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Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find answers to some of the frequently asked questions, and more information about our tours and what you can expect.
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Do you pick up from my location if I want to tour in another city?To see which tours you can book from your location, simply select the city you will be picked-up in, from the "Select Your Location" menu. Any tour on that page is available for you to book, and you will be picked up from any address within that city. For example, if you are staying at an Airbnb in Kelowna : 1. Click : Select Your Location > Kelowna (the page will say Kelowna Wine Tours at the top). 2. Once you find a tour you want, click Booking Page > then find the tour and purchase your tickets! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us via Phone or Text @ 778 - 404 - 0886
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Is a deposit required to reserve my tour date?To reserve your tour date, a 25% deposit is required (except for same-day tours). Dates are held on a first-come first-served basis. But don't worry! If you need to cancel, we have a very flexible cancellation policy. See more about our policy below.
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What is your cancellation policy?For all tours, deposits are refundable up until 7 days before the tour date, with the exception of Private Tours on Saturdays. Due to the demand for tours on Saturdays, we require 14 days notice for cancellation of these Private Tours. For Public Tours on Saturdays, the standard 7 day cancellation policy applies. Please see our full cancellation timeframes below for more clarity. COVID-19 If a tour must be cancelled due to a COVID-19 lockdown by the provincial or federal government, deposits will be refunded. Cancellations within 7 days of the tour date will forfeit the deposit. If its on us : If for any reasons such as staff shortages or mechanical issues, which prevent us from providing the tour, deposits will be refunded. If its on you : We understand that plans change and things come up, and we honestly never want to keep a deposit for a tour we didn't provide, just try to be a sport and give us (and the wineries) enough time to find other guests to fill your spot if you need to cancel and it should be no problem. Our business operates on a very limited seasonal schedule, so when we have people cancel on short notice, it is very difficult for us to try and fill those seats, and ultimately we end up losing out on bookings that we could have had otherwise. For this reason, we have to enforce time limits on cancellations, we hope this is understandable. Many tour companies will charge 100% of the booking for short-notice cancellations (regardless of the day), so we think these timeframes are more than fair for this industry, be sure to read below for full clarity on the cancellation timelines. Thank you! Cancellation Refund Timeframes : Public Tours : 7 Days Before the Tour Private Tours : 7 Days Before the Tour Saturday Private Tours : 14 Days Before the Tour Groups of 15 or More : $150 is non-refundable, the remaining deposit amount is subject to the above terms.
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What types of payments are accepted?Deposits: When you book your tour, you will receive an invoice with payment details. You can pay your deposit via credit card right through the invoice. Alternatively, you can send an e-transfer to info@napanorthwinetours.com (contact us if you wish to pay via e-transfer). Paying the remaining balance: The remaining balance can be paid via credit card through your invoice, e-transfer or Cash/Card at the end of the tour. Your driver will have a mobile credit card payment system for you to use. If paying Cash, please note that your driver may not be able to provide change.
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Is lunch included? Or do I buy my own lunch?Our full-day tours will stop for lunch along the tour route (usually at a winery bistro), and your lunch is at your own expense. We think it's best to let you decide if or what you want to eat. Maybe you want a light snack? Maybe you want a hearty meal! It's your call. The bistros on our tours definitely have some fantastic food, you can't go wrong.
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Can I drink alcohol in the tour vehicle?No. Alcohol consumption in the tour vehicle is not allowed. If you purchase wine from a winery, we can store it in our air-conditioned vehicles throughout the day for you to enjoy after your tour.
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What time will I be picked up for my tour?Pick up times are usually around 10:00-10:30am for all tours. This time may change depending on where the tour group is departing from and the distance to the wine region being toured. If you are touring in the city that you are departing from, we often lean towards 10:30am. If the tour is quite far from where you are staying, and earlier pick-up time may be necessary.
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What time will the tour end?Drop-off times are generally around 4:30pm depending on the drop-off location of the guests on the tour. Half-day tours end at either 2:00pm or 6:30pm. These times are only estimates, and vary from tour to tour depending on where people are touring, and where they are being picked-up and dropped-off.
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Are gratuities included or added on to the price?Gratuities for your driver are welcomed, but are left to your discretion. We do not add mandatory gratuities to your tour price, we try to earn it! If you feel like you really enjoyed your tour and want to provide gratuity to the driver, it will be much appreciated. We also encourage guests that enjoyed their stay to Review Us on Google! We live in a review economy these days. As a small business, your positive review really helps us to be successful in the future. If for any reason you did not enjoy your tour, please let us know before leaving a negative review, we want to hear what we can do to make things right!
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Will we still tour if it is raining?Absolutely! We are rain or shine, the tour must go on! Much of the Wine Tasting and tours are easily moved entirely indoors. We have umbrellas in the tour van in the event it begins raining.
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What should I wear on the tour?Wine tour dress is casual and family friendly. Dress however you feel most comfortable. We do recommend a hat in the sun, as well as a light jacket or sweater in cooler weather or rain. Some parts of the tour will be outdoors, and there will be some walking. Comfortable shoes recommended.
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Can't I just drive myself on my own wine tour?Driving your own vehicle to wineries to taste wines can be a costly and dangerous decision. BC has extremely strict no-tolerance policies for drinking and driving. The winding single-lane mountain highways can also be treacherous for unfamiliar drivers. We always recommend having a designated driver. Let us get you there safely. Just sip back and relax!
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Am I required to buy any wine on the tour?No. There is no obligation to buy. However, many of the wines you will discover along the way cannot be found in most places, especially out-of-province. Some wines are actually only available right there at the winery. It's always nice to have a small "wine budget" for the tour in case you find something you really like. You may not be able to get it easily afterwards!
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Are wine tours available all year long?Generally, though some wineries operate all year long, many close or reduce their hours of operation for the winter months. Our primary operating months are April to early November.
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