Volcanic beaches, native rain forest, and vineyards abound on this full-day tour of West Auckland. Begin with a wine tasting in Henderson Valley, then continue to the Waitakere Ranges, where more than 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares) of coastline and forest await you. Get elevated views of the reserve from the Arataki visitor center, explore the black-sand beaches of Piha and Karekare, and get close to the Karekare waterfalls. Then, enjoy an included lunch before finishing your tour with more wine tastings.

Full-day tour of West Auckland, led by a guide
Visit the Waitakere Ranges on Auckland’s rugged west coast
Take in rain forest views from the Arataki visitor center and visit the Karekare waterfalls
Explore the vast, black-sand beaches of Piha and Karekare
Savor an included lunch served with tea or coffee at a local cafe
Sample New Zealand wine at Babich Wines, West Brook Wines and Kumeu River Wines

Operated by:

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
Guide
Transport
Lunch
Wine-tastings
Air-conditioned vehicle

Infant seats for children under seven years of age

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

SkyCity Auckland
Corner Victoria and, Federal Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010, New Zealand

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

09:30 AM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

All clients must meet the tour at Sky City Hotel and Casino by the entrance opposite the Sky Tower in the drive-through between Victoria Street West and Federal Street All vehicles operating this tour are silver and clearly marked NZWINEPRO™

What To Expect

Following pickup from your central Auckland accommodation, travel by climate-controlled minibus to Henderson Valley, the heartland of Auckland’s wine industry. Here, visit Babich Wines and try a range of wine varietals grown on the Babich family’s vineyards in Hawkes Bay and Marlborough.

Continue to Auckland’s wild west coast, an area typified by volcanic beaches and dense rain forest. Drop into the Arataki visitor center in the Waitakere Ranges for elevated views of the rain forest. Then, head to Piha, one of Auckland’s most famous black-sand beaches popular with swimmers and surfers.

After exploring the beach and enjoying a panoramic drive around the coastal community, head to Karekare beach, which was featured in the movie, 'The Piano.' Walk along the sparkly black sands, and then continue into the Waitakeres to see the Karekare waterfalls.

Next, make the journey through forest and farmland for an included lunch, served with tea or then. Then, close off the day with wine tastings at West Brook Wine in the Ararimu Valley and Kumeu River Wines, the latter of which is famed for its world-class chardonnay.

Your full-day tour concludes with a drop-off at your central Auckland accommodation.

Please note: A minimum of two people per booking is required.

Piha Beach

Piha is a small settlement on the West Coast around 50km form Auckland. It is popular for surfing and nature and is one of the jewels in Auckland's crown. Isolated without public transport it is an idyllic spot to stay or visit and be surrounded by rain forest. We will take a walk on North and South Piha beaches

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Soljans Estate Winery

Enjoy a tasting of Soljans Wines ( est 1937) and then enjoy an open menu one course lunch including tea or coffee

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 12 hours of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
Child rate applies only when sharing with two paying adults
Minimum drinking age is 18 years
Dress code is smart casual
Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
A minimum of two people per booking is required
Not wheelchair accessible

Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 11 travelers

Cancellation Policy

This experience is non-refundable and cannot be changed for any reason. If you cancel or ask for an amendment, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who loves wine and is looking to get outside of the city for a day!

Reviews

5.0

104 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 104 reviews

John gets 5 star rating

Phyllis_L, Jan 2023

This was an excellent day. John is charismatic, interested in his guests and a delightful teacher of all things New Zealand. The stops at Piha beach and Karekare provided vistas and a few beach walks. Worth the trek to the waterfall in Karekare. Onto the wineries. All different and good fun. Our lunch at Soljans was suptious. Fresh fish and vegetables, that is unexpected in wine tour stops.. John is the reason this tour is successful. He is interested in wines and his country and sharing.

Don’t miss this tour!

Gloria_M, Jan 2023

Piha was lovely and Karekare Rainforest was breathtaking especially the waterfall. John was incredibly knowledgeable about wine and the vineyards visited were unique. The wine was luscious! Highly recommend this tour. John is a pro!

Great and informative day

Rick_T, Jan 2023

John was a great tour guide, informative, friendly and very knowledgeable. Day was a good mixture of stunning locations, scenery and beautiful wines. John was extremely knowledgeable about wine and the wineries in the area taking us on amazing behind the scenes tour. Highly recommend.

Experienced and knowledgeable

Mark_B, Jan 2023

You would be very hard pressed to find a more experienced and knowledgeable tour guide than John. There was no question he wasn’t able to answer, and he did an excellent job of mixing things up to provide as much value as possible on a very rainy day

The best wine tour!

Emma_C, Jan 2023

Our tour guide, John, was absolutely phenomenal. He was so knowledgeable, friendly, and fun to listen to. The wineries we visited allowed us to sample a wide variety of wines, all of which were spectacular. We didn't have the best weather on the day of our tour, so John was nice enough to move our schedule around to do some sight seeing later in the day vs. in the morning - it gave the weather time to clear up so we could get some better views! I 100% would recommend this tour to anyone and would love to do it again the next time we visit NZ! Thank you, John!

Great tour

Christopher_V, Jan 2023

Great tour. John McFarlane was a great guide. Wonders of Phia and Karekare revealed. Great introduction to New Zealand and people. Definite Aplus experience.

