The best tours in Nelson cover a lot of ground: boutique vineyards and craft breweries, artist studios and galleries, the Great Taste Trail, and the beaches and marine life of the Abel Tasman coast. Most tours in Nelson include door to door pickup from your accommodation, so the driving, the tastings and the timing stop being your problem, though one coastal boat operator below departs from Marahau in Tasman rather than the city itself. Wine, Art & Wilderness and Bay Tours Nelson between them run wine, art, scenic and wilderness trips across the region.
1Wine, Art & Wilderness
Wine, Art & Wilderness runs private and small group journeys out of Nelson, and the Kennedy family have been guiding travellers here since 2005. The range stretches well past cellar doors to gallery visits, wildlife walks, kayaking, cycling, fly fishing and helicopter hikes. Guest numbers on each trip are capped so guides can shape the day around what the group is interested in.
Services
- Wine and food tours through Nelson and Marlborough
- Art and culture tours visiting studios and galleries
- Wildlife and nature tours
- Kayaking and water journeys
- Heli adventures, guided hikes, cycling and fly fishing
Highlights
- Family owned and guiding in the region since 2005
- Qualmark Gold rated
- Climate Positive, offsetting 125 percent of carbon emissions
- Guest numbers limited on every tour so the itinerary can flex
- Destinations covering Abel Tasman, Kahurangi and Nelson Lakes National Parks, Golden Bay and Marlborough
Location & Contact
Name: Wine, Art & Wilderness
Address: Nelson
Phone: 027 577 6975
Website: wineartandwilderness.co.nz
2Bay Tours Nelson
Bay Tours Nelson is a small touring company that has run half day and full day trips around the Nelson and Tasman area since 1996, working out of Tahunanui. Owen and Sue Perry host the tours themselves, with wine as the core offering alongside brewery, art, scenic and city itineraries. Free pickup and drop off from Nelson accommodation is included, and groups can have a day designed from scratch.
Services
- Half day and full day Nelson wine tours
- Craft brewery tours
- Art and artist studio tours
- Scenic and city sightseeing tours
- Custom designed private tours for small and large groups
Highlights
- Operating in the Nelson region since 1996
- Qualmark approved
- Free pickup and drop off from Nelson accommodation
- Gold Card holders receive five dollars off any tour and RSA returned service members receive ten percent off
Location & Contact
Name: Bay Tours Nelson
Address: 30 Orakei Street, Tahunanui, Nelson 7011
Phone: 0800 229 868
Website: www.baytoursnelson.co.nz
3Nelson Tours and Travel
Nelson Tours and Travel is a small group operator running wine, food and scenic days across Nelson Tasman and over into Marlborough. Tours are hosted by CJ, who brings more than eighteen years of local knowledge and personal introductions at the cellar doors and producers visited. Every trip includes pickup and drop off from Nelson accommodation, and the itinerary is shaped around the season and what the group wants.
Services
- Untapped, a flexible half day Nelson Tasman scenic, food and drink tour
- Uncorked, a half day Nelson wine tour visiting three to four boutique vineyards
- Full day Marlborough wine tour with four vineyard tastings
- Private custom celebration tours for up to nine people
Highlights
- Hosted by a guide with more than eighteen years of local knowledge
- Pickup and drop off from Nelson accommodation on every tour
- Small group sizes with no fixed script
- Untapped runs year round, with the wine tours seasonal from October to April
- Gift vouchers available
Location & Contact
Name: Nelson Tours and Travel
Address: Nelson
Phone: 027 237 5007
Website: nelsontoursandtravel.co.nz
4The Gentle Cycling Company
The Gentle Cycling Company specialises in cycling trips on the Great Taste Trail, the off road route that links Nelson with the Waimea plains, Mapua and Motueka. Rose Griffin started the business in 2009, and it now runs from Tahuna Beach Holiday Park in Tāhunanui with single day and multi day options. Trips are self guided, with bikes, maps, luggage transfers and accommodation arranged so riders can set their own pace.
Services
- Self guided single day rides on the Great Taste Trail
- Multi day cycle trips with accommodation arranged
- Wine trips and beer trips along the trail
- Bike hire including electric, geared and cruiser bikes
Highlights
- Founded in Nelson in 2009 by Rose Griffin
- Offsets 125 percent of the carbon emitted by its vehicles and electricity through Climate Positive
- Open seven days from 9am to 5pm between September and May, and on demand over winter
Location & Contact
Name: The Gentle Cycling Company
Address: Tahuna Beach Holiday Park, 70 Beach Road, Tāhunanui, Nelson 7011
Phone: 03 929 5652
Website: www.gentlecycling.co.nz
5Abel Tasman Eco Tours
Abel Tasman Eco Tours runs a guided boat day through the islands, beaches, forests and waterways of the Abel Tasman National Park, with the ecology and history of the coast as the focus rather than a transport timetable. Trips leave from Marahau in Tasman, about an hour by road from Nelson, starting and finishing at the Department of Conservation kiosk at the head of the coastal track. Groups are small and the day is adjusted to the weather and tide.
