Ensenada Shore Excursion: Vin och osttur med lunch i Ojos Negros Valley

Great trip! The wine tasting was so good and we really enjoyed the cheese cave tasting and lunch as well. Very unique and fun excursion. Heads up that’s it’s over an hour drive to the first stop but totally worth it.

This was an amazing wine and cheese tour. It was like visiting Napa 50 years ago!! The wine was spectacular and the vineyards beautiful and isolated. No crowds, no selling or pressure. We got off the cruise and our driver was calling us directly so TURN ON YOUR SERVICE! Peoples other post was about getting lost. You can’t just ask the guards and follow people out the port. First we went to margarita museum at our request. Really cool history. Then 1 hour drive into the country . This was spectacular in April, scenic views. What Southern California looked like before all the development. Then 1 hour tasting at winery. We were all by ourselves and could ask the owner a million questions and hear about their awards. Then off to cheese farm. Really neat cheese cave and tour. The lunch was super filling and more vino!! The staff was so friendly. Our driver was hilarious. Taught us all about Ensenada history. We loved this tour. Relaxing, authenticity, felt so chill compared to California wine tours! Highly recommended!!

The event was a boring and tedious experience. The guide person spoke in a monotone mode that made it hard to understand. The food was poor, we just got a piece of mushroom with cheese over it and the wait was too much. I was very disappointed with this event. Luckily the driver was great and made our time a bit better by keeping us engage in conversation during the transportation time.

We could not find our guide! The directions were tough- said to pass shops & look for a sign. Had no idea we had to pass through many tour busses to an isolated shopping area! Missed the tour!

A fair amount of miscommuication - advertised pickup and drop off at cruise terminal including picture of the building where to meet - that was changed to a pickup/drop off location 1/2 mile away. We also were told by the Cheese Tour that we were 30 minutes late but didn't have any notice of that during the first part of the trip and we were limited to what we could see. The first portion - the wine tasting was very very nice! It was close to town and the contact at the winery was splendid. Our driver was very pleasant but the overall company needs to improve.

Everything was wonderful. Our tour guide contacted us (via email and whatsapp) the day before to suggest a time change since it was Sunday. On the morning, we were a little confused where to meet, but we found them with a sign with my name (you walk all the way past the security gates and there is a small parking area near the bridge where they were waiting). Hazzel, our guide, and Arturo, our driver, were both wonderful. Hazzel gave us a ton of history of the city as we drove. The first place they suggested was swarmed by a large tour group coming off the cruise ship, so she offered to take us somewhere else if we didn't want to be with the crowds. We said yes, anywhere was fine, we just wanted good wine. So while we got a delicious cup of coffee, they called around and took us to an adorable tasting room just outside of the downtown, called Madera 5. The wine was very good, and we had the place to ourselves. Next we went to the cheese cave in Ojos Negros. Once we started into the mountains, Arturo pulled off the highway so we could see the city from the hilltop and take pictures. Our tour guide at the farm, Effrian, was very funny, and the farm was beautiful. We got to see the cows, pet the newborn calves, and taste homemade ice cream! The tasting in the cheese cave was beautiful: wine, bread, fig preserves, and six different cheeses. Lunch was outside on picnic tables (they did offer to seat us inside, but the weather was so nice). We do not eat meat, so we had pasta, quesadillas, and Portobello mushrooms. The pasta may have been the best pasta I've ever eaten in my life. Lunch also included another glass of wine or beer from a local brewery. We were absolutely stuffed. We let them know what time we had to be back on the ship, and they got us back right in time. It was a great experience that I highly recommend.

Rafael the tour owner and Arturo the driver were so welcoming and caring. Arturo the driver was exceptionally. He tried all the way to communicate in English with my husband. The entire drive was fun telling stories and experiences. He was awesome. We want to come back and hire him as our transaction. Now on the Cava de Quesos where we did the cheese tasting and the supposed lunch... was horrible experience. The first part of the tour I nicely mentioned the girl if she could please incorporate some English for my husband to understand and she didn't say yes or no she just walked away.... such an odd girl. The next part of the tour the girl was very friendly and sweet. No complaints about her. At the end of the tour our driver was waiting for us he mentioned now is good time. You guys can pick anything from the menu it's already included with the tour. We sat down at a table and soon a kid from Cheese place brought us menus and after that an hour later literally NOBODY not even the guy that kept checking the table next to us every 3 minutes.. nobody came to ask what we wanted to eat, drink nothing, 0 eye contact. I'm so disappointed that everyone in that place was taking care of right away expect us. I'm disgusted and disappointed about these people and I'm never coming back to Cava de Quesos or recommend it to anyone I know. Now we still got our lunch somewhere else. Arturo took good care of us and gave us many options to where to eat but we wanted to try to good quesatacos so he took us to CORA and it was amazing! I give 5 stars to the driver and the first winery we had the wine tasting and I give Cava de Quesos 0 stars. Again Thank you Arturo for a fantastic time.

The wine tasting was great. The staff was very knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. The cheese cave was something like we'd never seen before. The tour was fun and informative and the cheese was amazing. We would definitely go back. The most amazing part of the trip though had to have been our guide and driver. Fernando is likely the best host I've ever had on a tour. He was fun to talk to, provided a wealth of knowledge, and was willing to do whatever he could to make the excursion as enjoyable as possible. Our driver, Ricardo, was fantastic as well. Got us to the winery and cave safely and efficiently and also made the excursion fun for the whole family. I would recommend this to anyone visiting Ensenada. Don't be afraid to book outside of the cruise line. This was as safe as I have ever felt on an excursion and way more fun and customizable than the shore excursions that the cruise lines offer. Great value for the money as well.

Rafael runs a top tier tour company. Our host for the day, Ricardo, was the best we’ve experienced. His intimate knowledge of the city and in particular the wine country made our tour like no other. Ricardo treated us to several gems of the area. Santo Tomas Vineyard, the oldest and probably finest winery in Mexico. There we enjoyed wine tastings paired with chocolates, a guided tour of the facility and a video presentation about the entire operation. The grounds here are gorgeous and the tasting room is very nice On to our next adventure for the day, a small family dairy operation. Here they milk the cows and make fresh cheese daily. A tradition that has been handed down for generations. We were taken into the cheese making room and treated to fresh made cheese. This cheese is available in select restaurants and markets in Ensenada. Rocio was our host here and she was most gracious. Next we were treated to lunch at one of Valle de Guadalupe’s finer restaurants, Meson Leonardo’s. Unless you have a ridiculously huge appetite you’ll want to share entrees here. We had carne asada and an order of chilaquiles. We finished off our lunch with a delicious slice of apple pie. Afterwards at our request Ricardo took us back to Ensenada. He took the scenic route and continued sharing history and notable points of interest with us. Finally he dropped us at Hussong’s where we had a cold beer before going back to the cruise ship.