I have a few days in Alsace this coming june and would love to see some of the small towns along the route du vin. My base will be Colmar. Should I rent a car and hit the highlights or take a bus to one or two of the towns Rick recommends in his book and hike around? Budget me says take a bus and hike to the next town, call it good, tourist me says get a car and hit all the towns in a day or two, even if you are a solo traveler. Thanks!
Posted by
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
425 posts
Hey Steve, have you thought about one of the van tours? They would be smaller and more personal than just taking public transportation. I will be in Colmar in May and have thought about a van tour. There are two of us however, and we will already have a car, so its not really cost effective to do any type of tour, but they do look fun.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
The route du vin is easily done in a car. Of course the advantage of a car is that you can go at your own pace & spend as much or as little time as you want in each place, instead of having to adhere to a bus schedule.
Posted by
Grapevine, TX, USA
875 posts
Renting a car would give you the best opportunity to see all the villages you are interested in and to spend as much time in each as you would like. That being said, because of the extra expense for renting a car for just one day, we opted to take an 1/2 day tour (but they require at least 2 people). However, you could still rent the car for more than 1 day, visit all the villages and even see Strasbourg in 2-3 days.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
This area is supposed to be great for biking. The towns are close together, and the countryside is very scenic.
You could do a lot of day trips out of Colmar. I did something like this in Burgundy. Not sure where to locate a reliable bike. I'd do it that time of year.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
If you are agile and energetic, I would rent a bike as most towns are less than 5 miles apart - or about a 20-minute pedal apart.
If not, I would rent a car and enjoy your ability to wander. The roads are easy and you could hit a few towns farther away than those on the Route du vin, too.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Kayak says Hertz has the best deal for an aribitrary day in June which is $115. Bike sounds pretty good.