile. There were only the two of us and so having our own personal chauffeur and guide made the trip extra special. Cliff was very chatty and as he lived locally was able to pass on his knowledge of the area and its landmarks. At each cellar door we felt relaxed and unhurried, the staff presenting, were knowledgeable and able to answer any questions we had about each wine. There was no pressure to buy.
We ate lunch at a winery where we weren’t tasting the wine, it consisted of a delicious meat and cheese platter and was once again relaxed and most enjoyable.
Finally Cliff took us to a boutique chocolate maker, we were able to see the chocolates being made and purchase some if we wanted to.
Cliff drooped us back at our accommodation at around 4pm, tired but feeling that we had had a busy but very interesting day.
If you have the opportunity spend some time on one of these tours, you will learn a lot about wine and the beautiful area around Blenheim.
Review provided by Viator
Aug 12, 2019
Must Do !!! Full-Day Wine Gourmet and Scenic Delight Tour of Marlborough from Blenheim - Our lovely tour guide (Pamela) picked us up at our gate and so started a wonderful day of visits to local wineries, Makana Confections, and The Vines Village. The wines sampled are definitely world class and have won international awards and accolades. The platters were equally delicious, with selections of divine cheeses, olives, salad greens, hummus, crackers, melt in the mouth beef and salami. Even though we live locally Pamela was very knowledgeable, a wealth of interesting information, and we learned a great deal about the locale that we were previously unaware of. We highly recommend this tour. Palmela is very kind and helpful, a fantastic hostess, and we enjoyed our day immensely. It was a real treat. Thank you :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 13, 2019
Friendly Guide Lovely Choice of Vineyards - We had a wonderful day with our guide Lisa who was easy to get on with and had lots of interesting things about the area to tell us. We liked her choice of vineyards and enjoyed being in a small group of 4. Despite us taking longer for lunch than expected, Lisa did not rush us and called ahead to make sure everything still ran smoothly. It was a great day and we would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 28, 2018
Fantastic trip - great host - Booked this trip via another site. Host turned up at accommodation and took us to the most wonderful locations. Weather was beautiful and the lunch location was great with nice views over the valley
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 27, 2019
Only way to do wine tasting. - Guide had experience and knowledge of the area and the wine tastings were good and the bus comfortable. Our only comment/complaint was that there are many options for lunch but no discussion, rather the guide choose. In this situation whilst the food was good the others on the tour had brought a picnic - we didn't realise that we too could have purchased 'picnic' food from the winery we visited after lunch and they provided a rug etc for you to sit outside - and so we could have stayed together. We organised to take 45mins. for our lunch whilst the others were taken elsewhere - we were picked up 1 1/2 hours later after we asked the lunch venue to ring the guide - not very satisfactory. Don't get 'excited' about the chocolate tasting - it is one small sample, it is more about selling chocolate to you. As mentioned in the title you need to do a tour if wine tasting.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mar 8, 2024
Our only big disappointment in a two week trip - We feel completely ripped off. While our tour guide was lovely and the 20-year-old van was very comfortable, sadly the tour simply didn't provide what was advertised. The guide blamed Covid and then blamed us, there was no apology or offer of compensation for the false advertising.
We looked at lots of tours and this one - the most expensive - stood out with this advertising:
"Stop for seasonal produce (December through February) of juicy strawberries, cherries, apricots and nectarines, along with local cheeses, oils, liqueurs, Manuka honey, peanut butter and black garlic. Make a special stop at the Makana Confections Boutique Chocolate Factory for some divine chocolate treats!"
There was nothing of the sort provided. When I raised it and showed the guide their own website she looked troubled and tried to compensate by buying a block of cheese! At the end of the tour she did offer to take us to a chocolate place, but by then we were so disillusioned we asked to go back to our hotel. None of the other items were offered, which is really sad as the region seems to be rich in those areas.
Basically the $295 per head tour gave us the same value as the $115 per head one we originally considered.
I have complained to the booking company - getyourguide.com - and they are based in Germany and just keep passing it off with excuses. They say that the guide told them she offered us some of the additional items we expected, but I bluntly don't believe them that she said that - after all - we would have jumped at them, not turned them down!
It looks like our only option will be to take the local operator to the Small Claims Tribunal and seek a refund of the difference between what we paid and the value we'd have received from the $115 tour. Sadly we didn't even get an apology, just insistence that it was our fault for expecting too much!!
Beware the booking agent - getyourguide.com - they are simply awful to deal with. I think the local operator just needs to update their website and not set these expectations. Then they can compete on a level playing field with the other operators once they remove their false, or out of date, claims.
Review provided by Tripadvisor