Little Bus Tours - wine-tour-packages-affordable — Local services in Temecula

I was ready to propose to my girlfriend and I wanted to make sure it was a special moment we would both be able to cherish. So, I booked a private tour for us with a few close friends. It was FANTASTIC!

First, let’s talk about our amazing guide Penny. Her parents should have named her Diamond because she as an absolute GEM of a person! Penny took the time to answer all of my questions (of which I had several) and all of my phone calls (again, there were many) with the utmost courtesy and respect. She handled every detail and kept things going perfectly smooth from start to finish. She gave me the perfect plan to make sure the surprise went off without a hitch. Not only my surprise proposal…Penny helped us BOTH to surprise each other! A DOUBLE proposal that neither of us knew was coming. All this magic orchestrated by the phenomenal Penny, who also had to keep our boisterous friends on track throughout the tour, lol.

Now the tour. It was very nice and would have been wonderful even without the double surprise proposal shenanigans. We were taken to 3 different wineries:

South Coast Winery - great selection, good service, lots of lovely outdoor seating. We took home a bottle of Reisling and a bottle of Gewurztraminer. This winery would be a nice venue for various parties or events. It has a restaurant and hotel but we only explored the wine tasting area and outdoor spaces.

Mount Palomar - some of the best Port and Sherry you will find in CA. The outdoor bar and courtyard are great. The barrel room is gorgeous (that’s where the surprise proposal happened) and would be a great space for party with an atmosphere of rustic elegance. We didn’t have time to explore the outdoor ceremony/reception area but we did take home a bottle of that amazing Sherry.

Callaway Vineyard and Winery - incredible views, very large tasting room, excellent service, and plenty of varietals on offer. We were fairly tipsy by the time we got to this final stop on the tour but it was a lovely place to end the excursion. We took home a bottle of the Bella Rosé for our next brunch.

All in all, this winery tour is top notch. We had a fantastic guide, we were transported everywhere in a sleek Mercedes Sprinter Limo (which was basically an awesome party Limo-Van), we had more tasting tickets than we could possible use that day, and we spent time at 3 gorgeous wineries. 10000/10. Allll the stars for the folks at Little Bus tours, especially the...

First, the Little Bus Tours was delightful to interact with and accommodating, especially since everyone was late due to traffic issues. They gave us a complimentary prosecco to make up for it, which was nice.

We booked a Temecula Wine and Dine tour (2 wineries + live music w/dinner as the last stop) for a bachelorette. We were with other groups on the trolley bus (which has A/C, thank goodness), and we had a great time, especially since everyone lifted the vibe by dancing and playing music.

What bothered me most was having our dinner order wrong at the 3rd stop. We had 2 entrees missing (causing one person to wait for her food while the rest of the party ate), and we were charged for 3 entrees that we didn't preorder. We emailed Little Bus our preorders 3 days prior, and Little Bus placed the preorders to the restaurant. I don't know where the communication failed or who was at fault. But that led to a lot of confusion, and we had to call the restaurant the next day to get the entrees (which we did not order/eat) refunded.

In addition, when we finished our dinner, they came with a bill for the rest of the tour (because we only paid the deposit). However, the person did not specify that it was the bill for Little Bus instead of the dinner. It is a minor thing, but we were all intoxicated and confused about why our dinner would cost $750 on top of having our dinner orders wrong. It was very confusing to deal with when we were intoxicated, and I know that they didn't mean to, but it could come across as taking advantage of us in terms of overcharging us.

EDIT: The owner of Little Bus called me and took responsibility for the mishap I described above. She indicated that they usually ask for the rest of the bill for the tour at the beginning, but because of the traffic, they did not have time.

In addition, she refunded us the tip we paid for dinner even though it might have been the restaurant's fault our orders were wrong.

If anyone has an issue during the tour, speak to the owner directly; she will...

If you are looking for the best way to experience wine country, book a private tour with Little Bus Tours. I booked a private tour with Penny for my husband’s birthday and it was 1000% worth it, will definitely be doing it again and highly recommend. Penny our guide for the day was absolutely phenomenal in planning and coordinating every detail of the most perfect day. We really appreciate how she curated an intimate and personal custom itinerary for my husband and I at a handful of beautiful wineries we had never visited before. She was so sweet and personable, and we really enjoyed that she took the time to teach us about the wines and how to properly taste them. She was very knowledgeable about wine, the history of Temecula’s wine country, and seemed to know every single person at every winery. We felt like sommeliers by the end of the night haha! Being able to enjoy wine country at our own pace in a private setting without having to worry about making any plans or driving was such an amazing experience, and Penny was the cherry on top that made it all worthwhile. Thank you so much Penny for the most perfect day, we look forward to...