The Essence Of Waiheke Wine Tour

Great wines in beautiful vineyards with knowledgeable guides. Theyve booked everything so you avoid the queus. Paul's local knowledge of the area made it even more informative.

First Class; Top Wineries Paul gave wonderful history & trivia about The people & places we visited Kept on schedule

Our guide — Debbie — was friendly and knowledgeable of the island and the vineyards we visited. The natural beauty and delicious wines made for a fantastic day. Lunch was great, too. Would go back and do a combination of wine, art and gardens.

What a gorgeous day we had! From the moment Grant greeted us at the ferry until he dropped us off, his enthusiasm for Waiheke was infectious. The land and sea are beautiful and the weather was perfect. Our first stop was Mudbrick Cellar Door. The view was stunning and the wine bright and tasty. I would have liked to have stayed there longer, just based on the view. But we had more in store! Our next stop was Te Motu where we not only had great wine, but freshly baked bread and a conversation with one of the Dunleavys, the winery owners. We ended our tasting at Stonyridge, which has hosted many celebrities over the years as evidenced by the photos on the wall. Our lunch was a delicious stop at Three Seven Two, a beachfront restaurant with choices of lamb, seafood, and pasta. The day flew by and it definitely made our memory jar. Big thanks to Grant for the commentary and welcome.

Pick up on Waiheke was good, mini bus was comfy and it is easy to get the ferry across from Downtown Auckland. We visited 3 wine cellars, all quite different from one another and the staff at each were very informative and interesting. We were unlucky to have really heavy rain all day, but this is a good way to spend a wet day as we were in the minibus or wine cellars most of the time. We did miss some of the stunning views and I imagine the island is really beautiful in the sunshine. The only improvement would be if the driver could give additional information about both wines and the island. An enjoyable day which is well worth doing.

Great way to enjoy some of Waihekes vineyards in a casual manner, plus a yummy lunch to end trip. Small group so make new friends & enjoyed every minute of trip. Our tour guide Martin was exceptional.

Great tour overall! Nick was an excellent guide, and all of the wineries we visited were fantastic. One suggestion would be to either offer light snacks at each stop or schedule lunch midway through the tour rather than at the end. Otherwise, I’d recommend bringing your own snacks to hold you over between tastings.

Excellent tour guide, Grant. What a fun afternoon, drinking great wines, beautiful views and meeting people from all over the world.

We were picked up from our hotel at 11am and our guide Nico drove directly to Mudbrick Winery, this is one of the largest on the island and you can see how they became it (nice location, good wines and very professional) Next was a visit to the oldest winery Goldie Estate, quite a contrast from the first, however an enjoyable stop. Last, but certainly the best, Casa Miro, it is a piece of Spain in NZ, You would think you were in Parc Guell with all the Gaudi type architecture, the host Aries was knowledgeable and enthusiastic and brought all the wines to life. Highly recommend this winery and the food on tables looked excellent, alas ours was only a tasting. Next was lunch at 372 Restaurant, again very good food and great location. This tour was very good and perfect in a maximum number of 8 people. Highly recommend this tour and Nico as our guide.

Michael our guide was very knowledgeable and funny. The tour was well organised & professional.

We enjoyed our visit to Waiheke Island. Craig our tour guide was informative and very pleasant to be with! The wines were interesting. Some were just good but others were a surprise. The lunch stop at the end was amazing! Our favorite winery was Mudbrick with Jake!

Our tour guide Michael was very knowledgeable about Waiheke Island and kept the tour going at a nice relaxing and very fun pace. We visited 3 very beautifully located wineries with very good award winning wines. We were given 4 tastings at each winery and a wonderful lunch at a restaurant across the street from Onetangi Beach. The choice of wineries and lunch location and food quality, i had the venison which was perfectly prepared, puts this tour above the rest.

Lovely wine tour experience. Our tour guide Marten was so cool, knowledgeable and communicated how much time we had we each place very well.

