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Sounds Connection
Sounds Connection
4.5
Boat ToursFishing Charters & ToursSightseeing ToursPrivate ToursWine Tours & Tastings
About
Fun-filled, flexible daily tours to the best of Marlborough's wineries! Your Sounds Connection guide will take you right to the heart of New Zealand's premier wine region in comfort, safety and style. Sample the best the wineries have to offer, and learn some of the secrets of fine wine appreciation. Tour options include half-day wine tours, full-day wine tours, a gourmet wine experience tour, and private wine tours. Our daily tours offer you: - Small relaxed group settings - The convenience of door-to-door pick up from accommodation in Picton or Blenheim - The expertise of our friendly local tour guides - A completely relaxed and friendly atmosphere - Flexible itineraries to match your preferences and ensure you fully experience Marlborough's varied wine styles Discover the magic of Marlborough with Sounds Connection.
Picton, New Zealand
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles314 reviews
Excellent
246
Very good
52
Average
7
Poor
3
Terrible
6

Alfrado10
Wellington, New Zealand86 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
We went out fishing with Mark from Sounds Connection and what trip!
Awesome boat, great weather and the day just kept getting better.
He was most engaging and obliging, clearly he knew his territory as we reeled in many fish and yes most we put back as the catching was what we were therefore.
But we did eat well that evening!
I highly recommend Mark for any fishing trip you may be considering out of Picton
Written 17 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Alfrado10, Thanks so much for choosing Sounds Connection for your fishing trip in the Marlborough Sounds and for taking the time to post your great review. We’re pleased to hear how much you enjoyed your day out on the water with Mark, catching plenty of fish in the beautiful Marlborough sunshine. Thanks too for the recommendation! The Sounds Connection team
Written 9 September 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Gsl
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK53 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2020 • Couples
We went on their Winter Warmer Wine Tour the first week it launched. Our guide Maria was very friendly and had lots of knowledge about the local area. The wineries (Rock Ferry, Cloudy Bay and Whitehaven) we went to were a nice mix of smaller family wineries and larger well known ones. All the wineries welcomed us and gave us a nice mix of wines, some unique to that winery.
We would definitely recommend going on this tour, the communication before the tour was great and the tour was even better!
Written 14 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear liddletravels, What fantastic feedback. Great to hear how much you enjoyed the variety of wineries and wines on our new Winter Warmer Wine Tour. We're lucky to have such wonderful wineries and knowledgeable winery staff here in Marlborough. Thank you very much for reviewing your trip. With thanks, Sounds Connection
Written 18 June 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Roxana Dumitru
Cluj-Napoca, Romania22 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Sounds connection made our stay in Picton unforgettable.
Although our stay was a short one, only one day in the beautiful wine region of Marlborough, they helped us to have a excellent wine tour.
Don, a very experienced guide took us from our hotel and drove us to wineries as: Cloudy Bay- the most famous one, but also to a family wineyard where we could taste white, rose and red wine.
We also had a delicious culinary experience at Allan Scott where we served our late lauch and the dinner was absolutely fantastic at Harvest in a fairytale countryside with the wineyard just behind us.
Hence, we recommend Sounds Connection and Don for their professional services.
Written 1 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We appreciate your recommendation and are thrilled to hear that you had an unforgettable stay in Picton with our wine tour. Don, our experienced guide, always goes above and beyond to ensure our customers have a fantastic time exploring the Marlborough wine region. We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed the wineries, culinary experiences, and the beautiful countryside.
Written 3 July 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Frankie
7 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Couples
Sam was very knowledgeable of the local area and wines. We had a great time. We went to 4 different wineries and tried about 20 wines. Plus, had an additional trip to the chocolate shop. We were picked up from where we were staying in Picton and he kindly dropped us back in town so we could go for some dinner. Thanks for a great day!
Written 1 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

vvenning
Oxford, UK13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Really enjoyable small group tour visiting 4 vineyards for tastings in the vicinity of Blenheim. Charming and humorous driver/guide David helped make the trip very lively. The knowledge and expertise from the Vineyard hosts was excellent, particularly St Clair. Would definitely recommend.
