DIY vs. Guided Yarra Valley Wine Tours: Which is Actually Better?

There’s nowhere quite like the Yarra Valley. From its world-class food experiences to beautiful nature and culture, it truly is a wonderful place to spend the day. At just over an hour from Melbourne, it’s surprising more people don’t take advantage of this bountiful area.

When you do choose to drive up the Warburton Highway and experience everything there is to offer, do you do it yourself and find your own way around, or should you book a group wine tour of the Yarra Valley?

Both options have their plusses and minuses. In this article, we’ll show you why each side has its merits, compare the two and help you make up your mind how you want to tackle the Yarra Valley food, drink and cultural experiences.

Why DIY Tours of the Yarra Valley are Good Fun

Touring the Yarra Valley yourself gives you flexibility and freedom to go where you choose and visit any winery or distillery that you fancy. You can plan your own itinerary and visit specific wineries. Or, stop anywhere on your drive if you fancy the view. You are not locked into a set timeline or itinerary. You do you, at your own pace.

Cruising to your own timeline means you can linger at a place that you like, or if a venue is crowded you can move onto the next one. You set your own timetable. You may have planned for three or four locations to visit, but you’ve got a nice bottle of Pinot and a cheese platter, and the whole valley laid out before you, so why would you want to leave?

Sometimes you can take your car down little laneways our buses can’t fit. You might see a sign while you’re driving and spontaneously take a left and discover a dairy with a special cheese and a local gallery of art.

When you drive yourself around the Yarra Valley you can eat lunch where you want to. You’re not tied to a pre-booked restaurant as part of a tour, you can have lunch wherever your feet take you. Plus, if you want to, you can have dinner where you want to as well. Our tours will drop you back at the pick-up location by around 5pm, but if you’re driving yourself, you can have dinner and look at the stars if you’d like.

If you take yourself around the valley you’re not confined to just wineries or breweries. If you want you can do some shopping, visit Healesville Sanctuary or go for a bushwalk around Warburton.

If you’re going to tour on your own, be aware of your ability to drive. Don’t over do it, you don’t want to be caught over the legal limit.

Make sure you know where you are, and how to get home. Be aware of road signs, or have a maps app on your phone so you don’t get lost. And ensure you have enough petrol in your car to get yourself around and home again.

Why Guided Tours of the Yarra Valley Are The Way to Go

A guided tour of the best wineries, breweries or eateries in the Yarra Valley, organised by Teepee Tours, is the way to go, we believe. You don’t have to worry about driving, finding the next place to visit, parking or designating someone to drive for you. With a company like ours you get special treatment at each location, personalised service, behind-the-scenes tours and more.

Let us do the driving. This way, everyone can participate in the experience without missing out. You can taste as much or as little wine or gin as you want without having to hold back because of the 0.05 rule.

Often your Yarra Valley tour guide knows more than just where a good eatery is. They may have stories about the region, history of the location, local knowledge that adds to the overall tour experience.

As well as knowing local history, we often know the people who run the wineries. This can give you exclusive access to the sommelier, or the head brew master, and get to know the people behind the food and wine.

When you’re on a tour, there is a certain level of efficiency in the travel. If you’re driving yourself and you’re not sure where to go next, you may be wandering the roads for an hour before deciding the next stop will be your lunch break. With a tour, the next location is known and you’re taken right there to continue enjoying your day.

We encourage you to relax, enjoy the green view out the window and arrive relaxed and ready to taste the region with our fully customizable Yarra Valley tour packages.

Let’s Compare the Pair

• Convenience. Our guided tours pick you up, drive you around, and drop you off home again, removing the risk of drink-driving and the stress of driving on twisty rural roads.
• DIY tours can be cheaper, not having to pay for tour packages. You can spend however much, or little, you want at each location.
• Tours with us often have behind-the-scenes experiences and added extras, while a DIY experience means you can spend as long as you want at a location without the need to move on.
• Tours will give you a mix of the boutique locations, as well as catering to the larger wineries. DIY tours, you can go anywhere and visit who you want.

So which is better of these two? Honestly, it depends on the experience that you want. Each has their benefits and drawbacks.

If you want to drink freely and not worry about driving, and enjoy being driven from location to location, book with Teepee tours.

If you want to be spontaneous and flexible with your tour and you’re a responsible person when it comes to tasting wine and spirits, then take yourself around the Yarra Valley and find some secrets off the beaten track.

Tee Pee Yarra Valley Tours- Designed by You, Driven by Us. Better Than DIY.

Whatever you want, it’s yours. Whatever you don’t want, it’s gone.

We know every group wants different things, so we’ve organised packages as to what we feel are the most commonly asked for.

Teepee Tours can arrange PRIVATE TOURS where your group will have a vehicle all to yourselves and an itinerary personalised. We have 6 fun-filled options for you to choose from that vary in price, inclusions, venues and “fanciness”. We can change any of the below to your liking as there are literally over 100 venues to choose from, so these options are just aimed to get the ball rolling in the right direction! Let us know as soon as you can so we can custom fit the best day out for you.