Highly recommend this trip. Mudbrick was the standout vineyard and lunch at the beach was excellent. Craig was a friendly and knowledgable guide with a real passion for the island and its history. He dropped us home to our cottage which was really appreciated.

We took the gourmet tour and it was fantastic. Wine tasting, lunch and whisky tasting. A not to be missed experience. We would gladly do it again. If you are in Auvkland, make this trip a priiority. The island is a simply amazing place and the tour guide was a wealth of knowledge. Make this number 1 on your list if visiting Auckland. The ferry trip is only about 45 minutes.

From the pleasant ferry trip to Waiheke Island, winery tour and return ferry everything was faultless Our driver and guide Grant was exceptional and each winery was a unique experience and scenery was superb The weather also deserves a mention as it was a beautiful day

The tour was first class. We visited three top vineyards sampling tour different wines at each before finishing off with a first class lunch. Our driver and guide grant was a great guy. He was very informative and good fun

This was a fantastic experience and a lovely way to experience Waiheke! Michael was a fantastic guide and was well equipped to share all of his knowledge about the island. The vineyards we visited were exceptional. We were so thankful for their selection of vineyards and hospitality. They even offered to drop us off in the village to explore more on our own!

Grant met us and showed us around the island giving us so many pointers along the way, Grant was extremely friendly and very passionate about the island where he lives, the tour was a great success amongst all the wine buffs even those who were not so much into their wine had a great time, I'm sure we will be back in the not to distant future.

The best wine tasting tour ever! Our friendly, wonderful and welcomming guide Grant made the tour perfect. Tasty wine, breathtaking views, deliceous lunch, and friendly people everywhere.

Nice tour that is a good intro to the islands wines. Our guide was a local and gave us tips to enjoy the island.

Craig was our guide and very kind. We got a good tour of the island and three great wineries. Lunch at 372 was lovely. Overall, great outing!

Had a wonderful time during the visit to various wineries. Each winery had excellent hostesses,who were very knowledgeable. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Our tour guide Craig drove our group of six all over the island, where we visited three wineries, including Mudbrick, followed by a delicious lunch at Restaurant 372. We had a great time learning about local wines (and sampling them) and enjoyed getting to know our companions on the tour. This is a great way that's not too pricey to see the island and go wine tasting.

The tour was well organized. Our guide/driver, Craig, was excellent. The choice of vineyards was very good. The tour could be a bit longer because we were rushed towards the end. The first vineyard had the most knowledgeable staff. Overall we enjoyed the experience and would do it again, and recommend to others.

An excellent and informative way to enjoy Waiheke Island...we loved it! John was a wonderful guide, and the tour captured the history of the island.

Fantastic day. The wines were great and the people were friendly. Shout out in particular to our guide, who when I realised I'd left a bag at the previous winery, went back and got it for me.

Nick was our guide and was so kind and helpful. Our group was small and that was definitely a plus for the experience. Nick’s intimate knowledge of Waiheke and the wine industry was such a huge factor in our great enjoyment of the tour. Definitely recommend Nick and Ananda.

Great tour, well organized, comfy van with great air con. Our tour guide, Simon, was awesome. Full of local info and great dad jokes.

Great wine tour with a knowledgeable guide giving us a bit of the story of the islands and the wine trade. Great cellar door tastings and a good lunch at Three seven two. One of the wines we really liked so we bought three bottles (plenty of nights in our holiday so sure we could manage to drink them) only problem was this one wine must be one of the very few that have corks rather than screw-tops! Cue search for a corkscrew which is not easy it seems!

Great Waiheke Island wine tour! Wonderful wineries, fantastic lunch, amazing seenery. Our guide Fleur was very informative and friendly. I would recommend this tour if you’re visiting Auckland NZ. Aloha Ray & Kit

Really great day. Fabulous wineries in gorgeous locations. Our driver, Craig, was friendly, informative and fun. Lunch was delicious.

