What‘s Included

What To Expect

Reviews

• Do not book from this company

  Priscilla C,

  Dec 5, 2024

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  1. Delay and Deceptive Communication: I confirmed with the operator the night before that the tour would start promptly at 9:00 AM. Despite arriving early at 8:40 AM, I was informed of a delay until 9:20 AM, which was subsequently extended in increments, with the tour ultimately beginning past 10:00 AM. Had I known the full extent of the delay upfront, I would have canceled and explored alternatives, as time in Picton was limited due to my cruise schedule. The meetup point was as I-Sight Visitor Center, where other tour operators were selling experiences, I believe our operator knew this and thus resorted to these unethical tactics to prevent us from using another service. 2. Unnotified Itinerary Changes: The advertised itinerary, including The Vines Village, Makana Confections, Pollard Park, The Mussel Pot Restaurant, and Marlborough Sounds, was changed without prior notice. Instead, we visited Makana Confections, Pollard Park, a wine tasting, an unrequested restaurant, and Marlborough Sounds. We also missed the Vines VIllage, which significantly dampened my experience, as a pregnant woman, I expected our first location to be one with food and coffee. We missed the Mussel Pot Restaurant, which was a key highlight for my husband. 3. Inexperienced Tour Guide: Our guide, Julie, informed us she had been hired only the night before, and her lack of familiarity with the itinerary locations was evident. While Julie was kind and accommodating, she was visibly uncomfortable due to the operator’s lack of preparation and uncommunicated itinerary changes. Overall, the tour failed to deliver the experience we paid for. The delay wasted valuable time, and the unannounced itinerary changes and inexperienced guide significantly detracted from the quality and enjoyment of the tour.

• Wine, wine, food

  Michael H,

  Jan 23, 2020

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Awesome sunny day of wine and food with Pamela. Great wines and food on this tour. We arrived early and were whisked away on an escorted tour of the Marlborough wine region. Pamela stretched the day perfect and we hoped on the second to last shuttle to the docks. Great value for a private tour compared to cruise line options costing about the same for a bus tour.

• Whichever tour it was - it was excellent!

  Peter3152,

  Dec 19, 2019

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  In all honesty, we cannot be certain of the name of the tour...no...it wasn't the effects of too much wine... we simply did not realise they offered so many tours. What we wanted was a local tour operator from Picton, where we were on a cruise ship, to take us around a range of Marlborough vineyards and to see the wonderful scenery...but not in a big group coach....and to be back in time to rejoin our ship..... We got precisely what we asked for. We visited St Clair, Cloudy Bay and Forrest cellar doors and our price included a good tasting at each location. We also visited VInes Village cafe and road-stop complex ,for a non-included lunch stop, the Makana chocolate factory and still had time for a scenic tour....and got back nicely in time for the shuttle back to the ship All this, coupled with an informative clear speaking local driver who was considerate to each passenger, (despite some language issues wit hour fellow guests - overall a really good trip and one we will repeat when next in Picton. Hope this helps.

• Great private tour for two. Good...

  James L,

  Mar 31, 2018

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Great private tour for two. Good wineries, lunch, photo opps, the works. Absolutely worth doing.

• Discovering Picton and the Marlborough Sound

  Faith K,

  Nov 30, 2017

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Had a great day with Larissa who showed us fantastic scenery, lovely beaches along the Queen Charlotte Drive. We had the famous green lip mussels in the Captain's Daughter in Havlock. Before returning to the ship we tasted some delicious cheese. Terrific! The cruise ship tours can't compare.