Home > Auckland > Waiheke Island Wine Tasting Tour from Auckland
USD $102.00
Waiheke Island Wine Tasting Tour from Auckland
Auckland, New Zealand
Discover why Waiheke Island is renowned for producing some of New Zealand’s most celebrated artisan wines on this premium tour of three vineyards. You’ll sample fine wines at Mudbrick Vineyard, Cable Bay and Te Whau Vineyard. At one of your tastings, munch on complimentary light appetizers. This small-group tour, limited to 20 people, provides an intimate experience with fellow wine lovers at Waiheke’s finest vineyards.
Board your ferry in downtown Auckland and relax on the 40-minute ride to Waiheke Island, an idyllic land of farms, forests, seaside villages and beaches that is less than 12 miles (19 km) from Auckland.
When you arrive on the island, your small group will be welcomed by your tour driver in an air-conditioned coach. From there, head to your first tasting at Mudbrick Vineyard. Sip on wines as you enjoy stunning views of the lush gardens and hillside vineyards that overlook the Hauraki Gulf.
Next you will proceed to Cable Bay. Enjoy a selection of their wines and light appetizers while the knowledgeable and passionate staff answers any questions you may have.
Your final stop will be at the Te Whau Vineyard, an operation that opened in the late 1990s to rave reviews. Taste their award-winning selection as you get an overview of making wine, from growing grapes to the finished bottle. Te Whau specializes in cabernet sauvignon and merlot, but also produces a limited quantity of chardonnay each year.
At the end of the tour, you can return to the wharf via your coach for the late-afternoon ferry back to Auckland. Alternatively, you can stay on Waiheke to explore the island’s wineries and restaurants with a complimentary All Day Bus Pass for the public bus. Ferries to Auckland run until late on most evenings; check the schedule for exact details. You may not want to leave once you taste the fine wines of Waiheke!
We loved it! Waiheke is a must-visit. Our guide, Glen, was entertaining.
Review by: William C, March 2018
Excellent wineries, beautiful country side. Relatively short and pleasant ferry ride from Auckland to Waiheke Island. Not so enthusiastic about our guide. Good in front of the large group on the coach, not so much one-on-one. The guide also apparently did not spend much time at the ferry dock on Waiheke Island meeting folks coming from Auckland for the tour. My wife and I had to ask around the ferry terminal to hunt down and find the tour bus, where our guide was comfortably seated.
Review by: Lynn B, March 2018
An enjoyable afternoon, nice ferry ride to the island and our driver had lots of information to share. The wineries were all good with some amazing views.
Review by: Ralph K, March 2018
Great tour, but the bus was not air conditioned and the windows would not open. The air outside was cooler than in a hot tin can bus. Bus driver was not what I would call very nice, but maybe it was his kiwi sense of humor. Strange.
Review by: Robin L, February 2018
The wineries were great to look at but the wines were not so hot. I found only two wines that were half way decent. The bus around the island was fun and informative. The driver even dropped us off at a beach to go swimming and get dinner and let us know how to catch the local bus back to the ferry terminal. If I had this to do over I would have just caught the ferry over early in the morning and ridden the local bus to some of the wineries.
Review by: Linda L, February 2018
False advertising. The tour was listed as a small group tour of 20 or less. It was on a large bus with 31 people. The bus AC on a warm day did not work well, plus the guide who also drove had to close up the bus while with us which made getting on and touring a nightmare.
Review by: the2simeks, January 2018
This tour exceeded expectations. The wineries we visited were welcoming and very informative about the wine producing challenges on the island. There are several different micro climates that not only affect how the grapes are grown but also the variety of grapes that are grown in each micro climate. In addition, the ferry ride to the island was very scenic and an additional reason for taking the tour.
Review by: Andrea L, January 2018
While the wineries and the wines were quite nice, and the talks given by the wineries particularly at Mud Brick and Cable Bay were very informative, the group which should have been limited to 20 was actually 32 and the bus did not have functioning air conditioning on an 89 degree day. Unfortunately this created a crowded and uncomfortable experience.
Review by: Alison B, January 2018
Generous amounts of wine given and some great information re wine making and history of vineyards, very pleasant afternoon.
Review by: dianemcnamara1, January 2018
The 3 wineries Mudbrick, Cable Bay, and Te Motu were great, but it was too large of a group 32 and we were very rushed. In fact, at the last winery most of us didn't get to taste the last wine because we had to be back on the bus to leave. Our driver was very funny though, and we enjoyed him.
Review by: Dania A, December 2017
The views and wines were amazing!
Review by: ewalford50, November 2017
The venues on this excursion were great and the excursion very enjoyable. Good tour guide. But I would recommend that the excursion be lengthened because we felt rushed at each venue.
Review by: aepeyton, July 2017
THIS IS A MUST TOUR!! I am SO thankful that I booked this tour--it was the highlight of my Auckland stay. I loved the cutest little island and I would love to go back as soon as possible! All of the wineries were free tastings but my favorite was by far Mudbrick. Even though it rained off and on during the tour, it was a wonderful day as a solo traveler! Highly recommend!!