Written 4 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We are glad to hear that you enjoyed the small group tour and found David to be charming and humorous. We take pride in providing lively and informative experiences. Recommendations like yours mean the world to us. Thank you for sharing your review!
Written 3 July 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Sam S
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2015
Had a family holiday in Picton and we went on a Sounds Connection Fishing Charter on the boat Tory with Skipper Mark. I booked us in for the 5 hour trip as I was told the 3 hour trip wouldn't allow enough time to dredge for scallops and this was our main focus. All was good when we arrived on the boat, scallop dredge at the ready, headed to the Tory Channel and on our way, my 4year old son was so excited he struggled to sit still. As any parent would do, I asked the skipper for a life jacket as these were "provided on the boat". The response took me some what by surprise as he said "no,because they only get damaged by children", looking back on it, no one on board was at any stage offered a life jacket I wish we all paid more attention to this at the time but as one can imagine the excitement was overwhelming. We fished, we moved around abit and finally in our last hour of fishing started to pull some fish in, luckily because we only had 3 fish on board. With 70 minutes (of our 5hour trip) remaining, we were told ten mins to call it a day. Obviously with scallops on our mind (and after talking about them most of our trip) I asked "do we just dredge our way home?" "no time for that" was the reply! After somewhat of an argument with the skipper and me agreeing to pay another $150 we got to do our dredging. A bitter sweet end to what was still a nice Sounds experience... Until we arrived at the dock where we were handed our catch, guts still in all the fish and scallops unshucked. Obviously only did the charter as we've never done scalloping before, or shucking. And when your staying in a hotel in Picton its one hell of a mission to gut and fillet fish! Atleast the skipper was nice about it though, as he handed us our catch he said "there ya go,I hope you have a sharp fillet knife". I suggested this was part of the charter (and costs) he replied "im off the clock now" thanks heaps Mark! If you're thinking of fishing from Picton I strongly suggest you try Toa Tai Charters as Ive heard great things about them and steer well clear of sounds connection!!!
Written 2 February 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Sam. I’m really sorry to hear you were disappointed with your fishing experience, particularly regarding the issue of filleting and shucking your catch. By law we are not allowed to fillet blue cod or open scallops at sea unless they are eaten immediately – so our hands are tied in this regard. Because of this legal restriction I have been advising clients that if they want their catch filleted I have to return early to the wharf to allow time for this. On this occasion it was not offered as I had a prior commitment on my return and I simply had no time to do it, under any circumstances. I acknowledge fishing was slow to start with, but improved as the tides changed in the last hour. Catch rates do vary from day to day – that’s the very nature of fishing. But I thought your end tally of 20 fish and 80 scallops was a very respectable result. Unfortunately it was only as we were due to head home that I found out you had particularly wanted to get some scallops. You mention that you had discussed this at the time of making your booking but I had not been made aware of it until it was time to go home (at which point we still had a one hour ride to get back to Picton ahead of us). I felt your disappointment, so agreed to an extra hour charter to get scallops on the way home, even though this made it very tight for me to meet my next commitment. To fillet all the fish and open the scallops would have required a further hour’s work (at least). As we had extended the charter by an hour, I simply did not have this time available before leaving for my next prior commitment. To address your feedback about the lifejackets: Maritime rules require that lifejackets are worn in situations of heightened risk, such as when crossing a bar or during an emergency – and lifejackets must be stored so that they are immediately available in case of a sudden emergency or capsize. The Tory does indeed meet all maritime requirements and carry all the appropriate lifesaving equipment. In my 22 years running this business we have had almost no negative feedback, so we do take your feedback seriously. Unfortunately the nature of fishing means we cannot guarantee a particular catch size or species, and this can mean it is difficult to meet all charter clients’ expectations - but we do always do our very best to ensure as good an experience as possible. It may be small consolation, but as a result of your comments we have made a change to our booking procedures. Booking office staff now collect more information about the client’s expectations and priorities, and ensure that information is relayed in detail, to the skipper. Booking staff will also now advise, at the time of booking, what we can and can’t offer in regards to filleting etc. It is unfortunate that on this day a series of events all stacked up to make this a less than ideal charter experience for you. Feel free to give us a call or drop us an email if you’d like to discuss this further. Mark & the team at Sounds Connection
Written 17 February 2015
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

ARBADABINDI
London, UK1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2013 • Couples
We were treated to the best Xmas Eve present when we booked Sounds Connection for a Gourmet Wine Experience, Sarah at their Picton Office arrange everything with nothing overlooked. Originally there was supposed to be another couple join us for the tour but their ferry from Welllington was running late but that was no problem. Sam our driver and guide took us to our first destination Johanneshoff where we were introduced to the staff Sam excused himself so he could drive back to Picton to greet the late arriving ferry and collect the couple who were booked on the tour. Whilst he was away we sampled excellent wine and toured the underground cellars, Sam timed it to perfection arriving back with a couple from New York within minutes of us finishing the cellar tour. From there we were chauffered to Hans Herzog for a set menu meal prepared by Michelin Star Chefs followed by generous samples of amazing wines of variatials we did not expect to find in Marlborough along with the usual variatials. During our lunch Sam and Sarah were working to get an additional venue lined up so the couple from New York could experience Champaign style wines from the region, they managend to squeeze in an amazing stop that included four styles of the wine made by wine makers who trained in Champagne France. From here we were taken to Cloudy Bay which again supplied an excellent selection of local wines.
