Waiheke has more than 20 cellar doors, and the island’s winegrowers list 22. On a guided tour, tastings at 3–4 wineries are in the price, from NZ$185 (≈US$105). On your own you pay at each door: NZ$22–31 a flight at Mudbrick.
Updated Oct 2026 · Sources: Waiheke Winegrowers Association, cellar door websites, GetYourGuide
Book a tasting tour if you want 3–4 cellar doors with the fees paid and a driver: shared tours start at NZ$185 (≈US$105), ferry extra. Going alone works too, as the Explorer bus stops at four big wineries, but you pay at every door, such as NZ$22–31 a flight at Mudbrick.
On a Waiheke wine tasting tour you taste a flight at each of three or four cellar doors, booked and paid through the tour. Your guide meets the ferry at Matiatia, drives between wineries and talks you through the island on the way. Expect around 10 to 15 wines over the day. Lunch is either booked for you with a glass, or a break you pay for yourself.
Every listing puts the tastings in the tour; two spell out “all tasting fees”. Ferry is extra on all six: NZ$65 walk-up return.
Source: GetYourGuide listings of the six most-reviewed tasting tours, Oct 2026
A cellar door tasting on Waiheke is a short flight of the estate’s wines, poured and explained by the staff or your guide. Mudbrick, for comparison, says a flight takes 20 to 40 minutes. Three or four of those, plus lunch and the drives, fill a five- or six-hour day. Your guide sets the pace, and the drive between doors is where the island commentary happens, so the time in the van is part of the tour.
Tastings-first tours don’t promise food between pours, so eat before the ferry and keep a snack in your bag. If food matters, pick a tour with lunch in the price: the Essence of Waiheke and the Beach Front Lunch tour both book a table at Three Seven Two on Onetangi beach, with one glass included. The Gourmet tour goes further and pairs oysters and olive oil with its tastings before a tapas lunch at Casita Miro.
Book the Wineries’ Tour · NZ$1854 or more cellar doors · ★ 4.71 from 1,023 reviews
The Waiheke Winegrowers Association lists 22 cellar doors for wine tasting, and says most of them open all year. Some pour by appointment only, so ring first. We could confirm hours and fees for four of them on their own websites. For the other 18 we show the name only, because the association’s list doesn’t give their hours or tasting prices.
mudbrick.co.nz
waihekewine.co.nz
cablebay.nz
newzealand.com
Source: Waiheke Winegrowers Association (members and cellar door list); Mudbrick, Stonyridge and Cable Bay websites; Batch Winery on newzealand.com, Oct 2026
Most Waiheke wine tasting tours don’t name their wineries in advance: the listings say “3 vineyards” or “4 or more”. The operator picks the cellar doors. The places they do name are mostly lunch venues and extras, and the Explorer bus names its winery stops. If one cellar door is a must for you, choose a tour that names it, or ask before you book.
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Restaurant · Onetangi beach
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Winery and restaurant
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Restaurant
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Wineries
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Winery and distillery
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Explorer bus stops, olive oil at Allpress
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Source: GetYourGuide listings: tour descriptions and inclusions, Oct 2026
A tasting tour costs more up front but is the easier day: from NZ$185, with tastings, transport and a driver included. Doing it yourself starts at NZ$104 for the ferry and the Explorer bus, and then you pay at every cellar door. The bus runs only Wednesday to Sunday from April to November, so check the day before planning a DIY tasting.
Our take: pick the tour for three or four tastings without planning; pick the bus if you want to choose your cellar doors and stay as long as you like.
Source: GetYourGuide listings (Wineries’ Tour, ferry and Explorer bus ticket); Mudbrick and Stonyridge websites, Oct 2026
Plan a do-it-yourself tasting day with the Waiheke wine trail map, starting from Matiatia wharf where the ferry docks. The Waiheke Winegrowers Association publishes a downloadable map of its members’ cellar doors. Of the four we could check, Cable Bay is in Oneroa and Stonyridge in Onetangi. Without a car, the Explorer bus links its winery stops on an 80-minute loop.
