My wife and I are visiting our daughter in Auckland. We have taken a number of wine tours (as well as bird tours) and have always had only the nicest things to say. We were excited to go on this tour because of the reputation of Martinborough for fine Pinots. Sadly, this tour disappoints. First, let me say that Andrew, our guide, was knowledgeable, attentive, funny and a real pleasure. He was the best! The “Whole Day Tour” fell flat. The first winery was fine, if a bit ordinary. There were 4 or 5 Pinots to sample (Pinots are the main reason to come to this area). We bought a case and shipped to our daughter in Auckland. The second winery, Poppies, let us down badly. Not a single Pinot to try. All sold out! Why would the tour company continue to use a place with no Pinots? They knew full well there were no Pinots but kept them on the roster? If you like white wines and sweet wines, it would be tops. In fairness they actually did have one Pinot (in an impressive presentation wooden box for ~$160 IIRC) which we were allowed a sip. Lunch there was a lovely cold tray of meats and cheeses and many other things. It was enjoyable but honestly, a cold plate was a bit disappointing on a $181 (USD) per person wine tour. The last stop was was a winery where the owner was pouring small samples after loudly announcing “5 tastings are $10!” The tiny tasting room was crowded, not a single place to sit. Literally, no chairs, not just no available chairs, no chairs. Curt descriptions of the wines along with an hurried atmosphere and I could not get out of there quick enough! It was the worst of the bunch. So, in summary, we had a great guide but the wineries picked for this high dollar tour were way below par. This is the first negative review I have ever written but I think folks should know what to expect before spending a fair amount of money for a below par experience.

I had the great pleasure of taking a personalized half-day tour of Wellington CBD with John as my guide, and I had an absolutely wonderful time! He was very knowledgeable of the city sites and its detailed and fascinating history, and stories peppered with his delightful humor and friendly demeanor. The itinerary included many of the best spots in Wellington such as Mt. Victoria, Cable Car, Parliament, the Weta Workshop and Stone Street Studios, with beautiful drives in between through the windy roads and along the seaside. This was my third visit to NZ, and still learned so much on this tour, including some of the area's best places to eat and delve into the deliciously diverse cuisine of NZ. John went above and beyond to ensure I had a full and enjoyable VIP experience, and also drove me and my partner back to our home base, which saved us a long trip on the train. I highly recommend Capital Personalised Tours and will certainly book other tours with them in the future. Thank you so very much John!

We did a private full-day LOTR tour, to include a visit to Wētā Workshop (separate review for that, also recommended). We were fortunate to have Selwyn as our guide for the day and really appreciate his in depth knowledge of the city and surroundings - especially where and how to avoid traffic! He was able to squeeze in a couple additional stops, and helped us get some outstanding photos at each location. For lunch, his choice of the Chocolate Fish was perfect. Food was great, and it’s a very fun local spot - that also had a good story. We visited a number of filming locations before and after the Wētā tour. Selwyn also provided a great recommendation for dinner near our hotel, as well as an all important post dinner ice cream stop. We had a lovely day in all respects and we are very happy to have been connected with Capital Personalised Tours and with Selwyn.

We enjoyed this tour with another couple (very nice Aussie's) guided by Andrew. This trip was way more than expected. Andrew stopped at several Lord of The Rings filming sites including Helm's Deep (a quarry) and provided a LTR tour book to review. We made several scenic overlook stops. Andrew was able to add historical personal references from family history of ANZACs and had a notebook of copies of newspaper clippings relevant to the story. Then we visited three outstanding wineries and ate at Poppie's with a fine charcuterie board including pork belly and our favorite wine choice. We stopped to enjoy a coffee at a local coffee shop and then ventured into an award winning chocolatier that offered samples. The chocolate lemongrass was our favorite. Then on our way back Andrew offered to drive us into Wellington for a quick view of the city and then back to the cruise ship on time. This was a wonderful tour and highly recommended. Kudos to Andrew.

We had a wonderful day in Wellington. Our guide, Steve, was excellent and showed us around the LOTR film sites, giving us ample time for photos and to look around. Steve was very informative and we had great discussions about New Zealand and more. We had a lovely lunch at Chocolate Fish, tour at WETA workshop, and driving tour around Wellington. Would highly recommend the private tour!

I booked this one quite quickly and did not actually understand just how personalised it was going to be! Coming off a ship with 4500 other passengers I assumed we'd be picked up in a bus and taken around but no, me and my two friends were surprised and delighted to learn this trip was just for the three of us! We were picked up by Kelvin and driven around Wellington to see the sights and it was marvellous. We booked a LoTR sights tour but because we weren't THAT much into the movies we made good time on those stops and as such Kelvin used the spare time to show us some of the other beautiful places around Wellington. It was great to be driven around and told about the culture and history and other bits of trivia. We were taken out for lunch (included) to a wonderful fish restaurant and taken back to the ship in good time. Lots of thanks to Kelvin! We had a great time in Wellington and thoroughly enjoyed your company.

Steve was an amazing guide. Very knowledgeable, very accommodating and very friendly. He made the tour enjoyable, and very special, and was so easy to talk to. I was very impressed with the whole process. From booking the tour to prompt replies to my queries, and for providing such a great service. We both had an awesome day and will certainly be recommending you.

A great small group (just the two of us) wine tour where I met a very interesting wine lover and had Andrew as our driver, tour guide, local historian and advisor. He was brilliant in creating a relaxed experience and a friendly atmosphere. We tried a few wineries and had a wonderful meal included. The staff at the wineries were all well versed in their products and made us welcome. Not a cheap tour but worth every cent to have it personalised.

great tour operator. our guide was very nice and had many facts to share with us. this private tour for our party of 6 was much better than the ones where they cram 40 or 50 people together on a bus and nearly the same price. I would recommend Capital Personalised Tours to anyone.

Had a great time visiting LOTR filming sites around Wellington and touring Weta Workshop. Our tour guide John was very friendly and I would definitely recommend the tour if you are a LOTR fan.

We thoroughly enjoyed our day with Andrew. He tailored the itinerary to just what we wanted. He had a lot of knowledge (and jokes) to share with us throughout the day. He took us to a wonderful restaurant for lunch! The only reason I didn't give this a 5 is because the vehicle was too small for five people. We were very uncomfortable in the back. We needed to be in a larger vehicle.

My husband and I enjoyed a full day LOTR tour from Wellington with Robbie - it was incredible! Robbie was super friendly, funny, and knowledgeable. His experience as an extra in the movies gave him wonderful insight and stories to share with us. We had an amazing time and would not hesitate to recommend this tour! Thank you Robbie!!

First of all, the guide Sam was a delightful man who tried very hard, but had little to work with. Some of the so called attractions were drive bye at best, some did not happen! The only attraction of any value was The Bird Sanctuary. The beaches were a quick look without leaving the car, the brewery was closed and the chocalate factory did not require an entry as it was basically a store vending overpriced items. We chose to skip The Car Museaum as we just wanted this dreadful day to be over! We can think of no valid reason to venture on this useless, overpriced tour

We had a full day Lord of the Rings tour in Wellington, with our guide Kelvin. He was very knowledgeable about every location and gave us great photo opportunities! Kelvin is charismatic and pleasant to talk to, the added bonus of his friendly personality made our tour very enjoyable :-)

Our guide Selwyn was excellent. Very knowledgeable and friendly. We toured 3 vineyards and had an excellent lunch at Poppies. He gave us a mini city tour at the end and drove us to the top of Mt Victoria at the end. I highly recommend this tour company.