The best Waiheke wine tours
Find the best Waiheke wine tours for a fun day out on the island of wine
Visiting Waiheke Island is one of the best things to do in Auckland. If you enjoy wine, touring the island’s boutique vineyards is lots of fun.
Most Waiheke wine tours will meet you at the ferry (or your island accommodation) and whisk you off to 3 wineries. You’ll be able to sample a range of vintages from the island.
With a wine tour, tastings are included (usually around $20 per person), and there’s the option of buying more wine at the cellar doors to take home.
If you’re wondering which Waiheke Island wine tour to book, I’ll walk you through some of the best options — and share my top pick.
jump ahead.
The best Waiheke Island wine tour
If you’re just looking for my one top recommendation, it’s the Gourmet Food and Wine tour, This tour covers boutique wineries and the chance to taste local olive oil, oysters, and artisan cheese.
Why book a wine tour? It’s the best way to visit Waiheke’s wineries
Mudbrick vineyard and restaurant garden
One of the best parts of wine tours is that they can take you to the corners of Waiheke where public buses don’t reach.
As well as getting to visit multiple vineyards on your tour, you’ll also get to see more of Waiheke Island. The countryside is gorgeous so taking a seat in a tour bus doubles as a tiki tour (local slang for the scenic route) of the island.
Just be prepared for some winding roads if you’re prone to car sickness.
A wine tour is also the easiest option for groups — for my sister’s hens party, we had a bus load of tipsy women expertly sheperded from winery to winery.
It would have been chaos without a skilled guide.
Top Waiheke Island wine tours
Gourmet food and wine tour
Rating: 5/5 (245 reviews)
Duration: 5.5 hours
This tour visits some of the loveliest wineries on Waiheke (Kennedy Point, Batch, and Casita Miro).
Waiheke is as much about food as it is wine, with the lush microclimate fostering a range of fresh produce and locally-grown olive oil. You’ll get to try oysters harvested from the waters around Waiheke, artisan cheese and olive oil pressed from the island’s olive trees.
There’s a platter lunch at the end, which is always a good idea after sampling a lot of wine.
For this tour, your guide will meet you at your island accommodation or at the wharf.
The guides with this ompany are known for their insightful commentary along the way.
Here’s one review:
We very much enjoyed the Full Day Waiheke Island Food and Wine Tour. Driving around the island was very pleasant. The host, wineries and olive oil tour were wonderful. Enjoyed the wine and food each winery provided. Steve was an excellent guide. Very professional, extremely informative and accommodating with a wonderful sense of humor. Would highly recommend this tour.
Linda K
2.
A few tips
You’re not expected to tip after your wine tour, as the price includes service. However, if you would like to show your appreciation to your driver and guide, no one will turn down a tip when offered.
Waiheke wine tours can run in all weather. Just make sure to bring sunblock in summer and a warm jacket in winter.
Most Waiheke wine tours last for 5-6 hours — a single wine tasting can take around 40 minutes, so it will take up most of your day.
Dress comfortably! Although some of the vineyards can be quite fancy, there’s no expectation that you wear formal clothes. While a lot of people like to dress up for Waiheke, you’ll be welcomed even if you’re wearing shorts and jandals — this is an island, after all.
Thanks for reading this far! I hope this helped you choose a wine tour for Waiheke — if you decide to go, you’re in for a treat.
If you’re interested in exploring New Zealand wine, you might also like to read about Martinborough, a wine region near Wellington:
