The medieval village and Unesco World Heritage Site of Saint Emilion, France, is a fantastic full day trip to take from Bordeaux. St Emilion is located approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Bordeaux, so its proximity makes for an enchanting activity to pursue while in Bordeaux. It’s easily possible to travel from Bordeaux to St Emilion by train, car, or tour.
As soon as you arrive from Bordeaux to St Emilion, you will gaze upon a stunning sight. It’s the compact town of Saint Emilion, towering up from a sea of surrounding vineyards.
Beyond those beautiful grape vines is where you’ll eventually find yourself in the midst of narrow, and sometimes steep, cobblestoned streets and alleyways. It’s here where you can amble for hours past the quaint shops, magnificent churches, and historic monuments of Saint Emilion. It’s all a magical experience to have while traveling through France.
But awesome travel experiences like this can often get pricey. However, a day trip from Bordeaux to St Emilion doesn’t have to be expensive. We’ve found ways to get from Bordeaux to St Emilion for any budget, from budget-friendly day tour or set out on your own DIY (do-it-yourself) day trip from Bordeaux to Saint Emilion.
Four Ways To Travel From Bordeaux to St Emilion France:
There are fours ways to take a day trip from Bordeaux to St Emilion. This post covers in detail, each of these four different ways to get from Bordeaux to St Emilion.
🚌 Half-Day Group Tour (Wednesday or Sunday only): €45
🚐 Small-Group Tour to St Emilion: €65-€150
🚆 Do It Yourself Day Trip to St Emilion by Train: €45
🚗 Self-drive for those with a car (costs vary)
Bordeaux to Saint Emilion: On Your Own or a Day Tour?
When deciding whether to go from Bordeaux to Saint Emilion on your own or as part of a day tour, there are a few main points to consider:
- Your physical ability: If taking the DIY recommendation, you’ll need to be comfortable walking at least 3-5 kilometers. The town of Saint Emilion itself is more than a kilometer walk from the train station.
- Your travel style: What’s more important to you: the flexibility to go your own way or the ease, simplicity and added information that comes with a tour?
- Your budget: A tour will usually cost more than a DIY trip to Saint Emilion, aside from two days per week
- Day of the week: If you can go on Wednesday or Sundays, there’s a €45 half-day trip will be less expensive than going from Bordeaux to St Emilion independently.
- Do you have a car?: For those with a vehicle, you may want to consider a DIY trip using your car. Just don’t drink & drive. Also factor in the expense of parking.
Budget-Friendly Day Tours from Bordeaux to St. Emilion
The Most Inexpensive Day Tour from Bordeaux to St Emilion
Taking DIY excursions is almost always a more economical option than a group tour. And to get from Bordeaux to St Emilion, that mostly holds true when comparing tours to the DIY costs we’ve listed above. Yet we found one tour from Bordeaux to St Emilion that will cost roughly the same. It’s only €45!
If you’re in Bordeaux on a Wednesday or Sunday, there is a great €45 half-day trip from Bordeaux to St Emilion that includes transport from Bordeaux, a tour of St Emilion including the underground, and a wine tasting & tour at a St Emilion chateau.
This is an excellent value! This tour costs even less than taking the train and doing similar activities on your own.
So what’s the catch? The only big downside is that you’ll be in a sizable group of up to 53-people. But the value and savings can be absolutely worth it.
Additionally, this 5-hour tour only runs on Sundays year-round and on Wednesdays from March 15 – November 15 in 2020. So just be careful to only make your booking on a Wednesday or Sunday. The online booking website, Viator, will allow you to book other days too, but on those days the bus tour goes to different locations around Bordeaux, not Saint Emilion.
Also, do know that this inexpensive tour to St Emilion is very popular and does book up in advance, particularly in the summer high season. So be sure to reserve as soon as possible if planning this trip in the summer. Check availability now: €45 Half-Day Tour to St Emilion with Chateau & Wine Tasting
Other Budget-Friendly Day Tours from Bordeaux to St Emilion
For those who want to take a tour from Bordeaux to St Emilion, but can’t catch the Wednesday or Sunday bus tour or just don’t want to go with a large group, there are other more intimate, small-group tours available that depart all days of the week. We have carefully scoured the two most popular tour booking sites (Viator and GetYourGuide) to compare the best and most economical tours from Bordeaux to St Emilion.
