What are the pick up and drop off times for the tours?
Our standard afternoon Kelowna wine tours generally begin with guest pickups between 1:00 and 1:30 PM. The exact pickup time depends on where you are staying and the other guests booked on the tour that day.
Our first winery tasting generally begins around 1:30 PM, and the tour usually finishes with drop-off in the early evening, around 5:30–6:00 PM. The exact return time can vary depending on the day’s pickup route, traffic and winery schedule.
We provide pickup and drop-off from accommodations within our designated Kelowna and West Kelowna service area, so you don’t have to arrange transportation to a central meeting point or worry about driving after wine tasting.
Why doesn’t everyone have exactly the same pickup time?
Our public tours are shared tours, so we may have several guests to pick up before heading to the wineries. We organize the pickup route to keep the driving as efficient as possible, which means guests staying at different accommodations will have different pickup times.
We generally work the pickup route so that locations farther from the winery route are handled first, followed by locations closer to the route. This helps minimize unnecessary driving and gives everyone more time to enjoy the wineries.
Your exact pickup time will be provided with your booking information. Please be ready at your accommodation at the specified time so that we can keep the tour running smoothly for everyone.
What happens during the afternoon?
Our standard public afternoon tour visits 4 wineries, with approximately an hour at each stop. The route is designed to give you enough time to enjoy the tastings, hear the winery stories, ask questions and browse without rushing from one winery to the next.
For more information about the number of stops, see How Many Wineries Do We Visit?.
If you’re wondering how much time you’ll actually spend at each winery, see How Long Does a Winery Tasting Take on a Kelowna Wine Tour?.
For the complete picture of the day, including pickup, winery visits and drop-off, see How Long Is a Full Kelowna Wine Tour From Pickup to Drop-Off?.
What should I do before pickup?
Because our afternoon tours begin around lunchtime, we recommend having a good lunch before your pickup. The tour is focused on wine tasting rather than a full meal, although we provide bottled water and a light snack during the tour.
It is also a good idea to leave yourself some time before pickup rather than arriving back at your accommodation at the last minute. Once the tour begins, we need to keep moving so that everyone has the full amount of time planned at the wineries.
If you’re planning your visit around a wine tour, KelownaGuide’s What Is the Best Time of Year for a Kelowna Wine Tour? also looks at seasonal timing for visiting Kelowna wine country.
What about private wine tours?
Private tours give you more flexibility because you’re travelling with your own group rather than sharing the vehicle with other guests. Pickup time and the overall itinerary can be arranged around your group’s plans and the wineries you want to visit.
If you’re interested in a private tour, you can use our Private Wine Tour Planner to start designing your itinerary.
You can also see Where Do You Pick Up From? for information about our pickup area and boundary map.
Curious about the vehicles you’ll be travelling in? See What Type of Vehicles Are Used?.
The simple version
Expect pickup around 1:00–1:30 PM, your first winery around 1:30 PM, four winery visits during the afternoon, and drop-off in the early evening. Your exact pickup and return times depend on the route and the other guests on your tour.