Great day to see sights outside Auckland

Deborah_B, Jan 2023

This was an amazing day. The black beaches were beautiful as was the entire coast. I believe our guide was Tony. He gave such wonderful information about the small town and places along the way. The wine tasting was amazing. He was so knowledgeable and I learned a lot as he and the winery personnel shared their views and information. He took us to a Gannet colony since we were near there. Wow!!! Great day. Highly recommend for so many reasons!!

Excellent tour with Guide...

Nitin_N, Dec 2022

Excellent tour with Guide John was very informative and gave detailed history of each place visited.

Don't hesitate, just book it

Amanda_M, Dec 2022

John was the best tour guide I've had in a while. He was so knowledgeable and passionate about everything he showed us. We visited Piha Beach and Karen are waterfall first. John drove some very curvy, very narrow roads very well. I wouldn't have wanted to drive it myself. It was great to just sit back and enjoy. He imparted a lot of information along the way. We then stopped at our first Winery. A lovely family owned Winery and the man who performed our tasting was the owners grandson. Great to talk to. We then had a lovely, albeit slightly hot, lunch outside. John asked us if we'd like to skip the next Winery and go to see the Gannett colony (not part of the tour). We said YES and we're delighted with this stop. An amazing amount of Gannetts, many babies too, all resting on the rocks overlooking the ocean. Really special. And lastly we hit one more smaller Winery and had a tasting with another knowledgeable server. Absolutely delightful day and John's precision in executing a plan, but also being flexible, was well worth our time. Thank you!

Pair nature with wine to delight the senses

Kavita_G, Dec 2022

This is definitely one of the best tours to do in Auckland if you would like a mix of activities such as a bit of hiking, a bit of beach and some great wine. John is an excellent tour guide: giving clear instructions to an excellent pick-up. He took the time to learn our names and find out about where we all were from. We also had a chance to gradually mingle with all the travellers. At the end, John was kind enough to drop us back to our stay. Thanks to this tour: we got to see scenic views of Piha beach and up a track to see great views of the beach and the rock formation (you see a king, surprise!). We ventured into a rainforest to see a waterfall. As COVID is still looming, he made alternate arrangements to have us at an excellent cafe. Great food! If there were any issues, the staff and John were on hand to support. We ventured to the three vineyards: where we learnt about the different wines they produced, their history and the differences between them. As someone who does not know much about wine and wine-making, he definitely provided lots of information on the subject. Meeting some of the owners of the vineyard definitely added a personal touch to this adventure. In the end, we also got a taster of Manuka Honey. It was an absolutely fun, knowledgeable and well-planned tour. Thanks John for a delightful tour!

Astounding beauty, incredible information, and delicious wine

David_C, Dec 2022

This experience was amazing. Beautiful views, delicious wine, and good conversation. Our tour guide, John, was a treasure trove of knowledge of all things New Zealand and wine. We really couldn't have asked for a better day

A must do in NZ

Janice_L, Dec 2022

Pihu Beach was beautiful, and John was very knowledgeable and friendly. Winery tours were fantastic!

One great day

Robert_E, Dec 2022

Nothing but good things to say about John and the tour. The guy knows a lot and I felt like I could ask him about lots of unrelated topics, like what was the current situation in Christchurch and whether New Zealand would stick with the monarchy now that Chuck III is on the throne. He really knows his wine, has been all over the world with it so he seemed very qualified to give the tour. Very much recommend the this outing.

Most Knowledgeable Wine Tour

David_H, Dec 2022

John was an amazing guide and had such a knowledge of everything in the area and especially with the wine industry of New Zealand. He was able to impart lots of knowledge and things from local culture along the tour. He has a great relationship with the wineries in the area and was above and beyond professional and engaging. Would recommend and definitely book again!

Johns expertise and technical knowledge of wine making surpassed any wine tours I have experienced.

Steven_K, Dec 2022

Various stops, walks and experiences outside of basic wine tasting that added dimension to the overall tour value.

Winery and Rainforest tour

pattibrown, Dec 2022

Excellent tour done by John. He was so accommodating to any and all requests. The wineries were amazing, the lunch was delicious. Perfect size group.

Awesome Tour

David_F, Nov 2022

My wife and I set up this tour a few weeks before our trip to Auckland. When John came to pick us up at the Hotel, he told us we were the only ones on the tour, which surprised me as John easily could have justified cancelling due to lack of customer (as other operators have noted on their sites). John is exceptionally knowledgeable about the area, and wine! We had a terrific tour, wonderful lunch and great conversation. We highly recommend John and his company.

Good trip and experience.

Elizabeth_B, Nov 2022

Enjoying the day as well as the company of the other people. Plus John was an excellent tour guide he had a good knowledge of wines. The places he took us were incredible.

Breathtaking views and great wine with an excellent guide (John).

Wayne_M, Nov 2022

Bottom line - you should go on this tour if you're in Auckland. John is a great, knowledgeable guide. He took us to so many beautiful sites, and we felt very well taken care of. The rainforest views, beaches, and overlooks were absolutely stunning. The wineries were also excellent. We sampled so many good wines. The food and hospitality at Soljan's was amazing, and included in the tour package! I highly recommend this tour.

Fun, Beautiful, And Romantic!

Kristin_R, Nov 2022

This was one of our favorite tours on our trip, and it was the first one we had when we arrived. Timely, friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. Excellent selection of wines and beautiful wineries. It was absolutely a joy to go on this trip. The car was air conditioned and comfortable. I would absolutely go on this tour again and highly recommend to others if this is your first time!

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Piha and Karekare Rainforest Wine Tour from Auckland

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