Our final scheduled stop was Makana Gourmet Chocolates who we suspected stayed open late for us as they had stopped making chocolate and were having champaign in the demonstration kitchen, we were each offered four chocolates and they went away and got a few others to meet our requests. To top it all off when we returned to the coach Sam had four boxes of Champaign Truffles one for each of us. Sam and Sarah had also rescheduled our fishing and water transport on the Sounds to suit the fact the tour had been extended to ensure everybody got the full experience. Not a cent more was asked although it was probably justified
Written 2 January 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David P
Melbourne, Australia3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Really knowledgable guide (Sam) who kept the driving portions interesting and seemed to really love what he was doing. The place we stopped for lunch was lovely and the cellar hosts all greeted us warmly. Would recommend!
Written 11 December 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

emel49
Sydney/Melbourne18,235 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2012 • Friends
We are not really tour people but as no one in our group was prepared to be a designated driver we booked a tour with Sounds Connections. We were concerned about being herded like sheep but our worries were totally unfounded. We has a list of wineries we wanted to see and we knew we wanted to go to Adam Scotts for lunch. We were picked up from our hotel and after discussions with Nicci, our guide, we made a couple of modifications and she added a couple of wineries she thought we would like.
It was just the four of us on the bus in the morning and Nicci picked up another two couples while we had lunch.
We visited six wineries - all with excellent wines and Nicci proved to be a mine of information both about wines and the region in general. She quickly understood our tastes and was able to make some excellent suggestions. she even managed to convert a long time Pinot Gris fan into a Riesling drinker!
We even found that they had made reservations for us at the restaurant (we hadn't even thought about it ).
Thanks to Nicci and all responsible for our wonderful day.
Written 1 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nigel P
Maidstone, UK27 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2017 • Friends
My wife booked a half day your of the Marlborough wineries for my birthday. The weather was just perfect, the hottest day so far. Sam the driver picked us up. The company was Sound Connections and they were really great. Sam picked us up from the motel and drove us to 4 wineries and 1 chocolate factory. Well what a fun afternoon. It turned out that 10 ou bus were from the UK only 1 pair from Oz so we had a good time being 'friendly' in the best way possible. Cricket and rugby being two common topics! The tour was very well organised. We visited a large winery first where we were treated to 12 wine tastings. The next 3 just got better and better. Sam was very knowledgeable about wine growing, the history, the area and wines so it was doubly good. I must say this was one of the better tours as it was so friendly and relaxed yet with plenty of information and tastings. I would certainly recommend this company to anyone wanting a good day or half day out in the Marlborough region.
Written 1 March 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Nigel P, Thank you very much for your kind review of your half day Sound Connections wine tour. We are happy to hear how much you enjoyed your trip with Sam, trying our local Marlborough wines and learning about the history of the region, and its wines. We take pride in our local knowledge and friendly relaxed atmosphere. We are also pleased that we were able to help make your birthday celebrations a success! Thanks for taking time to post your review. The Sounds Connection Team
Written 7 June 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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