I’ve wanted to go on the Magic Winery Bus Tour for years. A drive through the beautiful Annapolis Valley compete with a double-decker bus that picks you up and drops you off at various wineries….what’s not to love! This spring when tickets came on sale, I sent a message to my girlfriends and asked who wanted to go. Through some emailing and date selection, we narrowed it down to a Saturday in September and bought our tickets. Nine of us drove to Wolfville and began our Magic Winery Bus adventure! Start the car…I mean…bus! 😉

The Wolfville Magic Winery Bus is a classic British double-decker. It’s a hop on-hop off excursion that visits five different local wineries. The bus continues on in a 1-hour loop all day, so you know when to expect it. The bus stops at Lightfoot and Wolfville, Domaine De Grand Pre, Luckett Vineyards, L’Acadie Vineyards and Gaspereau Vineyards.

Each tour of the wineries are different, touching on the land, the growing of the grapes, the wine making process, wine tasting, etc. It’s a tremendous learning opportunity and education!  Each winery has staff that welcome the bus passengers and then proceeds with the tour and tasting. This is an experience…and a fun one!

7 Things to Consider Before You Go on the Magic Winery Bus

It’s a long day if you do all the stops and you want to be prepared and plan accordingly. I asked my girlfriends for any tips and they shared some great ideas. Definitely helpful if you are going for the first time.

Avoid Saturday if you prefer a less busy day

Saturdays sell out FAST, especially if you have a larger group. I checked the calendar when writing this, and Saturdays are sold out for the rest of this season. They operate Thursday-Sunday and I would suggest the Thursday/Friday days are probably less busy. One of my girlfriends said she went previously with a small group on a Friday and it was a much different experience. Depending on time of year, my guess is Saturday is the busiest day.

They tell you in the beginning, they have to “double back” if the bus is too full. (You can start the tour at various times) On sold-out days I can see how easily double backs happen. We had a larger group and obviously wanted to stay together, so we actually sat through 2 double backs, which was a tiny bit unfortunate. However, as they say…what’s the worst…you spend more time at a winery. 😉

Arrange for a drive or cab to pick you up

If everyone in your group is taking part, you should make arrangements for pick up. We were all fully enjoying the winery tour experience by noon and glad we had a plan. 😉 There seems to be a lot of cabs in the Wolfville area and I spotted several by the bus drop off when we returned.

Drink water throughout the day/ bring sunscreen and a hat

Most of us opted out of bringing our water bottles because we heard they had water at the wineries. They do, but if you go on a busy day, it can be hard to find it or get to it. Having our own water bottles would have been helpful. Likewise, it was a very warm September day and we were applying sunscreen throughout the day. You spend most of the day outdoors and while there are some shady areas and obviously some time inside the wineries, there are many other times when you are out in the elements. Sunscreen, and likewise a hat, are good ideas, depending on the weather.

Plan a 2 hour stop for lunch

The Magic Winery Bus changes directions, so if you went more than once, there may be a different starting point. If you get on the 10:30am bus, you have time to visit all 5 wineries and stay at one for a 2 hour visit which could include lunch. We started our day at the stunning Lightfoot and Wolfville and due to some quick-moving by one of the girls, managed to order some delicious wood-fired pizza, which we enjoyed as a light snack. We later on, stayed at Luckett’s Vineyards for 2 hours which included a lovely and delicious lunch.

If you are travelling in a group, especially on a busy day, tell them you’ll only need one bill, then just divide it up after the trip. It makes it much easier for the staff and quicker for them to finish your service, so you can be ready to catch the next bus. 🙂

Take advantage of specials

After the complimentary wine tasting, many of the wineries offered other tastings, you could purchase for a small price. Often those were combined with a “Buy 2 bottles and get an extra tasting for free” special.  A great way to pick up a bottle for yourself and one for a hostess or holiday gift. They do give you a really nice Magic Winery Bus carrying bag that will hold 6 bottles, but you do need to carry that with you throughout the day.

Go with a group

This is a personal choice, but most people seemed to be in groups. Definitely a fun experience to do with others. We went as a group of girlfriends, but we chatted about going back to some of the wineries for a lunch or dinner with our spouses/partners. You could easily do this tour several times, with different people and enjoy it just as much.

Have fun!

This one is a given, but enjoy yourself!  The valley is stunning anytime of the year and I was in awe of the tourism boom they have created with a relatively new industry, It’s incredible!  I would recommend visiting all 5 wineries, soak up all you can about each one and the fact that Nova Scotia is becoming such a player in the winery market. Go with friends, take photos, buy some wine, have lunch, and enjoy a truly magical day. The Magic Winery Bus is definitely something you want to experience.

After all these years of wanting to go on the Magic Winery Bus, it did not disappoint. We made a weekend out of it, rented an Airbnb, stayed overnight and went for brunch the next morning. It was a perfect weekend filled with good friends, laughs and lots of Nova Scotia wine…what could be better. 🙂

Have you been on the Magic Winery Bus? What was your favourite winery? Any tips to share that we didn’t think of?