Such an interesting, fun and comfortable trip. Top wines, beautiful wineyards and a great guide (Michael). Delicious lunch at Three seven two. Thanks!

Great experience, I'll definitely be back for another tour. Big thanks to our tour guide for the laughter and jokes. Really enjoyed it. I would give 10 stars if I could

one of the best wine tours I've ever been on. We had such a good experience -- the wineries were great, the guide was great -- he even dropped us back off at mudbrick at the end -- would do again tomorrow.

We were met by Craig on the island. Vehicle was comfortable and he easily navigated the island. 3 vineyards were all good. Staff at the vineyards were knowledgeable and answered questions. Lunch was exceptional! Amanda tours does a marvelous job!

The wineries Deb picked were all great, unique with amazing wine. We had a great couple with us and we ended up becoming friends. The lunch was amazing and made for a great day. Top notch tour. I highly recommend.

Waiheke is a beautiful island and despite being winter was warm. The three vineyards we visited were all excellent and the wine amazing. Lunch at 372 on the beach was also fantastic. We were lucky enough to be the only group on the tour and our guide, Jo, was absolutely brilliant - knowledgable, entertaining and helpful. Thanks for making it such a great trip Jo!

A great opportunity to not only sample some excellent wines but also explore beautiful Waiheke Island. Simon was our guide, and he was GREAT!, not only knowledgeable about the vineyards we visited but also about the history of the Island itself. We visited three vineyards, one a certified organic that also had excellent olive oil and honey. Also, this was our first activity after arriving in New Zealand and a great way to kick off the trip, the short ferry ride provides a beautiful view of Aukland, and fresh air following many hours of flying. The tastings were all superb - my only regret is not being able to bring more wine home. Highly recommend this day trip.

Great experience. Knowledgeable and friendly guide with a good selection of wineries. Lunch was delightful, you couldn't beat the location.

Michael was our guide He was amazing The cheese board was really a good one He was very knowledgeable, did not rush us And we had a great time Recommend this your Hard to do on your own

Had a great day - thanks so much to Craig for taking care of us. And thoroughly enjoyed the company of the others on the tour - lots of laughs, good wine and great food for the lunch. Highly recommend.

Me and 7 friends (the "back-of-the-bus bandits") booked the Essence of Waiheke Wine Tour on Sat 13 Apr as a belated birthday celebration and to get to know each other more outside of work. I cannot recommend Ananda Tours enough! We were hosted by Simon, a friendly, knowledgeable and charismatic character with a great passion for what he does. He takes great care of his guests and easy to build rapport. We stopped at Mudbrick, Goldie and Casita Miro; Simon was extremely organised and with a laid back attitude that made you feel like you're all one big group of friends on an adventure together. Not to mention, the van was very clean with working windows, bright and airy for a comfortable ride. This was my first time on Waiheke Island and Ananda Tours (& Simon) really helped do the Island justice. We made amazing memories; I cannot wait to go back and will 100% be booking my next tour through Ananda as well.

Holy cow this was fun. Stew was our tour guide and he was great. A wonderful way to explore a unique wine region. We loved the wines, we loved island and Stew brought it to life for us

I am so glad I decided to do this tour. The wineries were fantastic, the views amazing, and lunch overlooked one of the many beaches. I loved the small group experience and chatting with everyone. I shared info with my friends who were doing another excursion, and they did this one the next day.

Great first winery with good experience, wine and views. Second winery very busy and person assigned to our group so busy with tables took away from tasting. Third winery not well appointed and should have been swapped.

Simon was a great guide and very knowledgeable. The wineries that we visited had great wines. Only complaint is it would have been nice to have some light snacks (even crackers) at each place since lunch wasn’t until 2pm.

This is one of the best tours I have done. Excellent knowledge by the guide, superb lunch and wines. Care and attention to detail with every client was the best I have experienced.

Michael was a great guide, full of information, friendly. Great wines and fantastic lunch. Mudbrick was the best and good to start with.