Roughly a third of our bookings these days are private tours, and the question we get most often is whether it’s worth the price difference.
The honest answer: not for everyone. Most groups of two-to-four are better served by joining a scheduled tour — you’ll meet other guests, the price-per-head is lower, and the social energy is usually higher.
The private tour is the right call when at least one of these is true:
You’ve got a mixed group
Birthdays, hens, bucks, and team off-sites usually have one or two non-drinkers, one fussy eater, one person who’s been to four breweries already, and one person who is having their first ever beer experience. A scheduled tour pitches to the median guest; a private tour pitches to your specific guest list.
We do this in a planning call before the day. Tell us who’s in, what they like and don’t, and what the trip is in service of. We’ll build the day around it.
You’ve got a date that doesn’t match our schedule
Our public tours run Friday through Sunday. If you’re in town for a Tuesday-Wednesday corporate retreat, a private tour is the only way to get the same brewery access — and we run them at the same flat rate mid-week.
You want to start or finish somewhere specific
Pickup from a hotel, drop-off at a restaurant, finishing at the airport, starting at a function venue — all easy on a private tour, none possible on the scheduled ones.
What you actually get
A 12-seat coach with a driver. A guide who runs the day. Brewery floor access at every stop. A base allowance for tasting pours. A pre-tour planning call. A printed run-sheet on the day.
Food and any additional drinks are billed separately on the day, usually directly to the venue. Most groups land between A$2,200 and A$2,800 all-in for twelve people.
What you don’t get
Photographers, costumes, novelty trophies, custom-printed beer mats, or chauffeured limos. We don’t run a “premium private” tier. The same coach, same guide, and same brewery network you’d get on a scheduled tour — just at your group’s pace, on your schedule.
If you want any of those add-ons, we can recommend specific Canberra event managers who do this for a living. Email private@canberrabrewerytours.com and we’ll make introductions.