What Is the Difference Between a Public and Private Kelowna Wine Tour?
The biggest difference between public and private Kelowna wine tours is flexibility. A public tour follows a planned route and schedule shared with other guests, while a private tour is designed around your group, your preferences and the type of wine experience you want.
What Is a Public Kelowna Wine Tour?
A public wine tour is a shared tour where you travel with other guests. The tour operator determines the wineries, route, timing and pickup schedule based on the day’s bookings.
This is often the simplest and most economical option if you want to experience Kelowna wine country without having to plan the itinerary yourself.
Red Dog’s standard public afternoon wine tour is built around four wineries, with door-to-door pickup and drop-off in our Kelowna and West Kelowna service area. The route is planned to give guests enough time at each winery rather than trying to fit as many stops as possible into the afternoon.
See How Many Wineries Do We Visit? for more information about our standard public tour.
What Is a Private Kelowna Wine Tour?
A private wine tour is for your group only. Instead of sharing the vehicle and itinerary with other guests, you can work with us to create an experience that fits your interests.
Depending on your group and the type of experience you’re looking for, a private tour can give you more control over:
- Which wineries you visit
- How long you spend at each stop
- The overall pace of the day
- The type of wine experience you want
- Whether you want to include lunch, sightseeing or other stops
Private tours can be particularly attractive for couples, families, small groups, celebrations and groups with specific winery preferences. They are also a good choice if you simply don’t want to share your afternoon with people you don’t know.
Our private tours are also a good option for smaller groups that want a more personalized experience rather than joining a public tour.
Which Is Better: Public or Private?
Neither option is automatically better. It depends on what you want from your day.
- Choose a public tour if you want a convenient, professionally guided wine tour with a planned itinerary and the opportunity to meet other wine travellers.
- Choose a private tour if flexibility, privacy and control over your experience are more important to you.
A private tour can also be a better choice when someone in your group has particular mobility or comfort requirements. Our Mercedes Metris has a lower step-in height than our high-roof Sprinter, which can make getting in and out easier for some guests. If ease of entry is important to your group, ask us about using the Metris for a private tour.
A private tour also means you can go at your own pace rather than following a shared group’s schedule. That can make a significant difference if you want a slower, more relaxed afternoon.
Should I Plan My Own Private Wine-Tour Itinerary?
You can certainly research wineries yourself, but we recommend talking to your tour operator before finalizing a detailed itinerary.
An itinerary that looks perfect on Google or is generated by AI may not work well in practice. Winery tasting schedules, reservations, driving distances, traffic, opening hours and the amount of time you actually need at each stop all have to work together.
Our local knowledge allows us to take your preferences and turn them into a route that makes sense on the road—not just one that looks good on a map.
If you already have an idea of the experience you want, you can use our Private Wine Tour Planner to start building your tour.
Is a Private Wine Tour Worth the Extra Cost?
For some groups, absolutely. The additional cost is buying more than transportation—it buys privacy, flexibility and control over the day.
If you’re trying to decide whether those advantages are worth paying more for, see Is a Kelowna Wine Tour Worth the Extra Cost? for a closer look at what you’re actually getting for the cost of a wine tour.
If your priority is simply visiting several wineries without having to drive, a public tour may be all you need. If your group has specific interests, wants a slower pace, needs additional comfort or simply wants the day to be entirely your own, a private tour can provide considerably more flexibility.
For information about current tour pricing, see Red Dog Wine Tour Prices.
Ready to choose your experience?
If you want a straightforward shared wine tour, book a Red Dog public wine tour.
If you want to create your own itinerary and go at your own pace, start with our Private Wine Tour Planner →
Related Questions
Wondering how many wineries you’ll visit or how long you’ll spend at each one? See How Many Wineries Do We Visit? and How Much Time Do You Need at a Winery?.