Waiheke Island Wine Tour: Three Vineyards & Beachfront Lunch

Taste three vineyards in one afternoon, then sit down to lunch where the beach meets the plate.

A five-hour Waiheke Island wine tour from Auckland includes tastings at three boutique vineyards, transportation across the island, and a set-menu lunch at a beachfront restaurant with one glass of wine. Your local guide drives and leads the tastings, so you arrive and move through the day without arranging ferries, transport or reservations. The minimum age is 18; ferry tickets between Auckland and Waiheke are not included and can be booked separately.

Step-by-step itinerary

Waiheke Island Wine Tour and Lunch

• Arrive at Cable Bay Vineyard for tastings
• Drive through Oneroa Village and Onetangi Beach
• Enjoy beachfront lunch at local restaurant
• Wine tasting at Postage Stamp or SOHO Vineyards
• Wine tasting at Stonyridge Vineyard

The Experience

What makes a five-hour island day work is having someone else handle the logistics. The tour picks you up, gets you to the ferry, and from the moment you land on Waiheke, a local guide drives and navigates the vineyard route. You start at Cable Bay Vineyard at 11am for guided tastings of hand-picked, award-winning wines from Waiheke and Marlborough. The drive between stops passes through Oneroa Village, Surfdale, and Ostend, skirting the Golden Mile of Onetangi where most of the island's vineyards cluster, before reaching the East Coast beach at Onetangi.

Lunch arrives at Three Seven Two, a local favourite right on the beach at Onetangi. It's a set menu with one glass of wine included—the kind of place that earned its hat (New Zealand's equivalent of a Michelin star) by getting the fundamentals right: good food, good wine, and your feet practically in the sand. After lunch, you visit two more vineyards. One is Stonyridge, Waiheke's most celebrated estate, set among olive groves and Tuscan-inspired vineyards where you'll taste handcrafted wines in a relaxed atmosphere. The other rotates between Postage Stamp Wines and SOHO Family Vineyards depending on the day—both are boutique operations known for the character of their Waiheke wines and the warmth of the island hospitality. The remaining time in the five hours accounts for travel between stops.

A sommelier leads the tastings and explains what you're drinking and how Waiheke's microclimate shapes every bottle. The island produces wines you won't find anywhere else, and the guide's job is to show you why. By the end of the afternoon, you've moved through three distinct vineyard settings, tasted wines selected for their quality, and eaten lunch in a place locals choose. The ferry between Auckland and Waiheke is not included in the tour price and should be booked separately.

What’s included

• Wine tastings at three vineyards (Cable Bay, Stonyridge, and either Postage Stamp or SOHO Family depending on availability).
• transportation across Waiheke Island with a local guide.
• a sommelier-led explanation of the wines and the island's microclimate.
• a set-menu lunch at Three Seven Two beachfront restaurant with one glass of wine included.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Waiheke Wine Tours Ltd

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to taste Waiheke's best wines without arranging ferries, transport between vineyards, or restaurant reservations yourself—the guide handles all of it, and you move through the day tasting, eating, and looking at the island.

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Top questions

How do I get to Waiheke Island from Auckland?

Ferry tickets between Auckland and Waiheke are not included in the tour. You'll need to book your ferry passage separately; the tour guide will meet you once you arrive on the island and handle all transport from that point.

What wines will I taste on this tour?

You'll taste hand-picked, award-winning wines from Waiheke and Marlborough at Cable Bay Vineyard, then sample the handcrafted wines at two of the island's boutique operations—either Stonyridge (the most celebrated estate on Waiheke), Postage Stamp Wines, or SOHO Family Vineyards, depending on availability. A sommelier leads each tasting and explains how the island's microclimate shapes the wines.

What's included in the beachfront lunch?

Lunch at Three Seven Two on Onetangi Beach is a set menu with one glass of wine included. The restaurant is a local favourite and earned a hat (New Zealand's equivalent of a Michelin star).

Is this tour suitable for someone who doesn't drink much wine?

The tour is built around wine tastings and is recommended for ages 18 and up. If wine isn't your primary interest, the island's scenery, the vineyard settings, and the beachfront lunch are substantial parts of the day on their own.

How much time do we spend at each vineyard?

The tour visits three vineyards across the five-hour day. The remaining time accounts for travel between stops and the drive through the island's villages and coastal stretches. Each vineyard tasting is guided and unhurried, but the exact duration at each stop varies depending on the day's flow.

Can I book the afternoon option instead of the morning departure?

Yes. An afternoon wine tour option is available at checkout. Both options follow the same route and include the same three vineyards and beachfront lunch; the difference is the departure time.