Clare Valley Itinerary: One, Two and Three Days

One day shows you the Clare Valley; two or three let you slow down in it. This guide sets out a day from Adelaide, a two-day plan with one day on a tour and one on the Riesling Trail, and a third day for Burra and Mintaro. Each plan ends with the tour that already runs it, and the Clare Valley guided tours compare the rest.

How many days do you need in the Clare Valley?

The South Australian Tourism Commission suggests two to three days, and that fits the way the valley works. One day goes to a guided wine tour, because somebody else drives. A second goes to the trail, on a bike or on foot. A third lets you reach the heritage towns at either end.

If you have a single day, you can still see the valley well, but where you sleep decides how much of it you get. From your Clare Valley accommodation a guided day runs 6 to 6.5 hours, all of them in the valley. From Adelaide it runs 8 hours, with about 3 hours 45 minutes at the stops. The drive is 90 minutes to two hours each way.

One day from Adelaide

If the city is your base, let the day follow the Clare Valley Wine Escape. It is the one day tour that collects you in Adelaide or Glenelg, and its route is a good model even if you drive yourself:

1. Hotel pickup in the city or Glenelg, then north up the Horrocks Highway.
2. Auburn: a stroll through the old village at the south end of the valley.
3. Taylors Wines: a winery tour and tasting, 45 minutes.
4. O'Leary Walker Wines: a tasting, 45 minutes.
5. Lunch at Antidote kitchen: 45 minutes.
6. Hill River Clare Estate: a tasting, 45 minutes.
7. Pikes Wines: a Riesling tasting, 45 minutes, then back to the city.

That is four cellar doors, a village and lunch in 8 hours, for $341 per person with the tastings and lunch in the fare. If you drive it yourself, one of you stays on water all day, and the drive home is the long one. The Clare Valley tours from Adelaide page weighs this day against a night in the valley.

Two days: a tour day and a trail day

This is the plan most visitors should aim for. Sleep in the valley for two nights, give the first full day to a guide and the second to the trail.

Day one, the tour. The scenic wine tour with local stories collects you from your accommodation and spends six hours at four winery stops and two sightseeing stops, with lunch at a winery. It costs $174 per person, for five guests at most. The guide's version on the other booking site starts at 10:00 and returns you about 16:30.

Day two, the trail. Hire a bike in Clare and ride south on the Riesling Trail. Clare to Sevenhill is 6 km and slightly uphill. Sevenhill to Watervale is 9 km, over the trail's highest point at Penwortham, and Watervale to Auburn is 10 km, slightly downhill. Around 30 cellar doors sit along the whole 33 km, so choose two or three and leave time for lunch.

If you ride one way, Clare Valley Taxis can bring you back. Remember that the drink-driving offence covers bicycles too, so a trail day is a day of small pours.

Three days with Burra and Mintaro

A third day takes you to the towns beyond the vines. Burra lies north-east of the valley, and the local guide collects from there. At the Burra and Goyder Visitor Information Centre you buy the Burra Heritage Passport, a key and a map that open the town's heritage sites. The Diprotodon fossil display at Burra Railway Station is open from 11am to 1pm daily.

On the way back, stop in Mintaro, a heritage town east of the main valley. One of the official Clare Valley Short Walks starts at Torr Park there and follows the Lavender Federation Trail. If your third day is a Saturday, check the markets: the Clare Show Market is on the second Saturday of most months and the Auburn Market on the third, both from 9am to 1pm.

If you prefer a park to a town, Spring Gully Conservation Park is close to Clare. Its Cascades Walk is 1.3 km return and takes about 40 minutes, and after rain the waterfall below Blue Gum Lookout drops 18 m. Things to do in the Clare Valley covers every walk and trail.

Which town should you stay in?

Stay where your plans start. The local guide's shared day collects you from Leasingham, Watervale, Auburn, Clare, Burra, Penwortham or Mintaro, so any of those works for a tour day. The private day for four collects you from your valley accommodation at 10:00.

For a trail day, Clare and Auburn have the bike hire, and they sit at opposite ends of the ride. Clare is the main town, at the north end, with the Clare Valley Wine, Food and Tourism Centre at 8 Spring Gully Road. Auburn is at the south end, nearest Adelaide. The Clare Valley map shows every town from south to north.

How many cellar doors fit in a day?

Three or four, with lunch. That is what the guided days manage, and they know the roads. The Wine Escape gives each of its stops 45 minutes. The local guide's sample day gives Sevenhill Cellars an hour and a half and the next two wineries an hour each.

Trying for more usually means less time at each and more wine than you want. If a cellar door is the reason you came, put it first while the palate is fresh. Clare Valley Tourism advises booking Pikes tastings ahead, booking Kilikanoon a couple of days ahead, and calling Sussex Squire for a full tasting.

Where to have lunch

On a tour, lunch is decided for you and paid in the fare. The local guide's days serve a charcuterie lunch at a winery, with Claymore Wines named as the sample stop. The Wine Escape stops for lunch at Antidote kitchen. One group on the private day had lunch at Paulett Wines and called it superb.

On a trail day, plan lunch before you set off. Not every cellar door serves food, so check the ones on your route before you ride. Water points sit at the trail shelters at Watervale and between Sevenhill and Quarry Road, and at Lennon Street car park in Clare.

Adding the Barossa on the way

The Barossa is about an hour from the Clare Valley, Clare Valley Tourism says, so the two fit into one trip. The simplest way is to give each region its own night. The local guide's listing says the guide can also collect guests who are staying in the Barossa, so ask when you book.

The two regions pour different wines. The Clare is Riesling country, with Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, while Tourism Australia describes the Barossa's reputation for rich reds and fortified wine. Clare Valley or Barossa Valley? sets them side by side.

Going on to the Flinders Ranges

If you are heading north anyway, the Clare Valley is the natural first stop. The 3-day Flinders Ranges and Clare Valley tour does exactly that. It leaves Victoria Square at 8:00, spends about two hours at Clare wineries and local produce, and reaches Hawker for two nights.

Day two covers Brachina Gorge, the Bunyeroo Valley, Blinman and Razorback Lookout. Day three brings Wilpena Pound with an Adnyamathanha guide, then an hour in the Clare Valley on the way back. It costs $643 per person with the rooms and seven meals, for up to twelve. It is an outback trip first, so treat the valley as a stopover.

The itineraries compared

Each plan and the tour that already runs it. Fares are in US dollars as of September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Tours that fit these plans

Clare Valley Scenic Wine Tour with Local Stories

Six hours with the local guide, collected in one of seven valley towns, five guests at most, with the tastings and a winery lunch paid.

From $174 per person

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Clare Valley Wine Escape

Eight hours from your Adelaide or Glenelg hotel to Auburn, Taylors, O'Leary Walker, Hill River and Pikes, with tastings and lunch in the fare.

From $341 per person

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All Inclusive 3 Day 4WD Flinders Ranges and Clare Valley Tour

Three days from Adelaide with two nights in Hawker, Wilpena Pound with an Adnyamathanha guide, and the Clare Valley on the way north and back.

From $643 per person

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