Choosing a Colmar Wine Tour: Half Day, Full Day, Private or One Cellar
This guide settles the first choice you make before a wine day out of Colmar: the format. A half day, a full day, a private car and a single cellar each buy a different day, and the fare tells you less than you think. Compare them here, then book your Alsace wine route tour from Colmar.
What does a half day cover?
Three to four hours, two or three villages, and on most runs a tasting. The ICONICS half day from Alsace Safari is the clearest example. It leaves 6 Rue Turenne in Little Venice at 1:45pm and gives you 30 minutes in Hunawihr, an hour in Riquewihr and an hour at a winery with the tasting in the fare. You are back at the kerb around 5:30pm.
The Ophorus half-day wine tour swaps villages for cellars. It pours at two family wineries in four hours from the CGR cinema, and it is for adults only. The Ophorus villages half day does the opposite: Kaysersberg and Riquewihr with a guide, at 9:00am or 2:00pm, and no tasting at all.
A half day suits you if you have one free morning or afternoon, or want the other half of your day for Colmar's museums. It gives each village an hour or less, and it does not reach the castle. Our ICONICS page walks through that run stop by stop, and the half-day wine tours from Colmar page sets every short option side by side.
What does a full day add?
A third tasting, a fourth village and a lunch stop. The Ophorus full day leaves the CGR cinema at 9:30am for eight hours and pours at three wineries in three villages. You buy lunch in one of them. Nobody on it is under 18.
The 4 Wonders small-group day spends its eight hours on villages instead: Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr. It collects you at your address in Colmar and takes seven people at most. The stop at the wine cave is in the fare, but what you taste there you pay for on the day. Our 4 Wonders page explains how that works.
The Emblematic from Alsace Safari adds the castle. It spends 45 minutes in Hunawihr and 70 minutes each in Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé and a wine cellar, and stops at Haut-Kœnigsbourg when the day's visitor numbers allow.
Which tours put the tasting in the fare?
Most of them. Both Alsace Safari days, the Ophorus half-day and full-day wine tours, the private 4 Wonders day, the Basel day and Domaine Gueth all pour inside the price. Three do not, and you should know which before you book:
- The Ophorus villages half day lists tasting fees among its exclusions. It is a village walk, not a wine tour.
- The 4 Wonders small-group day stops at a wine cave where the tasting is at your own expense.
- The CTravel private three hours names no tasting in its fare. You can ask the driver for a cellar, and you pay the cellar.
Our post on what a tasting pours, glass by glass sets out what to expect once you are at the counter.
Is a private tour worth it for two people?
For the plan, yes; for the price, rarely. The CTravel run is $409 for up to four, and it runs three hours from any address you give. The private 4 Wonders day is $790 for up to eight, for eight hours and four villages, tasting included. Both are one fare for the car, so two of you pay what four or eight would.
The Basel day is the exception. It is sold as private but priced per person, at $341 each, and it collects you in Basel, Colmar or Breisach. What you buy on all three is control: your door, your pace, your stops. Our page on private wine tours from Colmar lays out the maths in words.
Which tours pick you up?
The private cars and one shared day. Both 4 Wonders days collect you at your hotel or address in Colmar. The CTravel run comes to any address you give, and the Basel day has pickup points in three towns, Airbnb addresses included.
Every other day meets at a kerb. The Alsace Safari days leave 6 Rue Turenne, and the Ophorus days leave the CGR cinema, 919 metres away as the crow flies. Domaine Gueth sits in Gueberschwihr, and you make your own way. Our map of the meeting points shows each one.
Can you book alone?
On most days, yes, with a catch. The Ophorus days take a booking for one, but each needs two adults to run. If nobody else books, you are offered another date or a full refund. The Emblematic, the 4 Wonders small group and the Basel day need two per booking from the start.
Domaine Gueth is the easy solo choice: one hour, one seat, and a tasting room that holds thirty. Our post on a wine tour on your own goes through each option.
Which take children?
Fewer than you might expect. The Ophorus half-day and full-day wine tours are adults only, 18 and over. The Ophorus villages half day takes children from four. The Alsace Safari days take children too, but you must book each child with their age so a car seat can be fitted. A child who arrives unbooked is refused, with no refund.
Domaine Gueth pours organic grape juice free for under-18s. On a family day, the private 4 Wonders car is the calmest choice, because the whole vehicle is yours.
Where does the castle fit?
On one day only. The Emblematic includes entry to Haut-Kœnigsbourg, but the stop depends on the castle's visitor numbers that day. Every other tour passes it by.
If the castle matters, go on your own. An adult ticket is €12, or €16 with the audio tour, and last entry is one hour before closing. Our post on the castle or the wine weighs the trade.
How small is small here?
Smaller than the word usually means. The CTravel car takes four, the 4 Wonders small group seven, and the Ophorus and Alsace Safari vans eight. The Basel day takes nine. Only Domaine Gueth's tasting room, at thirty, is larger than a minibus.
A small group changes the tasting. With eight people the grower talks to you, not at you, and there is room at the counter to ask a question.
The formats side by side
Here is every format in one view. The price column shows the lowest fare of each format.
| Format | Hours | Villages | Tasting in the fare | Group cap | Fares from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half day, shared | 3.75 to 4 | Two or three, or two cellars | Yes, except the villages run | 8 | $87 |
| Full day, shared | 8 | Three or four | Yes, except the 4 Wonders cave | 7 or 8 | $158 |
| Private car | 3 to 8 | Three or four | 4 Wonders private and Basel yes; CTravel none named | 4 to 9 | $341 |
| One cellar | 1 | Gueberschwihr only | Yes, seven wines | 30 | $19 |
| With the castle | 8 | Three and the castle | Yes | 8 | $193 |
Which one should you book?
- One free afternoon: the ICONICS half day, a winery tasting and two villages by 5:30pm.
- Wine is the point: the Ophorus full day, three tastings in three villages.
- The famous villages, collected at your door: the 4 Wonders small group, with money for the cave.
- The castle too: the Emblematic, on a day the stop is open.
- Nobody else in the car: the CTravel run for up to four, or the private 4 Wonders day for a family.
- One hour and a car of your own: Domaine Gueth, seven wines for $19.
Still weighing the money? Our guide to prices lists every fare with what it leaves out.
Frequently asked questions
Which Colmar wine tour suits a first visit?
We are two people. Shared or private?
Is there a tour for someone who does not drink?
Should I book a half day or a full day?
How big are the groups?
Are the tours adults only?
Is a private wine tour worth it?
Tours that fit this choice
ICONICS Tour: 1/2 day on the Wine Route, visit of 2 Villages + Tasting.
Hunawihr, an hour in Riquewihr and a winery, the tasting in the fare, from Rue Turenne at 1:45pm and back by early evening.
From $111 per person
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Alsace Full Day Wine Tour from Colmar
Three winery tastings in three villages, time for lunch in one, eight seats, adults only, from the CGR cinema at 9:30am.
From $187 per person
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Alsace 4 Wonders Private Full Day Trip
The same four villages for your party alone, up to eight in one car, collected from your address, tasting included.
From $790 per group, up to 8
Check AvailabilityNext: see every format with its fare and its tasting, on Colmar Wine Tours.