​After the year that was 2020, Prinsy’s Tours are determined to continue connecting you with Hawke’s Bay’s gems. We’ve re-thought our wine tour offering, and have been lucky enough to have had a new video produced which gives you a sneak peek. To celebrate, we have teamed up with Breckenridge Lodge to bring you a unique opportunity to experience Hawke’s Bay’s special treasures in a new way.

Watch our video for sneak peek at what a Prinsy's Tour is all about, and try and see how many of the wineries you recognise. Then, jump on our facebook page & tell us in the comments of this post who you would bring with you on this special adventure. Each person named gets you one entry into the draw.

Optional bonus entry - watch the full Prinsy's video and tell us the number of wineries you DON'T recognise! (Don’t worry – it is a bonus if you don't know any of the wineries, as it means you’ll get to experience Hawke’s Bay wines in a new way).
 
Note: winners must be ready to travel to Hawke’s Bay on suitable dates before 30 June 2021.
 
Feel free to share the game with friends and see who knows the least!
 
Best of luck,
– Hamish & Di, and our team of great guides - Ian, Kerry & Rob
- Malcolm & Ellie at Breckenridge Lodge, Hawke’s Bay

Each year we like to 'push the boat out' a little further and in 2019 one thing we wanted to achieve was improve our visitor experience, and prove it to our customers by climbing the Qualmark ranks.
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After applying to Qualmark rating for the first time in 2018, which is known for its high standards and discerning application of any mark, we were delighted to receive a Bronze rating off our first application.

This year we knew we had been doing more for our visitors' experiences, especially with the addition of a nice new Mercedes to our tour fleet, and enhancing our health & safety programme with improvements such as stronger documentation and GPS tracking for emergency response in all vehicles. We have also been building our sustainability practice with the inclusion of the Tiaki Promise and maintaining the 14 Tourism Sustainability Commitments that we were already committed to in every day practice.

After a nervous four weeks since our Qualmark assessor came to visit, it was wonderful to be told we had achieved the Silver status.

As always, we invite you on our Hawke's Bay tours to find out for yourself! 

Cheers,
Hamish, Di & the team

Earlier this year we enjoyed taking Will Ferguson, travel writer for the Calgary Herald, out for a spot of wine touring - the Prinsy's way. 

We were delighted with his write-up and his amusing way of taking his wine tasting skills less than seriously.  

Part of a bigger road trip tour of New Zealand, Will's article has some great insights into what it's like as a traveller through Martinborough, Hawke's Bay to Gisborne. 

We invite you to read the full article here, and consider a Hawke's Bay wine tour for yourself!
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What a week it has been. The region's been flooding, the Napier/Taupo road has been forcing visitors to take the long way round, Hamish went in for knee surgery but not before we had an amazing night at the Hawke's Bay Tourism awards at The Old Church. 
This year - for the second year in a row - we were delighted to take out the Visitor Experience Award (Small Business). 
But that's not all we were recognised for this year...!

• Winner - Visitor Experience Award
• Runner Up - Essence of Hawke's Bay Award
• Finalist - Supreme Award

It’s the time of year where we get a few minutes to focus on developing our tour business, when the number of visitors to Hawkes Bay has cooled down a bit and we can take a long deep breath. One of the things we are often asking ourselves is “what more can we be doing for the sustainability of our industry and its impact on the environment”? 

Each year we tend to make gradual improvements as we learn and grow. This year, through the Tourism Industry Aotearoa we have become aware of their initiative to drive every tourism business in New Zealand to be sustainable by 2025. Quite a big hairy audacious goal, which we think is exactly what is needed to drive the industry forward. So, “where do we sign?” we thought!

The Tourism Sustainability Commitment aims to see that economic, environmental and social sustainability becomes a genuine ethical practice that is embedded in our industry for good. As part of this there are 14 Commitments that Prinsy’s Tours has agreed to live by as we move forward. 

We have a genuine belief that our industry can help to shape a sustainable future for New Zealand, allowing our industry, people and environment to thrive. Naturally this will pay off because it means we can continue to do what we love – showing our beautiful country off to the rest of the world!

We invite you to join us on a wine tour, rural tour or something more exclusive and hear our first-hand stories about the environment and vibrant region we enjoy every day. Our groups are kept small to enhance your experience and we pride ourselves not only on exceeding guests’ expectations, but also leaving only footprints. 

Cheers,
Hamish & Diane

It’s an exciting time of year to be cruising wine country right now, with some of Hawke’s Bay’s best wineries rubbing their hands together for this year’s harvest.
And what a hot January it’s been! New Zealand just had one of the hottest Januaries in 150 years, and coupled with an ever-present summer breeze, the grapes are ripening faster than you can say ‘merlot cabernet blend’.
Hopping around the wineries this week our wine tour guests have enjoyed seeing first-hand the grapes ripening in the vineyard, and talking to winery folk about the delicious things to come. 
Apparently it’s a year for Chardonnay & Syrah so we’ll be watching those ones particularly closely. Di has a soft spot for Viognier too so we’ll be sure to give that a fair tasting when the 2018 goes to bottle. 
In the meantime of course there are loads of stunning wines from 2016, 2017 and earlier that are already available for a sneaky vineyard wine tasting.
We hope you get to enjoy some of Hawke’s Bay’s best wineries this season, and if you need a ride for your perfect wine tour be sure to let us know.

Cheers,
Hamish & Di

Photo credit: Moana Park Winery

​This month Prinsy’s are excited to launch our new Guided Transfer service that is now available to spirit you from lodge to lodge with an educational and interactive transfer tour. Your travel time is golden so we’ll help ensure you don’t miss a moment and get to explore more of the real New Zealand as you travel.
 
