Hunter Valley over Christmas and New Year: double demerits, holiday dates and a tasting day without the car

Plan a Hunter Valley tasting day over Christmas and New Year as a day nobody in your group drives. According to the NRMA, double demerits apply in NSW and the ACT for eleven days, 24 December 2026 to 3 January 2027. They cover speeding, illegal mobile phone use, seatbelt offences and motorcycle helmet offences, and the section on double demerits below explains exactly what doubles.

Now set those eleven days against the NSW public holidays. By our count, seven of the eleven are public holidays or weekends:

• Christmas Day, Friday 25 December
• Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December
• Sunday 27 December
• The Additional Day, Monday 28 December
• New Year's Day, Friday 1 January
• Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 January

That leaves four ordinary weekdays: Thursday 24 December, and Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December.

All eleven days sit inside the NSW summer school holidays, Friday 18 December 2026 to Wednesday 27 January 2027. Put plainly, the days most people have free over the break are double-demerit days. That's why our advice at HV Tours for this break is short: book the tasting, and leave the car parked.

Which dates matter over the Christmas break?

Term 4 ends Thursday 17 December, and the Eastern division summer holidays start Friday 18 December. Six days later the double-demerit period begins.

The NRMA says they apply for the whole of the start date and end at midnight on the finish date. That means all of 24 December and all of 3 January count. These dates come from the NRMA, so check the Transport for NSW double-demerits page before you travel.

The Additional Day public holiday on Monday 28 December exists because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday. Public holidays can shift opening hours, so confirm each cellar door or restaurant on your list for the day you're going.

One closure is fixed: Hunter Valley Gardens and the lights are closed 25 December, day and night. There's more on that further down.

Are there double demerits over Christmas in NSW?

Yes, for the eleven days above, on the NRMA's dates. The offences that attract double points are speeding, illegal mobile phone use, seatbelt offences and motorcycle helmet offences.

A common mistake is to think the fine doubles as well, but only the points double, not the fine.

Speeding is the one we'd watch on a day of short hops between cellar doors. Speeding offences with demerit penalties are subject to double demerits. For a serious speeding offence, more than 45km/h over, police can suspend a licence at the roadside.

How many demerit points can you lose before a suspension?

Demerit limits are 13 points for an unrestricted licence and 14 for professional drivers. Provisional P2 is 7, P1 is 4 and learner is 4. Learner and P1 drivers have the least room.

Many people assume points hit the record on the day of the offence, but they are added when the fine is paid, when Revenue NSW enforces it, or when a court convicts.

The window is long, too. Offences older than 40 months aren't counted toward a suspension, so points from a summer trip can sit on your record for years.

Do double demerits apply if you're visiting from interstate?

Only NSW, the ACT and WA use double demerits in holiday periods. They don't apply in Vic, SA, Tas or NT, and Queensland doubles points only for repeat offences within 12 months.

If you're driving up from one of those states, the rule may be new to you. On NSW roads over this break, it applies.

If you hold a NSW licence, crossing a border doesn't help either. Demerit points can be accrued driving anywhere in Australia, and an offence committed outside NSW can still add its NSW points to your licence.

How do I get home from a winery without driving?

Start with the limits:

• The BAC limit is under 0.05 for a full licence and 0 for L, P1 and P2.
• Drivers of public passenger vehicles (buses, coaches, taxis, rideshare, chauffeur-driven hire cars) are held to under 0.02.

Then the harder part. Counting your tastings won't tell you where you stand, because you can't reliably judge your own BAC: size, weight, tiredness and serving sizes all affect it. In the NSW Government's words, "the only way to be sure you're under the limit is to not drink alcohol at all".

A tasting day is a string of small pours at several venues. That makes it about the hardest day there is to keep count of.

Police can random breath-test any driver at any time, and refusing is an offence. That covers the drive back from lunch as much as the drive home after dinner.

So take the driving out of the day. Two plans work:

• A designated driver who doesn't drink at all. Agree on who it is before anyone pours a glass.
• A pre-booked tour with a driver. HV Tours runs small group tours and private tours through Pokolbin, Lovedale and Cessnock. Our guide on how to book private wine tours in the Hunter Valley walks through the private option.

Is Hunter Valley Gardens open on Christmas Day?

No. The Gardens and the lights are closed 25 December, day and night. The Christmas Lights Spectacular runs Fri 30 October 2026 to Sun 31 January 2027, so for any other night of the break, check the Gardens' page for the date you want.

If you pair a tasting day with the lights, plan around the gap:

• Day hours are 9am to 4:30pm.
• The lights run 5:30pm to 10:30pm, with last entry 9:30pm.
• Everyone, including Day/Night ticket holders, must exit between 4:30pm and 5:30pm.

Alcohol and soft drinks can't be brought in, only sealed bottled water. The Evergreen Tavern bar is open 5:30pm to 10pm.

We've already covered choosing a Night-only or Day/Night ticket and how to finish a tasting day under the lights. If the kids are coming, see our family-friendly wine experiences.

For Christmas Day itself, Visit NSW lists Christmas Day lunches on 25 Dec at Circa 1876, éRemo and Botanica in Pokolbin. Book and confirm the details directly with the venue.

If you had a winery picnic in mind instead, note that Bimbadgen picnics aren't available on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day, and bookings need 48 hours' notice.

What should you book now for New Year's Eve?

Thursday 31 December falls in the middle of the double-demerit dates, and it's a night built around a drink.

Dinner is the usual plan. Bimbadgen lists a New Year's Eve Dinner at Esca Restaurant on 31 Dec 2026, as one example. Whatever the venue, arrange the way home on the same day you book the table, not on the night.

If the plan is a tasting by day and dinner at night, everything in the BAC section above applies twice.

The holiday rules at a glance

Save this one to your phone. It holds the dates, the limits and the one closure in a single picture, each with its source.

Planning a tasting day over the break with HV Tours

HV Tours has run small group, private, couples and wheelchair-accessible wine tasting tours through Pokolbin, Lovedale and Cessnock since 2015. If someone in your group uses a wheelchair, our accessible wine tours use a hydraulic-lift minibus.

Your next step is simple. Pick the day, count heads, then send us an enquiry or call 0456 737 888 and ask what's open that week. Pickup and booking questions are answered in our FAQs.

Sources

• https://www.mynrma.com.au/open-road/advice-and-how-to/driving/double-demerits
• https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/driving-nsw/demerits-penalties-and-offences/how-demerit-points-work
• https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/driving-nsw/demerits-penalties-and-offences/offences/speeding-offences-and-penalties
• https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/driving-nsw/roads-safety-and-rules/safe-driving/alcohol-and-drugs
• https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/public-holidays
• https://www.nsw.gov.au/about-nsw/school-holidays
• https://www.huntervalleygardens.com.au/christmas-lights-spectacular-faqs/
• https://www.bimbadgen.com.au/events/
• https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/hunter/hunter-valley/pokolbin/events

Pictures in this guide are illustrations, not photos of our jobs.