Tour de Great Taste Trail – Cycling Tour from Nelson NZ
Duration:
6 Days
Grade:
Interm or Easy with Ebike
From
$2,699
This cycling tour on the Great Taste Trail is a journey into food and wine country on the south island of New Zealand. Starting and ending in the scenic, seaside town of Nelson, this tour will delight with the array of wonderful local produce, including some incredible wines!
Tour de Vines offers this exclusive fully guided small group cycling tour of the Great Taste Trail on select dates. The tour completes the full cycling loop of the trail, a total of 159kms over 5 nights and 6 days.
Visit a number of local cellar doors to taste the gorgeous wines, and don't forget those quintessential majestic mountain and ocean vistas. Fully guided, fully supported and heaps of fun, this stress free escape will have you feeling refreshed, revived and alive!
We also take advantage of the pristine environment that surrounds us, with a full day visiting the absolutely stunning Abel Tasman National Park. This is a tour highlight with optional activities including cycling, kayaking, trekking or dolphin spotting.
Cycling the Great Taste Trail
You will be cycling one of the 'great cycling trails' of New Zealand - or Nga Haeranga - as they are known locally. The Great Taste Trail is graded as easy to intermediate, with a couple of hill sections over the 4 days of cycling. A combination of paved trails, quiet country roads and gravel tracks, the majority of cycling is on flat, scenic terrain and is a delight to ride. Average daily distances are 30-40kms. The tour will complete the full Great Taste Trail loop, and includes a short shuttle section to keep you off the steep dirt tracks.
High quality 24 gear hybrid bikes are available for hire including e-bikes to make the ride a little easier if there are any concerns about your riding ability.
What We Love About this Cycling Tour of the Great Taste Trail:
There are so many highlights on this cycling tour but here's a few:
- A full day exploring the incredible Abel Tasman National Park
- Stunning seaside and Alpine scenery throughout the tour
- Cycling the off road Great Taste Trail one of the most popular trails in New Zealand
- Mediterranean weather (never guaranteed by pretty good chance) and coastal scenery
- Savouring the incredible food and wine from the region
- Meeting new friends and socialising in a small group of like-minded riders.
What's Included in Your Great Taste Trail NZ Tour
This cycling tour is amazing value when you add up what's included. Here is the list:
- Five (5) nights accommodation (ensuite hotel or B&B style)
- 5 x full breakfasts, 3 x restaurant dinners, 1 x sumptuous lunch, 2 x picnic lunches
- Fully guided with on call support/sag wagon never far away
- All food and wine tastings and outlet visits
- Boat transfers to and from Abel Tasman National Park, park entry, fully guided walk with National Park Guide.
- Pick up and drop off transfers (airport or ferry or bus terminal on start & end dates of tour)
- Mapua Ferry ticket
- Lightweight fair trade cycling t-shirt and environmentally friendly water bottle
- Amazing memories, new friends and an incredible new set of photos!
Bikes
- Excellent, well maintained hybrid style bikes with pannier/carry bags available to hire
- Quality E-bikes (step through style on request) also available to hire
- BYO is possible at no extra cost
Great Taste Trail Group Cycling Tour Dates
Check prices and up to date availability for each of the tour dates on the calendar below.
Here are the tour dates for the coming season (more dates will be added so stay tuned):
Bike options are
- BYO Free
- Quality hybrid bike $A250
- E-bike (step throughs available on request) $A400
Extra nights pre or post tour in Nelson from $A250 excluding breakfast subject to availability.
COVID Practices
COVID Safe Practices apply to this tour, specifically:
- All guests are provided with face masks to be worn when in common areas and on any bus transfers
- All guests are provided with personal hand sanitiser for usage during the tour
- All equipment is sanitised pre and post every use including bikes and bus surfaces
- Venues visited (eg accommodation) adhere to COVID safe hygiene and social distancing rules (when last checked)
Trusted Operator
Tour de Vines has been running tours in since 2002 and has been awarded the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020 and is now a Hall of Fame inductee. You can be assured we are a quality operator and want nothing more than for you to have an amazing travel experience.
Meals
Meals are included as per the itinerary, and we carefully select the restaurants for cuisine and ambience, and favour those with a strong regional & local flavor where possible. We are happy to arrange for our restaurants to cater for specific dietary requirements and allergies etc. where notified in advance.
Bikes and Equipment
We provide lightweight alloy framed Scott ‘hybrid’ touring bicycles with 24 indexed gears, fully equipped with lock, pump and toolkit (although our guides will generally be on hand to fix punctures and minor mechanical problems). All bikes are meticulously maintained and we keep a wide range of sizes; female specific saddles are also available. We do not provide helmets automatically, as we find people prefer their own if they want to wear one, and sizing and fit is quite personal; however we always have helmets available for use. Electric assist bikes and tandems may also be available on certain tours by special request.
Guides and Backup
You have the services of a local guide cycling with you. A support bus carries all luggage and will always be available for anyone at any point during the day. If for instance you want to take a day off the bike, or if a particular day seems a little hard, the bus will take you for as long or as little as you wish it to. The guides are enthusiastic experts on the local area and will be able to sort out any problems or special requests that you might have.
Tour de Vines is a member of the Australian Tourism Export Council
Google Reviews
High Country Accredited
ATTA
Quality Tourism Accreditation
Council of Tourism Operators
VTIC Awards
Itinerary at a Glance
Arrive to Nelson (flights from all major NZ cities), transfers included. Meet your guide and fellow riders at our intro restaurant dinner. Overnight Nelson.