The table below lays out the results, but be sure to click through the links to confirm the details. (We make our best effort to keep this page up-to-date, but pricing or other info can change periodically.)
| Tour | Length | 🚌 Size | Days | Inclusions | Cost | Booking site: |
| Vineyards Tasting | 5 hrs | Bus (53 pp) | Su, W* | 🏰🍷🕳️ | €45 | Viator |
| SE Wine Tour | 4 hrs | Minivan | Everyday | 🏰🍷 | €75 | GetYourGuide |
| SE Food & Wine | 5 hrs | Minivan (8 pp) | Su, M, Th, Sa | 🏰🍷🍴 | €92 | GetYourGuide |
| SE Wine Tasting | 5.30 hrs | Minibus (19 pp) | Everyday | 🏰🍷🍴 | €94 | GetYourGuide |
| Full Day SE Wine Tasting | 8 hrs | Minivan (16 pp) | Everyday | 🏰🍷 | €130 | GetYourGuide |
| Chateaux Wine & Lunch | 8.30 hrs | Coach (25 pp) | Mondays | 🏰🍷🕳️🍽️ | €128 | Viator |
| SE Wine Taste & Lunch | 9 hrs | Minivan (8 pp) | Su, Tu, Th, Sa | 🏰🍷🍽️ | €149 | Viator |
🍷: Wine tasting(s)
🕳: St Emilion Underground
🍴: Appetizer, snack, or light meal
🍽: Full lunch
All of the above-listed tours include English speaking guides and a tour of St Emilion. The tours simply vary in group size, length, departure times, inclusions, and price.
Most do not include a tour of the St Emilion underground, which is often a highlight to visitors. Although even on tours in which the underground monuments are not included, there is sometimes free time in which you may have a chance to explore the underground if the timing works out. Read each tour description for further details.
How to Travel from Bordeaux to St. Emilion by Train
The remainder of this travel guide provides directions on how to get from Bordeaux to St Emilion by train for a DIY tour of this amazing historic village.
It’s easily possible to get from Bordeaux to St Emilion by train. There are several trains making the 35-minute trip throughout the day. You can check train times here and find one that works for you. The cost of taking the train from Bordeaux to Saint Emilion is €9.60, per person, each way. Occasionally it’s possible to find €5 fares to St Emilion, but €9.60 is the norm.
You can purchase your Bordeaux to St Emilion train tickets online. But there’s a benefit to waiting and buying your tickets at the Bordeaux train station instead.
During our last visit, there was no rail ticketing services operating in St. Emilion. Therefore, it is advisable to secure your return ticket from Bordeaux to St Emilion in advance. If you’re not sure how much time you’d like to spend in St Emilion, you can book an “open return” rail ticket at the Bordeaux train station. At the time of writing, we are not aware of any way to book an “open return” ticket online. Hence our recommendation to book this at the Bordeaux train station. To do this, you’ll need to see a ticket agent and cannot use the automated kiosks.
This “open return” train ticket won’t cost anything extra. Yet it will allow you to return whenever you’d like. The open return train ticket from Bordeaux to St Emilion can’t be booked online either, so that is why we recommend to buy it at the Bordeaux train station.
Once arriving at the St. Emilion train station, be prepared for a one-kilometer walk into town and a bit further to reach the center. It’s a pleasant walk through the surrounding vineyards. So as long as you’re in decent shape, it’s easily manageable.
When within the town of St Emilion, head up to the Tourism Center where you can arm yourself with lots of information from the helpful staff. You will see well-marked signs that will get you there as you walk towards town. Here’s a map with walking directions from the St Emilion train station to the town of St Emilion.
What to Do in Saint Emilion on Your Own
If traveling from Bordeaux to St Emilion on your own, you obviously won’t have a tour guide to show around the village or take you to wineries in the area. You must figure out what to do in St Emilion on your own and you must also make reservations for certain activities before you arrive.
There are three main things to do in St Emilion:
- Take a tour of the St Emilion underground
- Visit a St Emilion winery
- Tour around the village of St Emilion
Sample Budget & Costs of a DIY Day Trip from Bordeaux to St Emilion
It’s possible to travel from Bordeaux to St Emilion on your own on a budget of less than €50 per person.
Here are some sample expenses you can expect to incur if following our recommendation for a DIY Day Trip to St Emilion:
- Roundtrip Bordeaux to Saint Emilion Train Tickets: €19.20 (It’s €9.60 each way)
- Winery Tour & Tastings: €5-€15
- Underground Tour: €9.00
- Lunch: €10
- Additional wine tasting: free
- Self-guided tour of the town: free
- Total: €45.70 per person
So if you’re comfortable with independent travel and don’t mind a good walk, you can realistically make a nice day trip from Bordeaux to St Emilion by train, plus a bit of walking.
