PRIVATE 2 DAY DAYLESFORD AND MACEDON RANGES
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Embark on the ultimate culinary escape from Melbourne with our exclusive two-day food and wine trail through the breathtaking Macedon Ranges and Daylesford. 🍷 Designed for passionate food lovers, this intimate journey promises a feast for the senses as you gather premium local produce and dine at award-winning regional restaurants.
Day 1: Organic Farms, Fine Dining & Luxury Lodgings
Your journey begins with a morning pickup from your Melbourne hotel or Federation Square. You will be gifted a complimentary cool bag to gather gourmet treasures as we travel through this world-famous food bowl. Our first stop is a working organic farm nestled in the foothills of the Macedon Ranges, followed by a relaxing coffee in a picturesque township and panoramic views from the Mt Macedon Memorial Cross.
Next, we visit the beautiful Hanging Rock Winery to sample award-winning cool-climate wines while taking in stunning views of Hanging Rock. We then head to the historic town of Kyneton to explore the famous Piper Street food precinct—the perfect place to fill your cool bag with fresh local produce. Here, you will enjoy a spectacular lunch at Kyneton’s premier Chef’s Hat restaurant, established by renowned local chef Annie Smithers.
In the afternoon, we travel to Daylesford, famous for its mineral waters and artisan culture. We visit Herbal Lore for a generous tasting of world-renowned herbal liqueurs, chocolates, and liqueur fruits, accompanied by an entertaining talk on their creation. 🍫
For your overnight stay, choose between two exceptional options:
- The Lake House (5-Star): An iconic destination and member of the ‘Luxury Lodges of Australia’. Relax in a beautiful waterfront room, indulge in a 3-course dinner at Alla Wolf-Tasker’s legendary 2 Chef’s Hat restaurant, and wake up to a full country breakfast.
- Frangos and Frangos (4-Star): Located in the heart of Daylesford. Enjoy a superb dinner at the acclaimed Mercato restaurant, highlighting fresh local produce, before retiring to your stylish room.
Day 2: Artisanal Tastings & Historic Bakeries
After a leisurely breakfast, we visit O’Tooles Honey to meet local identity Des O’Toole and sample his delicious honey. A short drive brings us to the hamlet of Musk, where we taste premium wines at Passing Clouds vineyard and sample high-quality cured meats at the family-owned Istra Smallgoods.
We also visit the Daylesford Cidery, where the owners will guide you through their vast orchard of over 1,500 vintage apple trees and offer tastings of their signature craft ciders. 🍎
For lunch, we stop in Trentham, a hidden gem of the Central Highlands. Explore the town before enjoying a private tour and lunch at the famous Red Beard Bakery, renowned for its organic sourdough bread baked in historic scotch ovens. Our final stop is the peaceful Garden of St Erth in Blackwood, where you can wander the secluded gardens and browse the Diggers shop. We then return to Melbourne through the beautiful Wombat State Forest, arriving back at approximately 6:00 pm.
Tour Inclusions
- Luxury small-group touring (maximum 8 passengers)
- Overnight accommodation (5-star Lake House with 3-course dinner, or 4-star Frangos and Frangos with dinner at Mercato)
- Fully cooked breakfast
- Gourmet restaurant lunch on Piper Street, Kyneton
- Lunch and tour at the historic Red Beard Bakery
- Two premium winery tastings
- Exclusive tastings at Herbal Lore, Daylesford Cidery, Istra Smallgoods, and O’Tooles Honey
- Visit to the beautiful Garden of St Erth
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Glen picked us up at our hotel and we were lucky enough to be the only couple booked that day so got a private tour! Unfortunately there was torrential rain and fog on day one, which disrupted our views, however Glen still managed to time our stops/adjust around the weather to make it an enjoyable day nonetheless. We tried to have a sense of humour about it and he even took us to a craft beer tasting as an alternative activity.
Spectacular dinner at Chris' and simple but decent cottage accommodation.
Did our rain forest walk in the morning and Day 2 was much better weather Glen made sure we had lots of time wherever we wanted to spend it; and we had spectacular views of the 12 apostles and coastline.
We highly recommend this tour to those looking for a more personal experience and a relaxed pace. Glen was an extremely knowledgeable and easy-going guide, and a very safe driver. (Someone in another review mentioned long silences but we appreciated having some quiet time vs having someone talking non-stop for 8-9 hours. ) The choices for meal stops were excellent and the mini-van was comfortable for the long days in the car. Thanks again for a great experience!
Pros: Hotel pickup; great communication; reasonable pricing; well planned itinerary; some hidden, special treats; wildlife, amazing views, fantastic dinner; lovely rest stops; small group; personal guide who is respectful and caring.
Cons: Uncomfortable van seats; long periods of silence (To explain further, I'm loquacious and I like tidbits of information as part of my tours. Glen, our guide is reserved, he offered interesting info at stops, but seldom spoke unless a specific question was asked, and no music or background noise to break the silence, this made day one very long and somewhat boring) We rode back with Eddie who was much more jovial and talkative, a better fit for our personalities; terrible accommodation selection - yes, great views but tired, old, dusty and unkept).










