Day trip
Picton to Marlborough wine country
How to get from Picton to the Marlborough vineyards around Blenheim: by guided tour with a Picton pick-up, by coach or bus, or by car — and why a tour solves the driving question.
Photo: Jonathan Harker / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Published
Marlborough's vineyards are on the Wairau Plains around Blenheim, south of Picton on State Highway 1. InterCity's timetable puts Blenheim 30 minutes from Picton by coach; route planners give the road distance as roughly 27–28 km (an aggregator figure, not an official one).
With a tour that picks up in Picton
The simplest way to do it from Picton. Several tour companies collect from town, which also means no one has to drive after tastings. Formats run from half a day to a full day, and some combine wine with a cruise or a kayak. We list operators alphabetically on the wine tours page with a link to each; check what is running on your date.
By coach or bus
InterCity runs between Picton and Blenheim (30 minutes on its timetable). The council's Route 3 bus also runs Blenheim–Picton on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between 9am and 3pm, cash only. Neither takes you round the cellar doors — you would still need a tour or a bike from Blenheim.
By car
With your own car it is a short drive south. The catch is the obvious one: someone in the car has to stay sober, and New Zealand enforces drink-driving law. If everyone wants to taste, book a tour.
Worth knowing
- If you are catching a ferry the same day, choose a tour whose return time leaves your full check-in margin.
- For where and what to eat in Picton afterwards, see the sister site pictonfood.co.nz.
Sources
Facts about individual places come from each place's own page, where its sources and check date are listed. Full list on the sources page.