Tour the St Emilion Underground
Once you arrive at the tourism center, you’ll most certainly want to book a tour of the St Emilion underground. This is always a highlight to our visits to St Emilion.
The fascinating underground tour culminates in the fascinating monolithic church. And while you can tour the streets of St Emilion on your own, you can only access the underground of St Emilion with the guided tour that you sign up to join at the St Emilion tourism office.
Additionally, you should know that there are only a few English speaking tours per day and they do fill up. It is wise to book the St Emilion underground tour in advance online. But even if you don’t book in advance, you may still be able to buy a ticket from the tourism office in St. Emilion, which is also where the tour meets. The hour-long guided tour of the underground is priced at a very reasonable €9 per person. You can find times and make reservations directly from the English-version of the Saint Emilion Tourism Board site here: St Emilion Tourism Board English Website to Book €9 Underground Tour
Tour a St Emilion Winery and Cellar
If you’d like to visit a winery (and you should), then be aware that you should arrive with advanced reservations to visit these estates. Instead of calling each winery and trying to make reservations in French, just use the website Rue des Vignerons to easily book wine tastings and tours in the chateaux around Saint Emilion, with instant confirmation.
The closest winery to book, easily walkable from the outskirts of town is Château Villemaurine. But there are a few different wineries to consider within a 20-minute walk from town. Search St Emilion wineries and check availability here.
The price of a St Emilion winery tour with tastings will range from about €5-€15 per person, depending on the winery, and will usually include at least two tastings.
Try to visit a St Emilion winery that includes a tour of the underground cellars, which are legendary in this region. The underground cellars house prized wine bottles that are often many decades old.
Tour the Town of Saint Emilion on Your Own
Lastly, when at the tourism office, be sure to pick up a complimentary map, which includes information about all the aboveground sites and monuments. This will enable you to tour this magnificent town on your own, in between your winery and underground tour.
Entrance to all of the sites and monuments are free, with the exception of the tower. The tower costs a mere €1.25.
Where to Eat in St Emilion on a Budget
Some of the package tours include lunch. Yet going to St Emilion on your own will give you the flexibility to eat wherever you want. There are many tourist restaurants around town, which tend to be horrendously overpriced. So use caution and always look at menu prices before sitting down.
Keep a keen eye and you will find some great chalkboard specials or a splendid sidewalk café where you can have a decent lunch of a salad or sandwich for under €10. Set menu deals can be found closer to the €20 range.
The tourism office has bound directory of restaurants with menu price ranges. So it may be worthwhile to peruse their up-to-date listings before making a dining decision. Or you can just duck down an alleyway to find your own secret spot. Yet here are some of our budget-friendly suggestions for lunch in St Emilion:
For a quick & cheap lunch in St Emilion, we can recommend Mie and Merlot, for its sandwiches and pastries. It’s just a small, casual place to grab something for takeaway or to eat at one of the few tables. You’ll likely pass by this cheap eatery from the train station into town.
For an incredible value prix fixe lunch, try Restaurant Chez la Puce, where you can actually indulge in a 6-course set menu lunch for only €14! The only catch here is that it’s a bit out of the way. From the train station, you must walk about 12-minutes in the opposite direction from the St Emilion village.
Where To Drink in St Emilion on a Budget
If the tastings during the winery tour aren’t enough for you, we have another spot to suggest… and it’s free! The Maison du Vin of Saint Emilion is located next to the tourism center and they generously offer complimentary tastings throughout their impressive wine selection. Check the times in advance because these free wine tastings don’t last all day.
During our last visit, open tastings were from 2:00-5:30 pm. So go enjoy your free tastings there. Then with all the money you’re saving from forgoing an expensive packaged tour, perhaps consider buying a bottle or two of the local St Emilion wine.
Saint Emilion Day Trip for Under €50
So that is exactly how you can go from Bordeaux to St Emilion for under €50. Either follow the directions by train laid out within this post or take the €42 Bordeaux Vineyards Wine Tasting Half-Day Trip that departs on Wednesdays and Sundays. Or join a small-group tour.
Whichever route you take, a day trip from Bordeaux to St Emilion should prove to be an economical and fun-filled day in this historic & charming place in the world.
Travel in Europe can be expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. We hope this travel guide helps you save some cash that you can now better spend elsewhere during your travels. Enjoy!
