When visiting within 50 miles of the Soo, get yourself to the Twilight Walking Tours. Do not pass…read morethe city, do not collect dinner or luggage. All you need is your camera and, at the height of summer, pre-purchased tickets if you don't show up early. The Coulings run a brilliant walking tour of the historic downtown core of Sault Ste. Marie on the US side. Unlike the typical historical or architectural tour, they blend spooky ghost stories with folk songs and brilliant anecdotes that only a couple deeply passionate about the Upper Peninsula could conjure. They are excellent storytellers with rich personal histories and backgrounds -- like serving on tall ships -- which brings their tales and yarns alive. Groups twist through the backways and side roads of the city, stopping at restaurants and bookstores while learning about the speakeasies, smugglers, and seedier underbelly of the city. Much attention is placed around the Prohibition and Depression, although ghost stories stretch back as long as settlers fought their way down St. Mary's River. Stop at one of the many restaurants on the way back or snag a few souvenirs in the shops you pass when the tour is done. On a beautiful, starry night, there's little which compares to the city's regal, lovely appearance as embellished by a pair of incredibly gifted storytellers. The walking tour is suitable for older children and the elderly, though it covers a fair amount of ground in the city center. The stories are not heartstoppingly spooktacular, though certain alleyways and basements will leave descriptive images implanted in your memory for weeks to come.

My wife and I recently visited Traverse City for vacation and wanted to learn more about ghost…read morestories/history of Michigan. We signed up for a Twilight Walking Tour led by the Coulings and were blown away by the amount of details that was put into the tales. They did an excellent job making the stories come alive and made it very entertaining. We recommend this tour group to anyone!

Great time with fun facts at the turn around. The history was enlightening…read more Do in the morning as summer are hot!

Staff are friendly and knowledgable. The ride was fairly easy. Tracks have heavy weeds in many…read moreplaces. We paid for a motor assist, but it didn't work either way because the chain fell off. The staff fixed it at the half-way turnaround point, but it fell off again. If you are on the fence, might not be worth the extra money to get a motor assist.

TERRI IS THE BEST!!! We had such a fun time with her and she kept us organized. Even the…read morebooking/rescheduling process beforehand was made easy

We have used them for many years and will continue to use them. They have exceptional service and…read morealways happy to assist in our craziest of ideas. Their staff is top notch and always courteous and helpful. I would 1000% recommend them for any of your needs in the Traverse City area.

Had a wonderful day visiting wineries with Shannon in her VW Buzz. Her well planned itinerary as…read morewell as her attention to details made for a perfect day.

This was our fourth wine tour with Mike, and somehow each one keeps getting better. This trip was…read moreespecially memorable because we got engaged, and Mike helped make the whole day go off without a hitch. He made sure we had an awesome experience at every winery leading up to the proposal. Mike is always fun, knowledgeable, and makes every tour feel effortless. We know we're in for a great day every time we book with him. If you're thinking about doing a wine tour, stop looking and book with Mike--you won't regret it.

What a great time we had with Cowboy Mike! There were 2 of us and we were paired with 2 more. We…read moreended up stopping at wineries and even had time to have lunch and go to a distillery. What a great day and kudos to Mike for pulling it all together for us. To top it all off we rode in the coolest ride in traverse (we were rock stars for the day)!!

Lake N' Pines Lodge was the choice after hours spent looking at spots to stay near Traverse City…read more My girlfriend has a great track record picking good places, and she did not disappoint this time. We were welcomed to LNP by the couple who own the small lodge. We stayed on the second floor of the guest house, with a deck looking out onto the water. The rooms were clean and comfortable, with a calming, woodsy decor, and a lot of thought put into the details. The owners had left us a couple sodas in the fridge, and lots of nice soaps and stuff in the bathroom. They invited us to canoe on the lake, but I really wanted a nap after the drive in from Chicago, and my girlfriend found the hundreds of channels on TV. We filled out a menu card, and breakfast was brought up to our room in the morning. It was a really treat, and for guests like us who would rather eat a private breakfast, the best accommodation a B&B could make. The location was super close to Traverse City and the National Park, but also set off plenty, on back roads. Interlochen reminded me of the north woods of Wisconsin, and is home to a major NPR station. The stay at Lake N' Pines Lodge really put me at ease.