A DIY day on the Explorer bus
Source: Waiheke Winegrowers Association; cellar door websites; GetYourGuide Explorer bus listing, Oct 2026
Choose a Waiheke wine tasting tour by what else is poured or served besides the wine. Most tours are three vineyards and a lunch, but a few change the tasting itself: a sommelier leads one, one pairs oysters and olive oil, and two add gin, whisky or craft beer. These six cost NZ$209 to NZ$360 per person, ferry extra.
6 tours · swipe →
3 cellar doors and 10–15 wines; pickup at Matiatia or your island stay; lunch stop, meal extra
3 vineyards with a sommelier, then lunch at Three Seven Two on the beach with a glass
4 tasting stops with oysters and olive oil; tapas lunch at Casita Miro; all tasting fees; max 15
3 wineries pouring premium wines; water and maps provided; lunch not included
2 wineries, Waiheke Distilling Co and olive oil; lunch at Three Seven Two with drinks
Craft beer, whisky and spirits tastings with olive oil; platters and a glass
Source: GetYourGuide listings, prices for one adult, Oct 2026
Waiheke wine tasting is for over-18s, and a few cellar doors want notice before you arrive. Appointment-only vineyards ask you to ring first, Mudbrick asks groups of seven or more to book, and Stonyridge’s vineyard tour must be booked ahead. On a guided tour, the operator handles all of that. Public holidays can cost more: Mudbrick adds a surcharge.
Source: Waiheke Winegrowers Association; Mudbrick and Stonyridge websites; GetYourGuide listing for the Gourmet tour, Oct 2026
Not usually. Stonyridge says plainly that, like many small premium wineries, it doesn’t offer free tastings; its vineyard tour with two tastings costs NZ$10. Mudbrick charges NZ$22–31 for a flight. On a guided tour the tastings come with the tour price, which starts at NZ$185 per person. Cellar door fees.
Usually not for a couple, but it depends on the door. Mudbrick takes groups under seven without a booking; seven or more must book by phone or email. Vineyards that taste by appointment ask you to ring first, Stonyridge’s weekend vineyard tour needs booking ahead, and Cable Bay takes bookings online. Tasting rules.
Most are. The winegrowers’ association says the majority of its cellar doors open all year, Mudbrick lists daily tastings from 10:00 to 17:00 year-round, and Batch serves lunch until 16:00 in winter. The catch for a DIY day is the Explorer bus: from April to November it runs Wednesday to Sunday only. Tour or DIY.
About 20 to 40 minutes, going by Mudbrick, which gives that range for its flights; Stonyridge’s vineyard tour with two tastings runs 35 to 45 minutes. On a guided tour your guide keeps time, so three or four stops and lunch fit into five or six hours. On your own, allow for the bus too: one loop takes 80 minutes. Plan with the trail map.
The Man O’ War listing we track is a ferry to Man O’ War vineyard rather than a guided tasting tour. It costs from NZ$55 (≈US$31), the listing gives 1.5 to 8 hours, and it is rated 4.43 from 11 reviews. Man ’O War is also one of the 22 cellar doors on the winegrowers’ list. Check what the ticket includes before you book. See the Man O’ War ferry.
Check the listing first. The Gourmet Food & Wine tour is 18+, and most tasting tours we track don’t state a minimum age at all. Children can’t taste wine, and no listing shows a child price, so ask the operator through the booking page before you book a family. Tours by style.
You can, but no listing we track gives a non-drinker price, so expect to pay the full fare. If a driver or non-drinker is in your group, ask the operator through the booking page before paying. A tour with lunch in the price, such as the Essence of Waiheke, at least gives them a meal and the views for the money. Compare the tours.
Bring it. Tastings are for over-18s, and the Wineries’ Tour lists a passport or ID card among the things to bring, along with comfortable shoes and a camera. Pack it with your ferry ticket, which none of the six tasting tours compared on this page includes, and a snack for the tastings-first tours. Rules before you go.
Cancellation terms are shown on each tour before you pay.