Alsace Wine Route from Strasbourg: day tour or rental car?

The answer first. The Alsace Wine Route is more than 170 km long, from Marlenheim in the north to Thann in the south, according to Visit Alsace. A day gets you a selection, not the whole route. The real question from Strasbourg is how many villages you want and whether you plan to taste wine. If you do, someone has to drive sober, which is the main reason to book a tour with a driver. For most visitors we would book the half-day wine tour: four hours, two wineries, €130 per person, 4.8/5 from 388 reviews. Its guide speaks English only.

Half day or full day

• Half day, small group. The tour above leaves from the station square (8 Place de la Gare) in a minivan for up to eight people. It stops in Obernai and at a winery on the wine route, and includes tastings at two wineries. It needs at least two adults, and the booking page lists children under 18 and wheelchair users as unsuitable. It also notes that snacks are usually not served at tastings in France, so eat beforehand.
• Shorter, small group. The 3.5-hour wine tour takes up to five people in English, French or German and names round-trip transport, a visit and a tasting as included. It costs €98. Food and alcoholic drinks are not allowed in the vehicle.
• Villages and Mont Sainte-Odile. The four-hour tour to Obernai, Barr, Mittelbergheim and Mont Sainte-Odile is the tour for scenery. It is private, with pickup in Strasbourg, in English, French or German. The list of inclusions names only transport and the tour, but the description promises a cellar visit and tasting with a winemaker in Mittelbergheim, so ask the operator whether the tasting is in the price. The page lists people with motion sickness or pre-existing medical conditions as unsuitable. It costs €95.
• Full day by coach. The 10.5-hour tour with a winemaker tasting leaves the bus station at Place de l’Étoile with up to 16 people. It stops at Bergheim, Ribeauvillé, Hunawihr, a winery, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg and Eguisheim. The guide speaks only French; the audio guide is available in twelve languages including English, German and Italian. It costs €135 (4.8/5, 416 reviews). The tasting offers non-alcoholic drinks.
• Private day. The five-hour private wine tour with pickup in Strasbourg runs in English, French or German through Colmar, Sigolsheim and Riquewihr, with wine tastings in the cellars of the route, one of them in Rorschwihr. Although the tour is private (up to 16 people), the page quotes the price per person: €125.

A larger bus day that adds the castle is in our Colmar guide, where the villages and Colmar are compared with the train.

Without a tour

The train reaches some of the route. Obernai and Barr lie on the regional line from Strasbourg to Sélestat, and Obernai’s station is 500 m from the town centre, according to the Obernai tourist office. Riquewihr, Eguisheim and Kaysersberg are not on that line, so check the connections on the regional rail site before you plan a car-free day there.

When a rental car makes sense

A car gives you the freedom to stay as long as you like in a village and to skip the rest. It works if you are not tasting, or if one person stays sober. Even by car, a day covers a selection of villages, not the whole route. If you want to compare prices, you can compare rental cars for Strasbourg. Read the excess and fuel terms on the supplier’s page before you book.

Before you book

Check the language: the coach guide speaks French, the half-day wine tour runs in English only, and the 3.5-hour, Mont Sainte-Odile and private tours offer English, French or German. Check the age limit if you are travelling with children, since two of the tastings exclude them. And if you want only a taste, there is a 30-minute tasting of four Alsace wines in the city centre at €35, not suitable for children under 18. More options are under Alsace day trips and food and wine tours.

Our recommendation

Take the half-day tour for a first taste and a safe drive home. Choose the coach if you want the famous villages and speak French or can use the audio guide. Rent a car only if you will not be tasting, or you have a designated driver.