Dave and Melanie were wonderful hosts and graciously accommodating. We stayed in the Angler's Nook,…read moreright outside the main house. Since we wouldn't be getting in until close to midnight, we pre-arranged our check-in and had a cute welcome letter and breakfast card waiting at our arrival. This was our first B&B experience and it was the little touches that will have us coming back. There were complimentary bottles of water and soda in the fridge. The kitchen had several amenities such as: pots, pans, utensils, and even spices. So if you wanted to, you could prepare all your meals on site. We were here for a wedding, so we did not utilize this feature, but worth noting. Room service was complimentary every morning and the options for breakfast were expansive and delicious. I had the blueberry pancakes the first morning and eggs, bagel, and sweet potatoes the next. Both were served with Coffee and OJ and seriously good! The room itself was the perfect size for two people, but had a hideaway bed, that could sleep two additional people. The decor was what you would expect of a northern Michigan fish town, log furniture and a touch of kitsch. Outside, we had our own mini-deck, table and chairs.There was a decent sized flatscreen in our room with over 100 channels a DVD player. We just channel surfed in between our trip excursions, but they even had a new selection of movies in the main house that could be borrowed. The location is what really cemented our appreciation for this place. It is far enough off the beaten trail that nature overtakes the sound of motorists. There is an on-sight dock with complimentary boats, kayaks, and canoes that can be taken out. It is absolutely beautiful. Here you are halfway between Benzonia and Traverse City, which we found particular ideal. My only gripe was that the bedding and towels were both musty upon arrival. I am sure that our hosts would have taken care of it right away had we said something, but we were exhausted and it wasn't worth the hassle. This aside, it was still a great and hospitable place to stay. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area.

We have been booking with Grand Traverse Tours for over 10 years now. The owner, Greg, is…read morewonderful. He is friendly, helpful, and accommodating. We know the wineries, and he set up times and booked reservations as needed. If you are not familiar, he can book an itinerary based on your group preferences. This year, we had Don as our driver, and he was great. The right balance of friendly, without being annoying. He took photos for us, gave us reminders as needed, and most importantly, got us safely where we needed to be. Be safe during your TC trip, and get a tour with GT tours.

AFFORDABLE 5-STAR EXPERIENCE! When my wife and I first visited the TC wineries several years ago…read morewe were happy to drive ourselves because it was just the two of us. But we quickly noticed there was a premium tour experience available through Grand Traverse Tours. Their shiny and clean premium vehicles were always parked right at the entrance and their groups were being guided past the lines we stood in by their guide and driver. We knew then that when we returned we would want to be a part of their VIP experience, and that we would want to bring friends with us to enjoy it. INITIAL CONTACT: After reviewing their easy to navigate and well organized homepage we completed an online reservation request. We received a prompt and timely response to confirm availability and were directed to call at our convenience to make a specific reservation. I spoke with the owner Greg and he is terrific to work with. He was happy to answer all of my questions in an unhurried and no pressure manner. His guidance when creating our custom itinerary was much appreciated as he helped us to narrow down the very many choices there are to make sure we found the right tour for our group - which we most certainly did. COST: We were presently surprised to discover that the cost of their tours is very competitive to the more average experiences. In fact, with as few as 6 people we were actually ahead financially and of course enjoyed the VIP experience to boot. DRIVER / GUIDE: Todd arrived early, was professionally dressed, and most pleasant to be around. He knew the wineries as well as you would expect and was happy to share his insights with us. He called the day before to introduce himself as well as the morning of our event just to make sure all was well. He was always there when you needed him and never hard to find. His presence definitely elevated our experience. THE VEHICLE: Our group has all been in similar domestically produced vehicles by Ford and GM and such at one time or another so we were all expecting the ride to be like that of a school bus or airport shuttle - bumpy, noisy, and just adequately comfortable. We were pleasantly surprised by the ride quality and comfort of their Mercedes-Benz A-Style Limousine which rivaled that of the MB sedans - no kidding. It was like gliding on a magic carpet, members of our group made several comments in this regard, myself included. THE VIP EXPERIENCE: As we anticipated our group was dropped and picked up right at the entrance and Todd walked us in and guided us to the front of the lines at each stop. Checking in was effortless and quick. We never felt rushed and our pace was relaxing and fun. SUMMARY: We can hardly wait to return to Traverse City, and when we do we will of course be calling Grand Traverse Tours to help elevate our experience once again.

DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM! I absolutely hate writing negative reviews, however, our experience with…read moreDesignated Driver has been incredibly disappointing. We booked a few months in advance and received confirmation a few weeks before. Only three days before our trip we were notified BY TEXT that they had to cancel our reservation. Our reservation was on a a Saturday, so we were scrambling to find another service to take us to multiple wineries. Not only did this company leave us high and dry, they didn't return any of our text messages. Please save yourself from our nightmare and find a different company to book with for your visit to Traverse.

Wow! We had an amazing time with Mike T. Had a great time at all of the Staff picks on Leelanau…read morepenisula. Our favorite was Brengman Brothers. So nice and bucolic. I would book with Mike T again in a heartbeat!