Martinborough in one day - We had one day in Wellington on a cruise ship and wanted to maximize our day visiting wineries in Martinborough. We were lucky enough to find Helen with Silver Cloud... read more and it was a perfect day!!! She's incredibly informative about the wine industry in general having grown up around it and her passion and knowledge truly made the day a perfect 10. She helped us pick the best wineries to explore and peppered the day with great stories about the history of the area and personal anecdotes that really made it more special. We saw a larger group from our ship coming in to one of the stops and they didn't get a quarter of the special attention and experience that we did. Due to bad weather our port visit was delayed by a day and on very short notice Helen made changes to accommodate our group which really blew us away. If you're considering a tour here (wine related or otherwise) there is no better hostess!

  Simply Superb Luxury Touring Services with Loads of Charm, Pampering and Knowledge - Our small group of four had two amazing days in Wellington and its environs guided by Helen, the owner of Silver Cloud Luxury Tours. Helen is creative, flexible, funny,... read more helpful, relaxed and so knowledgeable about all that fabulous Wellington has to offer. As a lifelong resident of Wellington, she knows and loves Wellington's every nook and cranny. Her vehicle was pristine and thoughtfully stocked with water, tissues, mints, etc. She worked tirelessly to ensure that every detail of our time together came off flawlessly. We spent one delightful afternoon in the wine country just outside of Wellington where we had a killer lunch at the gorgeous Poppies Vineyard, tasted yummy chocolates at Schoc Chocolates and sampled delicious olive oils at Olivo. Whatever your particular interest or interests, Helen will craft an utterly memorable time in Wellington for you. She also has special capabilities and expertise for disabled travelers. You cannot go wrong with this gem of a company lead by its star owner, Helen!

  Wonderful Day in Wellington! - Three of us were on a Celebrity cruise and wanted a tour of Wellington. We didn't want to do a ship excursion, but we were willing to share a... read more minivan with others. Then we found Helen and we were able to do a private tour and what a wonderful tour it was! She suggested an itinerary and she was just fine with us modifying it slightly. She took us to all of the highlights in Wellington including the Cable Car in Kelburn, Mt Victoria Lookout, Weta Workshop, St Paul's Church, Te Papa Museum (we loved the Gallipoli Exhibit and the Marae). We had lunch at the Roxy Theater which is a lovely art deco building. Helen was an excellent guide, providing lots of information about Wellington and she was always willing to answer our questions. She also added personal touches to the tour: bottles of water, tissues, mints and a "sweet" surprise when she dropped us off at the ship. It was obvious that Helen loves and is very proud of her city! I would recommend her tour to anyone who will be visiting Wellington! Thanks again, Helen, for a great day!

  Absolutely great tour which can give you a lot of informations of this small city. Very comfortable transport and easy to go. Helen is amazing tour guide. She can explain... read more a lot of interesting details about the city and things around. Absolutely not boring and I can not compare with any professional tour I have ever made. If you searching pearls around the city this tour will not disappoint you.

  Amazing service with love. Helens service exceeded my expectations. She was very helpful, patient, organised some extra service and adding to this, she can tell intersting stories.

  Best Day of our 3 weeks in New Zealand -- Wine Tour of Martinborough with Silver Cloud Luxury Tours - We booked a full day, customized Martinborough Wine Tour with Silver Cloud Luxury Tours. Helen, our guide and owner of the company, delivered an incredible experience. She set the Platinum... read more standard for service, friendliness and knowledge. I'm afraid we're spoiled for life now. It was the best day we had in New Zealand and we had some very amazing days there.

She left nothing to chance. She asked about our wine preferences and customized the tour to suit them. Her spotless MB van was directly imported, had extremely comfortable "captains chairs", road well and was well stocked with various drinks and snacks. The multiple sunroofs were a delightful and unexpected addition to the experience. Her family is in the wine business and she was greeted as an old friend at all the wineries we visited. She arranged for several wine tours, not just tastings. She knows Peter Jackson personally so, when we stopped at lovely parks for pictures and drove over the Rimutaka Ranges to Martinborough, she pointed out many places that were used for filming scenes of Lord of the Rings and the digital effects studios that remain. She tells great stories. She dealt with a sudden, unannounced bridge closing with aplomb.

Our first stop was Schubert Wines where Kai explained each of the broad selection of wines we tasted. We bought a lovely, unusual Rose. We had an excellent wine tasting and an exquisite lunch with Toby at Tirohana Estate. Lucy at Murdock James estate devoted an enormous amount of time to us. Her passion showed in her explanation of growing grapes for good wines and dealing with Mother Nature's vicissitudes. We finished at Te Kairangi Estate where we sampled several delicious whites and reds and bought two of their red Reserve wines. Interspersed with the winery visits were multiple breaks for coffee and snacks and shopping. She made extra stops for us to replace items we had lost previously during our travels.

Even at the end of our long day of touring, she was still smiling and helpful. We were flying out of Wellington airport the next day and it is under construction. She tracked down the new location and instructions for checking in with our airline so we wouldn't have any surprises. And, it turned out that she was good friends of and neighbors with the owners of Acorns B&B, where we were staying (also great)..

Overall, not only was this an unbelievably good tour but we have never been so well taken care of. I cannot recommend Silver Cloud Luxury Tours highly enough.

  Helen has an approachable, vibrant personality with an encyclopaedia for a brain! So much stories she had shared during our transfer between Wellington and Kapiti Coast. Vehicle was classy,... read more clean and comfortable. Top notch service! Would use her again!

  Wine tour - Along with another couple we spent a full day touring Martinborough while on a cruise day stop.
Helen picked us up at the port in a very comfortable van. We... read more went to Rivendell Film set and then through on a beautiful drive to the wine area. We visited 4 wineries plus another one for lunch. All of the wineries were very good and lunch was very good.
Helen is a great driver, knows her wine and is very cautious to make sure you get back to the port on time.
I highly recommend this tour and hope to tour with Silver cloud again.
Helen thanks for a great day, add your website above!

  One of best land tours ever taken. - Our tour for ten people from the Cruise ship Regal Princess on Feb 7, 2017 was one of the best land tours we've ever taken. It was on a very... read more comfortable van for ten people and it was like Helen Waddington the tour company owner and guide was our best friend showing us her home town. Friendly , knowledgeable, great sense of humor and filled with anecdotes about her beloved Wellington. At the end we felt like we really knew Wellington. She even sent us a photo of our ship leaving the harbor sailing past her home.

  OUTSTANDING in every way! - What a fantastic and outstanding day we (3 of us) spent with Helen. She promptly picked us up and took us all over Wellington, catering to our every desire,... read more and then some, in her very comfortable car. She is a knowledgeable, humorous, patient, generous, connected and enjoyable tour guide. We took 6 different private tours throughout New Zealand and Helen's tour was by far the best! Even though we had our tour day planned, we expressed an interest in seeing wildlife and in a flash she had us at Zealandia with a private tour! High Tea at the Roxy was amazing. Helen's depth of local knowledge is great and we wished we had another day to spend with her. Do NOT hesitate to book a tour with her. It will be a highlight for you.