Traverse City Wine Tour with Designated Driver

You drive your own route. Someone else handles the wheel.

A wine tasting tour of Traverse City where you hire a designated driver to operate your own vehicle while you visit wineries, distilleries and cider stops across Old Mission Peninsula, Leelanau Peninsula or Torch Lake. The driver navigates the route for 4 to 5 hours, which means you skip the tour bus markup and stay in familiar surroundings. Choose your peninsula based on where you're staying.

Step-by-step itinerary

Wine tasting tour on Old Mission Peninsula

• Visit Mari Vineyards and enjoy wine
• Stop at The Old School house winery
• Experience Michigan's Top 10 winery with Froze'
• Tour Hollywood-owned winery with bubbly
• Visit The Dog winery and cider stop
• Enjoy strong pours and cocktails at last winery

The experience

Most wine tours in Traverse City load you onto a bus or van, which adds to the per-person cost and locks you into someone else's schedule. This tour flips that: you hire a designated driver who operates your own car while you sit back and taste. The driver knows the route, handles navigation and the stops, so you're free to focus on the wine instead of the road. You pick which peninsula suits your location (Old Mission, Leelanau or Torch Lake), and the driver takes it from there.

The Old Mission route hits six stops, starting with Mari Vineyards (owned by the cast of Curse of Oak Island), moving through the Old Schoolhouse with its cherry wines, then to one of Michigan's top ten wineries known for their Froze offering. A Hollywood-owned winery with views and sparkling wine follows, then a dog-friendly cider stop, and finishes at a spot famous for heavy pours and craft cocktails. Each stop is a tasting, not a rushed photo op. The whole loop runs 4 to 5 hours depending on how long you linger at each pour.

You stay in your own car the entire time, which means no waiting for a shuttle to fill up, no strangers in the backseat, and no markup for a vehicle you're already paying to rent. The driver arrives ready to go, and the route is built around the wineries and distilleries that actually matter in the area. Leelanau and Torch Lake options follow the same model: your car, a local driver, the stops that make sense for that peninsula.

What’s included

• Designated driver for the full 4 to 5 hour route.
• all stops at wineries, distilleries and cider locations on your chosen peninsula.
• pickup at your location.

Options for this experience

3 options

Leelanau Designated DriverGuide in English · 14 departure times: the first at 09:30, the last at 16:00We drive your own vehicle: this is the Leelanau Peninsula Designated Driver option, in which we drive your car on a Leelanau Peninsula wine tour. Pickup is included.

Designated driver for the Old MissionGuide in English · 14 departure times: the first at 09:30, the last at 16:00We drive your own vehicle: this is the Old Mission Peninsula Designated Driver option, in which we drive your car on an Old Mission Peninsula wine tour. Pickup is included.

Designated driver for Torch LakeGuide in English · 8 departure times: the first at 10:30, the last at 14:00We drive your own vehicle: this is the Torch Lake Designated Driver option, in which we drive your car on a wine tour of the Torch Lake area. Pickup is included.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day14 departure times: the first at 09:30, the last at 16:00

Book up to2h before

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup is optional; you can also go straight to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 3 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot recommended with heart problems

Operated by My Designated Driver

Is this one for you?Choose this tour if you want to stay in your own car and skip the bus markup. The driver handles navigation and timing while you taste without worrying about the road. Pick Old Mission if you're based in central Traverse City, Leelanau if you're north, or Torch Lake if you're staying lakeside.

Traveler reviews

5.00★★★★★★★★★★

1 verified traveler review

Read all the reviews ›

Top questions

What wineries are on the Old Mission Peninsula route?

The Old Mission tour includes Mari Vineyards (owned by the Curse of Oak Island cast), the Old Schoolhouse (known for cherry wines), one of Michigan's top ten wineries with the Froze offering, a Hollywood-owned winery with sparkling wine, a dog-friendly cider stop, and a final stop known for strong pours and craft cocktails like Old Fashioneds and Mules.

Can I choose which peninsula I want to tour?

Yes. You pick one at checkout: Old Mission Peninsula, Leelanau Peninsula, or Torch Lake, depending on where you're staying or which area you want to explore.

How long does the tour last?

The designated driver tour runs 4 to 5 hours, covering all the stops and tasting time at each winery or distillery.

Do I need to arrange my own transportation to the first stop?

Pickup is included, so the driver meets you at your location and begins the route from there.