Review by: Anectus, May 2017
Enjoyed the senary of the wineries and also the tasting of many different wines. also enjoyed the sea view on the way to the island.
Review by: Briggsy, April 2017
Loved this tour, there where three different wineries each one a little different, just a shame no one wanted to listen to the 3rd ones introduction! Felt for the host, as people can be rude and he did right not to continue with the talk when only a few out of the party wanted to listen.
Review by: aayalina, March 2017
L'ile est superbe mais les vins sont un peu chers à mon goût mais c'est une chouette balade en ferry puis en minibus, le chauffeur était très cordial.
Review by: tayoc2, February 2017
Excellent tour with beautiful scenery. Tour director, Glenn, very informative and good humour. Wines very good, Mudbrick Wines being the most informative. A very pleasant day.
Review by: Steven H, December 2016
A really good tour but would have got much more out of this if the guidance from Viator had been a lot better. All it says is be ready 20 minutes prior to departure time pier 2 - 1pm start. What it should have said was go to the Fullers ticket booth on pier 2, swap your voucher for boat/bus and tour tickets then get the 1pm boat to Waiheke. You meet your tour guide and transport on Waiheke Island and not at Auckland Pier 2. We would have got a lot more out of this tour had we known this - good job we asked at the ticket booth or we would have missed the tour - and we wouldn't have been the only ones. We could have caught a much earlier ferry to Waiheke and used the included bus pass to tour the island and town prior to meeting the guide at the ferry terminal. We visited 3 wineries - Mudbrick, Cable Bay and Te Whau Vineyards. Wine was excellent, food/snacks at Cable Bay was nice but in short supply for the number on the tour cheese and crackers. The guide Glen was very knowledgeable with a wry sense of humour. A really pleasant afternoon that could have been a great day out.
Review by: Jennifer S, July 2016
Was a fun tour, guide was great._br/_ Wish there was just 1 more vineyard, but loved the 3 we went to.
Review by: Merryl Y, March 2016
Very easy to obtain our Ferry tickets included in the price of the tour from Auckland to Waiheke Island. Our driver and tour guide was Glenn and he made the tour quite fun. Mudbrick Vineyard is an upscale attraction and the Mudbrick guide gave a good tour. Personally preferred the Mudbrick wines over Goldie and Te Whau.
Review by: Jason S, March 2016
Great tour loved waihiki island, tour guide was great, highly recomend.
Review by: Alice G, March 2016
Although we enjoyed the three vineyards and the history of the island given by the tour guide we found his constant jokes annoying. He also was berating us for not laughing at his jokes!
Review by: Roderick J, January 2016
Fantastic scenery, great guide would love to do it all again. The only downfall was that we couldn't go over to the island in the morning to use our bus pass before the tour and had to leave the island straight after it finished to get to our next activity..
Review by: CHRISTINE L, June 2015
Interesting and magnificiant landscapes, good wines ;) and an very original birthday cake :D
Review by: Erin G, April 2015
Great tour. Awesome wineries and fantastic scenery but felt rushed. Do an entire day if you can!
Review by: Heta-Liisa H, March 2015
The tour had too many people in it. I was under the impression that this was going to be a small tour but we were more than 30 people in a big bus! Waiheke is a beautiful island and you certainly do not want to visit it in a massive bus with a huge group. And you know what that is like, waiting for people, queuing, waiting some more.
Review by: Mandale S, March 2015
This tour was absolutely amazing! I loved the three wineries we visited and our tour guide was a delight. I would highly recommend this wine tour especially if they would be fortunate enough to have our tour guide. I appreciated that he had vast knowledge of all the wines, wineries and waiheke sights. _br/_
Thank you for putting together such an amazing tour
Review by: TOMAS D, February 2015
great driver, vineyards good, tour nothing to write home about
Review by: Karen M, February 2015
Beautiful venues, scenery and wines.
Review by: Michelle E, December 2014
It was a rainy day on the island. All of the wineries were nice. However,I personally didn't feel the wine was great. The tour operator really wanted people to stay on the island after the tour. The tour ends at 4:45pm on the island.
Review by: Angela S, December 2014
Tour was very good.
Review by: Holly C, December 2014
The tour was really good. Great selection of wineries although we didn't have much time to stay and enjoy te scenery as much as we'd have liked to- it felt a bit rushed. The tour had 24 people on, next time it'd be better to go on a smaller tour. The guide was great, knew lots about the Island.
Review by: Erin M, July 2014
Soooooo good!
Review by: Erin M, July 2014
Soooooo good!
Review by: Cindy W, March 2014
Glenn our tour leader was very personable, chatty and tried to be witty. Our visit to Mudbrick was lead by Tristan who was incredibly knowledgeable on growing the grapes, winemaking and the wines themselves. The views from the winery were spectacular and the wines were very good - the chardonnay was my favorite. Goldies served some wonderful cheeses and good wine. At the last winery Te Whau, the owner explained to us his philosophy of wine growing that is very different from the main stream, he was very passionate. The wines are of the Bordeaux style which are not to my taste, but were good. It was a great way to spend the afternoon on Valentines Day.
Review by: Steven T, February 2014
Beautiful island with tours and tastings at three vineyards---very nice day!
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