For more economical travel ideas in the region, be sure to check out our full travel guide: Things To Do in Bordeaux on a Budget.
If you want to save this Saint Emilion post for later, pin this to your travel Pinterest boards for future reference:
How many hours do I need for St emillion?
I am coming from Bordeaux, travelling solo, usually faster pace.
I am trying to estimate the timing to book the return ticket to Bordeaux, is 4hrs sufficient?
Is it best to go in the morning or noon time?
Not sure if the shop or wineries open early.
Thank you!
Four hours seems a bit tight, but it’s certainly doable with a preference for going at a faster pace. If stopping to eat lunch, tour the underground, visit a winery, then plan for a longer stay. Regarding going early or midday just depends on personal preferences. Either should prove for a pleasant visit. The wineries have varying opening hours.
Hi, just came across your website, very useful thanks!
I have noticed in addition to the underground city tour, there is also the unesco city tour, link here:
https://boutique.saint-emilion-tourisme.com/?t=fp&fp=596
It says this is 1 hour 30 mins but also includes the 4 monument of the underground city tour. My question is, how is this possible to do a walking tour and see the underground tour in 1 hour 30 if the underground tour takes 1 hour on its own?
Is it better to do the underground tour separately or is this unesco walking tour a good way to combine the two and see everything in 1 hour 30?
thanks David
We’ve only taken the underground tour ourselves. But I would imagine this 1-hour 30-minute tour is a good way to combine them both the underground and some of the St Emilion’s sites aboveground. Many of St Emilion sites are concentrated pretty well, so it could be feasible to have a quick overview of them on such a tour. It’s likely divided between 45 minutes aboveground and 45 minutes aboveground. During the first 15-minutes or so of the underground tour is more of an introduction, rather than actual touring of the underground. So it’s certainly plausible that a 90-minute tour could be able to give a fine overview of both. If you take it, let us know how it goes. Happy travels!
I will be driving from Toulouse through Dordogne to Bordeaux in June. As Bordeaux is our final stop, do you recommend keeping a car to drive to St Emilion or use trains to explore the area?
Thank you!
It really just depends on what you prefer. The train is quick and easy but it does involve a bit of a walk from the train station into town. A car could give you more flexibility to potentially visit other places along the way and further flung vineyards, but you’ll have to deal with parking and likely added costs.
Hi I am planning to visit both Bordeaux and St. Emilion this coming second week of May. Thank you for sharing this blog. Your DIY tour is very helpful for a solo traveler like me who wants to wander around on my own. If you could help me decide how many days should I spend in Bordeaux? As you mentioned that it is a kilometer walk from the train station to the town, is there any public transportation like bus to go there?
Thank you.
So glad to hear this has helped. We’d suggest a minimum of three full days in Bordeaux. But of course, that really depends on your personal interests, timing, budget, travel style, etc. There is no bus from the St Emilion train station into town.
Hi,
I am planning to visit Bordeaux in July with my boyfriend, and having a day trip to St. Emillion.
Thanks to your blog, we decided to go DIY tour:)
But we are wondering if half-a day is applicable for all the things you did?
Thanks
I’d suggest trying to spend a full day in St Emillion if you can. Having 3-4 hours on the ground there would be tight, particularly given there’s a bit of walking involved to/from the train station and to/from whatever winery may be open that day. Hope that helps and you have a great trip!
Hello,
My husband and I will be driving south through France to Spain and plan on stopping in either Bordeaux or St. Emillion. We won’t have tons of time either place (5 hr drives each day) – but which city would you recommend – Bordeaux or St. Emilion? The trip will either be the end of August or the beginning of September.
Thanks so much!
Andrea
They are both great places, so it’s tough to say. St Emillion is smaller, so if you have limited time, I’d suggest there only because would be much easier to explore in a single day. Meanwhile Bordeaux deserves a few days, including the surrounding wineries.
I plan next trip to the France! Can wait to see real France vineyards.
Hope you have a wonderful trip! I’m sure St Emilion’s vineyards will not disappoint. 🙂
Hello! Just found your site and so looking forward to doing our own tour of Saint Emilion by train from Bordeaux instead of a rushed tour. The only part I am still confused about is once we arrive to Saint Emilion, how do we get around to the Chateau’s and vineyards. I only saw the walking tour to a vineyard from the website you linked and that looks like a lot of walking lol! We mainly want to do wine tasting and tour vineyards. Any advice? Thank you!!!
