REVIEWS · SELF-GUIDED TOURS
Good self-guided wine routes fill up weeks ahead and the great ones go first, harvest season worst of all. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Explore Santorini’s underground Wine Museum, then taste four local wines with a sommelier at a family-run winery in Vothonas.
“The museum was really nice, wine tasting very good.”
Review of Blenheim’s self-guided wine bike tour, with practical route advice, costs, timing, winery stops, bikes, lunch, and booking tips.
“Jo and Steve provided great guidance on creating a memorable biking wine tasting route. Their bikes were comfortable and well maintained. It’s a great way to enjoy the Marlborough wine region!”
Cycle Marlborough’s flat wine country at your own pace with bike hire, hotel transfers, a useful wine map, and 12 nearby wineries.
“A lovely day with nice bikes and so well organised. Thank you so much! Jessicka”
Cycle Marlborough’s flat vineyard roads, choose your wineries, and enjoy hotel pickup, bike hire, maps, and free wine collection.
“A truly wonderful experience with so many opportunities to taste the vast array of wines available in the region. The electric bikes made getting from cellar door to cellar door a much more pleasant experience!”
Ride Queenstown’s Gibbston Valley wine trail at your own pace, with bike hire, shuttle transport, cellar doors, food, and alpine views.
“Super fun time! This is well organized and something completely unique and fun! We loved every second of it … my one caution is, depending on your physical shape, get the E-bike. There were a few hills that I ended up walking up because they were just too steep. This is a great time regardless…”
Explore Alcudia Old Town with four gourmet tapas, four drinks, flexible timing, and WhatsApp support for $55 per person.
“Great day walking about the old town. Great range of tapas and drinks. Very enjoyable and good way to try different tapas that wouldn’t necessarily pick. Coffee and ice cream to finish was excellent and refreshing”
Cycle flat Hawke’s Bay trails at your own pace, visiting top wineries near Hastings with bike hire, map, helmet, and summer wine pickup.
“Fabulous bike rental company in the middle of Hawke’s Bay wine region. Great bikes which were easy to ride on the flat bike paths. Fabulous scenery and close to lots of wineries.”
Ride from Verona into Valpolicella by e-bike, taste Amarone and local foods, and follow a scenic self-guided route through Italy’s wine country.
“E-bike through the countryside was very easy to navigate with the app and was absolutely beautiful. We did have an issue with one of our bikes but they were very accommodating. We stopped for lunch right before the the winery at Dejavu bar and had the best experience eating and having a drink. Winery tour was very detailed, awesome wine and the pairing for cheese/meat was great. Definitely recommend to do! Don’t forget sunscreen and water though as not too many places to stop on the trip.”
Cycle from Arrowtown to Gibbston Valley, cross river bridges, enjoy mountain views, then tour a wine cave and taste local wines.
“Great track. Spectacular views and swing bridges across the gorge. Service from Queenstown bikes was very good.”
Cycle Porto and Gaia, cruise the Douro, taste port wine, and visit Afurada and the Douro Estuary on a flexible self-guided day out.
“Fantastisch om zoveel te zien en vrije keuze te hebben in de dagplanning. Zeker een aanrader!!”
See Old Riga’s top sights from a heated electric bus with English audio, blankets, and a seasonal mulled wine welcome drink.
“Tour path itself (via city center) was good and we seen interesting places and buildings. However, the information we got about the places was mostly basic and obvious, e.g. we seen the castle and got information that president lives there, but no information about who is the president, what political system they have, what taxes they pay, how school system works or some curiosities or interesting non comonly known local stories. Compering to tours in other cities, this was below average. But considering the price, if you do not have too high expectations, could be ok.”
Bike Marlborough’s vineyards with a guide in the morning, then explore wineries independently with tastings, scenery, and hotel transfers.
“Absolutely stunning scenery on the bike tour, with Graeme - our lovely guide for the morning. The wineries were all spot-on. I'd highly recommend this way of visiting the wineries in Marlborough”
Ride 18 miles through Kelowna’s wine country, taste at three wineries, and enjoy a farm-to-table lunch on a self-guided e-bike tour.
“We had a great day! It was such a fun way to see Kelowna and experience the wineries. The wineries we visited had a lot of variety. The tour operators were super organised and very passionate about their business. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to do a wine tour and see Kelowna from a different perspective!”
Explore Old Nessebar at your own pace with an audio guide, map, 15 points of interest, and a Bulgarian winery tasting.
“Terrible. Not worthdy at all. dO NO WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS. The guide has like 15 points with only like 2 mins per stop. The info shared was super basic and you can make the tour in less than half an hour.”
Ride through Marlborough vineyards, taste three morning wines with a guide, then explore independently by bike in the afternoon.
“Great fun despite the constant rain. Wonderful host and guide, really friendly vineyard staff, delicious tasting sessions.”
Pick a region, a grape or a cellar door.
