Auckland Scenic Tours

An Auckland small-group tour company

Auckland Scenic Tours runs its own guided small-group tours from downtown Auckland, New Zealand, in its own Mercedes-Benz vehicles with its own guides. The homepage calls it "Locally Owned and Operated" and "a multi global award winning Auckland Tour Company," and says that "With over 30 years business experience" it runs "20 Auckland Day Trips." The tours cover Auckland itself and day trips to the Hobbiton Movie Set at Matamata, the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Rotorua and Te Puia, the Coromandel Peninsula, the Bay of Islands, Matakana and the West Auckland and Kumeu wine country. It also runs shore excursions for cruise passengers.

The homepage lists what it calls "8 Global Tourism Awards," including "the 2019 Best Group Tour in the World," Viator New Zealand and Australia Experience Awards for 2023, 2024 and 2025, TripAdvisor experience awards for 2022 and 2024, "the Trip Advisor 2020 #1 Travel Experience in New Zealand" and "the Trip Advisor 2022 'Best of The Best' Award."

The tours

In Auckland, the menu offers an 8-hour Auckland Day Tour, which the site calls "a small group tour" and "the most comprehensive 8-Hour Auckland Day Tour available"; a Half Day Tour of 4 hours, morning or afternoon; and a guided Auckland Walking Tour of 3 to 3.5 hours.

The flagship day trip is the Hobbiton Movie Set Tour from Auckland. The Hobbiton page says it runs over 8 hours with pick-up from downtown Auckland accommodation, a scenic drive to Matamata "over the Bombay Hills and through the beautiful Hauraki Plains," and a "2.5 hour fully guided Hobbiton Movie Set Tour including Hobbiton Movie Set Tour and Tickets." Guests visit a themed Hobbit Hole on Bagshot Row on what the page calls "our 30-minute longer extended tour," get "A specially brewed complimentary drink from The Green Dragon Inn," and return along the Waikato River. The company says it has been "taking thousands of guests annually to Hobbiton for many, many years" and works "closely with the team at Hobbiton." The Hobbiton page lists prices of $295.00pp for adults, $179.00pp for youths aged 8 to 14 and $129.00pp for children aged 4 to 7, with a separate infant rate. Combination tours add the Waitomo Glowworm Caves with lunch, or Rotorua and Te Puia with its kiwi house and geothermal valley.

The Coromandel, Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach Full Day Trip is an 8-hour small-group tour. Guests walk to Cathedral Cove, "a cathedral-like arched cavern" featured in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, explore Hahei, and dig a pool at Hot Water Beach, so the page tells them to "Bring your own swimming gear and towel." It is priced at $250.00pp for adults and $195.00 for children under 16. The Bay of Islands Day Tour includes the Hole in the Rock cruise and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. A Coromandel Scenic Coast, Railway and Ferry Tour is also listed.

For food and drink, the Auckland Wine Tasting (and 3-Course Lunch) Tour visits "the cellars of 2 West Auckland vineyards" and stops for lunch at a 3rd vineyard, and is priced at "$199.00pp (includes all tasting fees and 3-Course Vineyard Lunch + glass wine with lunch)." Other options are Wine Tasting (3 Vineyards) and Vineyard Platters in Kumeu, a Matakana Food, Wine, Art and Vineyard Lunch Day Tour that includes "2 Sculpture Art Trails," and the Auckland Urban Craft Beer Tasting Tour, 4 hours at 3 breweries chosen from Garage Project, Hopscotch, Good George, Brothers, Behemoth and Galbraiths, with tastings of IPAs, stouts, lagers, pilsners, sours and wit biers and a look behind the scenes at the brewing. On the wine tour, the page names award-winning Sparkling Muscat, Rosé and Chardonnay among the wines to taste.

How the tours run

Pick-ups are included. The homepage says "We provide free pick up and drop off at all Downtown Auckland CBD accommodation and cruise ships." The Coromandel page is specific: pick-up from the Sky Tower at 7:15 am or other downtown locations, departure at 7:30am and return about 5:30pm, with times shifting slightly with the tides, and "We do not pick up or drop off in any suburb of Auckland including the airport area."

Groups are small. The wine page says the Mercedes Benz vehicles are 12, 15 or 17-seaters and that "All our vehicles can accommodate a maximum of 11, 14 or 16 guests," and the Hobbiton page describes small group tours of "a maximum of 11, 14, 16 or more people." The wine and craft beer tours ask for "a minimum of 10" adults and are pitched at birthdays, anniversaries, pre-wedding events and stag parties. At the last brewery, guests can stay for a meal at their own cost or be driven back.

The site is clear about fitness on the Coromandel trip: the walk to Cathedral Cove is "undulating with several moderately inclined areas on a well-formed path," a "Moderate degree of fitness" is required, and "This is not a wheelchair friendly tour or suitable for those with walking disability." That tour also runs only on days when the tide at Hot Water Beach is suitable. The Hobbiton page says NZ safety-approved infant car seats are provided at no charge.

Booking and shore excursions

Tours are booked online through a calendar that shows the next departures, and pre-booking questions go to +64 21 403 325 or by email. Cruise passengers have their own menu: an 8-hour Auckland Day Tour shore excursion, a 4-hour half-day shore excursion, and a guided walking tour shore excursion "specifically designed for those arriving on a Cruise" ship, with pick-up at the ship.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

Prices appear on the Hobbiton, Coromandel and wine tour pages, but the homepage tour list shows none, and none of the tour pages sets out a cancellation or refund policy. Guide names and the languages tours run in are not given. The minimum of 10 on the wine and beer tours means small parties may need to check whether a date will run.

Auckland Scenic Tours suits visitors based in central Auckland or arriving by cruise ship who want a guided small-group day to Hobbiton, the Coromandel or the Bay of Islands without driving, and groups of friends who want a wine or craft beer day with the driving handled. Its long list of awards and clear notes on pick-up, fitness and tides make planning straightforward.