Services
- Golden Future Eco Boat Tour, a guided full day trip of around six to six and a half hours
- Private boat charters
- School group charters
Highlights
- Morning tea and lunch included in the tour price
- Optional self guided walk of up to an hour and a half on the Abel Tasman coastal track, or a short beach stroll instead
- No fixed timetable, so the route is set by weather and tide conditions on the day
- A dollar per passenger goes to the Tasman Bay Guardians and the Abel Tasman Birdsong Trust
- Bookings can also be made in person through the Nelson and Motueka i-SITEs
Location & Contact
Name: Abel Tasman Eco Tours
Address: Departures from Marahau
Phone: 03 391 0010
Website: abeltasmanecotours.co.nz
Tours in Nelson at a Glance
| Business | Highlight |
|---|---|
| Wine, Art & Wilderness | Family owned and guiding in the region since 2005 |
| Bay Tours Nelson | Operating in the Nelson region since 1996 |
| Nelson Tours and Travel | Hosted by a guide with more than eighteen years of local knowledge |
| The Gentle Cycling Company | Founded in Nelson in 2009 by Rose Griffin |
| Abel Tasman Eco Tours | Morning tea and lunch included in the tour price |
How to Choose the Right Tour in Nelson
- Decide what the day is actually for. A cellar door circuit, a gallery trail, a coastal boat trip and a cycle route are four different days out, and most operators lean towards one of them.
- Check whether pickup is included. Nelson operators commonly collect from city accommodation, but the Abel Tasman boat trips start at the coast and you get yourself there.
- Match the group size to how you like to travel. Small group and private options cost more per head but allow the guide to change the stops on the day.
- Ask what is in the price. Tastings, morning tea, lunch, bike hire and luggage transfers are included on some trips and charged separately on others.
- Look at the season. Several wine itineraries run only from October to April, while scenic, cycling and coastal trips operate year round.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nelson Tours
How much does a tour in Nelson cost?
It depends entirely on the format. A half day small group wine tour with tastings included typically sits in the low to mid hundreds per person, a full day trip across to Marlborough costs considerably more because of the distance and the number of cellar doors, and self guided cycle hire starts from around thirty dollars a day. Private and custom tours are quoted per group rather than per person. Operators publish current pricing on their own booking pages.
Do Nelson tour operators pick you up from your accommodation?
Most of the wine, food and scenic operators do, and pickup within the Nelson city area is usually included rather than charged as an extra. Coastal boat trips are the exception, because they depart from a fixed jetty or beach access point. If you are staying outside the city, in Richmond, Mapua or Motueka, it is worth confirming when you book rather than assuming.
Which suburbs and areas do these operators cover?
The businesses on this page are based in or around Tahunanui and Tāhunanui Beach on the western edge of Nelson city, with one operating from Marahau at the southern entrance to the Abel Tasman National Park. Between them they cover Nelson city, Stoke, Richmond, the Waimea and Moutere wine country, Mapua, Motueka, Golden Bay and the Marlborough wine region. If you want a tour near a particular part of the region, say so when you enquire, because several of the itineraries are flexible.
How far in advance should I book?
Over the summer peak from December to February, and around long weekends, small group tours fill well ahead and booking a week or more out is sensible. Outside those periods a few days is usually enough, though private and custom trips need longer because the operator builds the day from scratch. Multi day cycle trips need the most notice, since accommodation along the trail has to be secured.
What happens if the weather turns bad?
Land based wine, art and scenic tours generally run in all conditions, since most of the day is spent indoors at cellar doors and studios. Boat and cycling trips are more weather dependent, and operators will usually reschedule or offer an alternative rather than cancel outright. Check each operator’s cancellation and refund terms before you pay, as they vary.
Are these tours suitable for children and older travellers?
Many are. The coastal eco boat trip is designed for all ages and fitness levels, with walking entirely optional, and several operators run school and family charters. Wine tours are adult focused for obvious reasons, though children can often be accommodated on a private booking. Cycle trips vary a lot by route, and electric bikes make the flatter sections of the Great Taste Trail manageable for most people.
How do I check that a tour operator meets recognised standards?
Qualmark is the official quality assurance system for New Zealand tourism, run by Tourism New Zealand, and its Bronze, Silver and Gold ratings cover safety, service and sustainability. You can look up a business on the Qualmark site. Operators taking commercial trips into a national park also need a Department of Conservation concession, which you can read about at DOC.
Can I book a private tour rather than joining a group?
Yes, and every operator listed here offers some form of it. Private trips are priced by the vehicle or boat rather than per seat, so they work out better value for a group of four or more, and they let you set the pace, the stops and the start time. They are the usual choice for birthdays, wedding parties and corporate days out in the Nelson region.
How We Chose the Best Tours in Nelson
Every business in this guide was found by searching for tours in Nelson, then checked against what the business publishes itself: its own website, or where it has none, its official social or booking page. Names, addresses and phone numbers come from those pages rather than a directory feed, so what you see here is what the business says about itself. We also check that each one is still trading and is actually based in or genuinely serving Nelson, rather than a national operator running a local landing page. A business we can’t confirm from its own pages is not listed.