So how does one choose between the beer and chocolate tour, not enough time for both? How would we find out the specific locations of private gardens open to the public?

Do we need to make advance reservations for dinner in Dunedin before we leave from the US? Are there some special restaurants we should consider?

I would think that you would be able to fit in both the chocolate factory and brewery tour in one day. The Cadbury factory tour is 45min-60min and they run them every 15-30min from 9am-5pm. It is very flexible and no need to prebook. Not sure about the brewery tour times but with one company being so flexible I imagine that it shouldn't be an issue.

The only restaurant that we stopped at was more of a pub/sports bar located in the OCtagon called the Terrace. We watched the Superbowl there and had the stonegrill chicken & steak which was great. No need for reservations

So glad to know we will have time for both tours. With only one day in Dunedin, we need to cram in as much as possible and leave the afternoon for getting out to the pennisiula to see wildlife. We hope to get to the botanic gardens . Is there anything else we should add to the list of must-sees? Stone grilled chicken sounds delicious.

We did the Speights tour. It was OK. It lasts more than an hour, especially with the tasting at the end. BTW, there is a combination ticket listed for that and Cadbury, but it doesn't say how much.

http://www.travelplanner.co.nz/activ...ss=5%7C8%7C%20

JED--Since I don't drink beer and allergic to chocolate, I can't say I am eager to spend time on both tours. I am the planner of our group of 6 people (3 couples) so I will give out the information. Thanks for the link to the website. You are right, is does list "beer and chocolate" but doesn't give any other details. I guess we'll wait until we arrive to ask.

There should be a brochure with list of open gardens at the visitor center (and probably at your hotel). I found the following website for the 2005 festival, I imagine there will be one put up for the 2006 as the time nears.

http://www.rhododunedin.com/