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Dunedin and Picton Private Tour Reviews


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DUNEDIN: We had a fantastic time on our port call in Dunedin this past March. I arranged a private tour "Royal Peninsula" with Back to Nature for 5 couples. I worked with the owner Chris Roberts. We were met at the cruise terminal and saw highlights of Dunedin, visited Larnach Castle, visited Penguin Reserve, walked a beautiful beach, drove throughout the Otago Peninsula, saw the famed Royal Albatross. All in all everyone thought it was an excellent experience and felt it was worth doing. If were doing this all over would do it exactly the same.

 

PICTON: We did a private Marlborough Wine Tasting tour with Na Clachan Wine Tours this past March. I worked with Wendy in making all the advance arrangements. Helen did the tour itself and was fantastic in her explanations, descriptions and timing. The tour is customized to the # of wineries you can/want to visit. We picked Saint Clair (big operation), Spy Valley (great views, awesome story, some good tasting), Wairau River (fantastic lunch), and Johannesof (very small, unique). Having done a number of wine tours before, we thought Wendy & Helen really know what they are doing and do everything they can to make your experience one you enjoy. I would re-book them if I am ever back there.

 

We had close friends do both of these tours a year earlier with the exact same experience.

 

For those interested in the "how to", I booked the tours myself and then recruited other couples through the cruise critic thread for our cruise. There were far more folks interested in each of the tours than we had room for. Everyone sent in checks to me before departure. Had a get-together for sail away to meet each other - which is nice as you then know other folks right away for the rest of the cruise. The morning of each tour we gathered at a lounge and exited the ship together.

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DUNEDIN: We had a fantastic time on our port call in Dunedin this past March. I arranged a private tour "Royal Peninsula" with Back to Nature for 5 couples. I worked with the owner Chris Roberts. We were met at the cruise terminal and saw highlights of Dunedin, visited Larnach Castle, visited Penguin Reserve, walked a beautiful beach, drove throughout the Otago Peninsula, saw the famed Royal Albatross. All in all everyone thought it was an excellent experience and felt it was worth doing. If were doing this all over would do it exactly the same.

 

PICTON: We did a private Marlborough Wine Tasting tour with Na Clachan Wine Tours this past March. I worked with Wendy in making all the advance arrangements. Helen did the tour itself and was fantastic in her explanations, descriptions and timing. The tour is customized to the # of wineries you can/want to visit. We picked Saint Clair (big operation), Spy Valley (great views, awesome story, some good tasting), Wairau River (fantastic lunch), and Johannesof (very small, unique). Having done a number of wine tours before, we thought Wendy & Helen really know what they are doing and do everything they can to make your experience one you enjoy. I would re-book them if I am ever back there.

 

We had close friends do both of these tours a year earlier with the exact same experience.

 

For those interested in the "how to", I booked the tours myself and then recruited other couples through the cruise critic thread for our cruise. There were far more folks interested in each of the tours than we had room for. Everyone sent in checks to me before departure. Had a get-together for sail away to meet each other - which is nice as you then know other folks right away for the rest of the cruise. The morning of each tour we gathered at a lounge and exited the ship together.

Thank you very much for interesting report. Do you remember name of the company for Royal Peninsula tour? We're going to stop at Dunedin in December, and it about time to start booking tours. If you cannot post info here could you please e-mail it to timofei at att dot net? Thanks again, Edward.

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