Without your own transport or a tour, you will likely do a lot of walking and won’t be able to visit multiple vineyards. From the train station to St Emilion is about a full kilometer. During the summer months there is at least one vineyard open for tastings/tours that is within walking distance of the city, so that is a doable option. But many of the other vineyards are much further outside of town so you would need your own transport or a tour if you wanted to visit many chateaus and vineyards in the same day. Hope that helps!
What a great little site to come across. I was discouraged when I found the half-day tour I was looking at, wasn’t going to St-Emilion on the day we’ll be there but this information was incredibly helpful. I think I’ve planned a great afternoon, using your information. Thank you! Any suggestions for a day in Bordeaux? We’ll be staying near the Pont de Pierre. I appreciate any recommendations you might have.
Great, so glad it helped! As for Bordeaux, I’d suggest simply spending half the day just walking around and sightseeing around the historic center. For wine, we were big fans of Bar a Vin Ecole, but go early before it gets crowded. The new wine museum – La Cite Du Vin – is another good bet to round out a day in Bordeaux. We have an entire article about Bordeaux here if it may help your travel planning: http://www.roamingaroundtheworld.com/budget-travel-bordeaux/
Have a great trip!
Hi, thanks for a great article! We were swithering between an organised tour of Saint Emilion and a DIY trip – I think we’ll definitely go down the DIY route after reading this. I wonder if you have any advise on which Chateaux to visit which are within walking distance of the Saint Emilion? We will travel there by train from Bordeaux. Thanks again.
Hi Sarah,
Thanks so much for the comment. We’re thrilled that you’re doing a DIY tour of Saint Emilion, you’re going to have a fantastic time. There’s a lot of options as far as Chateaux’s to visit, too many to choose 🙂 When we arrived in Saint Emilion, we visited the excellent tourism office and they were able to tell us what Chateaux’s were doing tours and wine tastings on our day of visit. Hope that helps and enjoy your trip!
Is there taxi from the port in Bordeaux to Saint Emillion? How much is taxi fare?
Hi Margaret,
Taking a taxi from Bordeaux to Saint Emilion would be pretty expensive, an estimate would be $60 to $80 USD. We’d recommend taking the very scenic train ride!
Will be saving this on my pinterest board. I’m trying to plan a trip to Bordeaux specifically to go to the vineyards. My favorite wines come from Saint Emillion and Pommerol and Medoc. I probably will book a tour as opposed to diy and looking for one that is specifically wine-fanatic. I’m currently studying wine so this will be like an educational trip as well… 😉
Hey Alaine, thanks for the comment! You’re going to love Bordeaux. Saint Emilion is so picturesque and charming and will be an excellent spot to taste and learn about their wine. Please report back and let us know how your trip goes, we’d love to hear about it!
What a perfect guide for a solo frugal traveler like me. I was wondering how to get about to see Bordeaux’s vineyards, and this is seriously perfect. Thank you so much for this info!
Hey Moha! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your kind comments. So happy you found our tips to be helpful. Enjoy Bordeaux!
Hi John,
We are going to the Bordeaux region but actually staying in St Emilion for 3 days/ nights in mid September. Do you have a preference for which wineries to tour? Other towns to visit in the area?
We are thinking of flying from Paris to Bordeaux and then renting a car to tour the region. Your thoughts on this plan?
As for wineries to tour in/around St Emilion, we really enjoyed the Chateau D’Arsac winery in Medoc. Not only was the wine delicious but the estate grounds itself were so beautiful, interesting, and full of art installations. It’ll be a little more than an hour drive from St Emilion, a lot of which will be through vineyards and French countryside.
As for the plan of flying from Paris to Bordeaux and then renting a car… I think that’s a fine plan. But I would also consider just renting a car Paris and driving to Bordeaux/St Emilion. It would be about a six hour drive in total but you’d be going through some incredible regions in France along the way. In particular, you’ll pass through the Loire Valley, which is one of our favorite regions in France and unfortunately we never got a chance to write about it here on the blog. There you’ll medieval villages like Chinon and fairy-tale like castles such as Chateau Usse, the inspiration behind sleeping beauty. It would all make for a beautiful drive to perhaps break up in a few days, if you had the time. You could also consider a stop at Marais Poitevin, the “Green Venice”. Really, so much to do and see!
Hope you have a great trip! Mid September should be an excellent time to go as the crowds will have subsided, yet still very pleasant weather.