Prinsy's Guided Transfer service is completely customizable to you, and would/could include:
• Pick up and drop off from lodge to lodge
• Wellington airport pickups (via Martinborough)
• Transfers to/from Hawkes Bay, Taupo or beyond
• Receiving the star treatment with a flexible itinerary, quality refreshments, local produce, and warm personal service
 
Here’s an example of a Taupo-Napier transfer:
• Pick up from your lodge in Taupo in Prinsy’s luxury vehicle (including luggage trailer for the larger suitcases or golf clubs)
• Travel the scenic Napier-Taupo road with a knowledgeable guide at the wheel
• Learn about the lay of the land as we travel – the history, the economy, the rural insights, the landscape
• Arrive in Hawke’s Bay and enjoy an abbreviated winery experience, guided Art Deco drive, and a trip up the gorgeous Te Mata Peak for a 360° view of the region
• Arrive at your destination Lodge ready to relax.
  
Sound like you? We welcome your enquiry.
Prinsy’s Tours is Qualmark rated and recently won the Visitor Experience award for small business at the Hawke’s Bay Tourism Awards. We pride ourselves on exceeding our visitor’s expectations every time and look forward to doing so for you.
​Do get in touch and we’ll put together an itinerary that makes the most of your New Zealand escape.

Just a quick note to thank our many guests for helping us to achieve a couple of recent accolades. 

Each year we manage to receive a multitude of 5-star Trip Advisor reviews, which has provided us with a 5-star Trip Advisor rating for the 5th year in a row. We are absolutely chuffed.

Prinsy’s Tours has also recently completed our first Qualmark assessment, so we are now bench-marking our little tour business against the tourism industry heavyweights. Big and scary but we thought why not! Qualmark have since endorsed us with a Bronze certification, so we're in, hip hip hurray!

One thing we do want to say is that we couldn’t do any of this without our amazing guests. We love to host you all (gee what a hard job we have!) and we really appreciate you taking the time to rate us on Trip Advisor or give us a Google Review. It really does keep us going and it means a whole lot to us and our team.

Cheers, and keep on smiling!

Hamish & Diane
Owners & Operators
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You’ve heard of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc and the Central Otago Pinot, but if you’re new to Hawke’s Bay wines, let’s just say there’s a reason we call it “wine country”.

If you’re planning to book a wine tour at some stage, here’s a taster of what Hawke’s Bay wines are all about:
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• We’ve got variety in our varietals. Micro-climates, soil structures, grape varieties – Hawke’s Bay is a truly diverse region that offers you an abundance of choice when it comes to wines. And on a wine tour with Prinsy’s, you’ll traverse these regions and get a down-to-earth appreciation for the heart, soul and soil that makes Hawke’s Bay unique.
• Reds or whites or in-betweens – we don’t discriminate! Arguably Hawke’s Bay is heralded for the big reds we produce in our warm climate, particularly for smacking our own style on the traditional “Bordeaux blends” (Merlot, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, usually a bit of Malbec too), and some delicately punchy Syrah’s (that’s Shiraz in Aussie lingo). But scratch the surface and you’ll find quite the range of white wine and rosé to fill your boots with too. Chardonnay is a classic that wins a lot of awards here (though you’ll find lots of delicious “non-classic” takes on it too). Many wineries also produce a Sauvy and/or Pinot Gris and you can also chance across interesting aromatics like Viognier, Arneis and Gewürztraminer. Yum!
• It’s all in the glass. Once you get that supple splash in your glass, take a good look. You’ll see wines that are dripping with bright colour and subtle style. Then, the only thing left to do is to enjoy a sip! When you join Prinsy’s for a wine tour, even if you’re a wine novice we’ll show you the ropes of tasting to make sure you get the full Hawke’s Bay wine experience. 

Keen to see for yourself? 
We’ll help you learn lots and have fun along the way. Book now and see for yourself why our guests say Prinsy’s Tours exceeded their expectations. ​We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Cheers, Hamish
Owner & Tour Guide

What a big year it's been at Prinsy's Tours. We've launched this new website, enjoyed hosting hundreds of Lions fans, and been spreading our wings doing some recon in Martinborough and round the country at tourism events. But the icing has seriously been put on the cake this week, after we were floored to receive the Visitor Experience Award for Small Business at the Hawke's Bay Tourism Awards.
Wow. Quite simply, we were jolly enough just to have put our best foot forward in entering the awards. Then being finalists, and ultimately winning the highly competitive 'Visitor Experience' category, well, let's just say the eyes got a bit steamy!
Going through the awards process really makes you put yourself out there, and look at your business through a new lens. It's a great initiative put on by Hawke's Bay Tourism, who back our industry tirelessly and are a big part of the reason this region's tourism economy is growing year on year, and why the standards for guest experiences here  just keep soaring.
Prinsy's was also a finalist in the People's Choice award - so thank you immensely to all who voted for us, your voices were definitely heard!
We'd also really like to thank our amazing team, our wonderful guests whom it's a pleasure to host, the support from Jodi at InHouse Marketing, the judges for a fair and rigorous process, Hawke's Bay Tourism again and also Sally Jackson from the Napier City Council (previous winner when she was with the Art Deco Trust) for her helpful advice and mentoring on the awards process.
Hats off to all the other entrants, finalists and winners; we know what a challenge it is and we're proud to be a part of this fantastic industry with you. 
Now, time for a glass (or two) of yummy Hawke's Bay wine to celebrate!