BEST OF · SELF-GUIDED BIKE TOURS IN NEW ZEALAND
Good self-guided bike tours in New Zealand fill up weeks ahead and the best ones go first. Below: the 12 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.
Cycle Marlborough’s cellar doors at your own pace with bikes, wine panniers, shuttle pickup, local advice, and emergency support.
“Really enjoyed our day on the bikes. Initially I thought 6hrs was a little too long, but that wasn't the case at all. Once we took the bikes back at 4pm, we did another winery on foot.”
Cycle Marlborough’s flat wine country at your own pace with bike hire, hotel transfers, a wine map, and 12 nearby wineries.
“Great day spent biking to various wineries for tastings. Beautiful scenery was a plus.”
Review of Marlborough’s self-guided biking wine tour, with hotel pickup, e-bikes, winery tips, costs, routes, and practical advice.
“Lovely day, lots of information given and equipment was excellent. Shame some of the vineyards were closed and some signage around would have been helpful.”
Ride Queenstown’s Gibbston Valley wine trail at your own pace, with bike hire, shuttle transport, alpine views, wineries, food, and e-bike options.
“Am amazing day of scenery, adventure, thrills, wine and food. An absolute must to do when coming to Queenstown. Everything was made very easy and was so much fun!”
Ride Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest on a flexible half-day bike hire, with quality bikes, route advice, and trails for all abilities.
“Great experience but the company did a poor job of directions to the place. They dropped the pin in the forest along a private road. They definitely need to fix this problem.”
Ride from Arrowtown to Gibbston Valley on a self-guided 15 km trail with bikes, shuttle transport, river views, bridges, and wine stops.
“Great pickup, transportation, and pre-trip info session. I liked the bike (pretty hard seat though and I forgot my padded bike shorts), it was in great working condition. Trail has wonderful scenery and mostly well marked. My friend and I decided to bike past the initial pickup spot at the Gibbston Winery to the Gibbston Tavern. Guide was flexible to pick us up there. Trail past the winery wasn’t marked very well towards the end and the map we were given wasn’t very detailed so luckily gps helped some. We just tried a couple of “almost” paths and looked at buildings on gps to navigate. Lol! We made it!”
Cycle Marlborough’s vineyards with a guide in the morning, then explore wineries independently with tastings, maps, hotel pickup, and gentle trails.
“We had great weather, a small group of 6 people and a very knowledgeable guide which could tell es everything about the vinery, production, plants, the special things about Marlborough area. The atmosphere in the vineyard and testing was always very relaxed and we had good conversations throughout the whole trip. We had A beautiful day”
Ride 30 scenic kilometres from Lake Hawea to Wanaka, with mountain views, a swing bridge, the Wanaka Tree, and helpful support.
“A very enjoyable experience.Our guide was very friendly,accomodating,professional and has a wealth of knowlege about the area and history.We recommend it to all.Thanks heaps.”
Cycle Marlborough’s flat wine roads with three guided tastings, then explore independently by bike for a flexible afternoon.
“Our guide, April, was knowledgeable, friendly, and full of great energy. I'm not a wine expert by any means, but she managed to keep the conversation simple for me while diving into technical details when talking to my husband, who knows a lot about wine.”
Cycle Hawke’s Bay’s coast and Tukituki Valley, visit four top wineries, and return to Napier by shuttle for $47.
“So much fun! Lots of cycling and we didn’t prepare for it to be as cold as it was, but we made the most of it once we got to each winery.”
Cycle Nelson’s Great Taste Trail to Mapua with bikes, ferry, wineries, coastal views, and return transport included for $77.
“Fietstocht was leuk alleen zit er verschil een gids als mens mee of een papieren gids. Wij hebben een geweldige dag gehad 😎”
Cycle Napier’s flat coastal trails to Hawke’s Bay wineries on a self-guided half-day ride with bikes, maps, and e-bike options.
“I would highly recommend this activity. we had 9 family members raging in age from 11yrs to 67yrs and all enjoyed it. Not being familiar with the area at all we did struggle a little bit with the map, but still made it the entire way around the 40km circuit.”
By city, by coastline, or by the kind of bike under you.