I am 71 and probably cannot walk from the train station to town of St Emillion. I am considering flying to Bordeaux and renting a car to tour the area. I am open to other options, please.
Pam Cordeau
While you could rent a car and tour St Emilion on your own, I’d instead recommend booking a tour if your budget allows for it. That is probably the easiest way to get to St Emilion. There are lots of day tour to St Emilion available. You can try some of the ones I’ve mentioned towards the beginning of this blog post.
We had a really lovely day today in St Emilion thanks to your DIY advice. However two things nearly or could have spoils it for us.
First, did you know there is NO public transport in the city of Bordeaux on May 1st every year. Worth bearing in mind when you need to get to the train station.
We walked the 6km from our hotel on a lovely sunny day.
Second, avoid Le Bouchon restaurant. Great location and staff but the food was prepared without love and for passing trade only. Discusting and nasty, for the tourist who’ll never be back type of food, if you know what I mean !
Tony & Karen
Thanks for the additional information. Yikes, May Day – May 1st. I know lots of things close up on this one day out of the year but who would have thought that includes public transit? Thanks for letting us all know.
We also noticed a few touristy restaurants throughout St Emilion which seemed to carry inflated prices and possibly subpar food. We’ll now know to avoid Le Bouchon. Thanks for the warning.
I came across your blog when I searched for travel info for Bordeaux. We’ll be there mid-March and would like to take a day trip to St. Emilion. After reading your blog I want to give the DIY tour a try! I have a couple questions and I’d greatly appreciate it if you could help me!
1. I went to the St. Emilion tourism website to try booking an English underground tour. However, it looks like most of the tours are available after the end of March. I did see ONE tour during our travel time, but it’s in French… Do you think I should go ahead and book it anyway, or wait until we get there and see if we can get an English one same day? Are the English tours year round?
2. We’re traveling with two children (ages 3 and 6). Would you recommend some family-friendly winery tours? The ones I saw from the tourism page are all adult-only. I think there is one that allows kids 5 or above…
Thank you in advance!!
I believe they only have French-led tours during low-season months. 🙁 But the tourism center in St Emilion may be able to provide you with some literature in English in advance of the start of the tour. Unfortunately the only way to see the underground is with a tour so it appears that single French-speaking tour may be the only option.
I’m not very familiar with the children policies on winery tours but do understand there is age restrictions on some of the tours recommended in this post. I’d imagine that some of the private tours it probably acceptable to bring kids, but you’ll be paying a pretty hefty premium for those. If you happened to have a rental car to get around, you can make appointments directly with wineries to tour their estates, which is a bit more informal and I’d assume that having children with you wouldn’t be an issue in that case.
Additionally while in St Emilion there are a few wineries that you can walk to from town and take a tour. During the summer months there is at least one winery within walking distance to town that is open for tours each day. I’m not sure if this still holds true for the winter months but it may. If so, that may prove to be a good option to squeeze in a winery tour while in St Emilion with kids in tow too. You’ll need to make an appointment directly with the winery. You can attempt to do that in advance or arrive early to St Emilion and inquire if the tourism office can assist you.
Hope that helps a little. Have a great trip to France!
Great post – thanks!
Just a quick question – you mention winery tours costing €5-€10 per person…? I have been on the tourism office website (and many, many others) they are all upwards of €60 per person – please can you share where you found these little bargains (to book in advance as I wouldn’t want to turn up and risk that the tours might be fully booked)?
Thanks
Hi Hannah, The winery tours & tastings for €5-€10 can be booked directly with the wineries themselves by phone or email. Each of the wineries are open for tours on different days and it does change. So it may be difficult to book such a tour far in advance. Booking such a tour directly with a winery with a week notice or a few days in advance may prove best. These are small independent tours given by winery staff/owners, not big group tours. In fact, we found a few €5 tours in which it turned out to be a ‘private’ tour since we were the only ones. Such tours often do require advanced bookings but you can make a reservation for the same day. So you could consider showing up in St Emilion and visiting the helpful Tourism Center where they can provide you with information on which wineries are open and can even help you to make a reservation over the phone. We have done just that and didn’t have any problems. There are only a handful of wineries within walking distance of town itself, as others are further and would require a car. But there is always at least one winery open for tours and tastings within walking distance. Typically they’ll run a few morning tours and a few afternoon tours. Hope that helps!
thank you for your info, really helps us decide, and have decided to do a tour ourselves!!
We’re so glad to here this helped! Thanks for dropping by to let us know. We hope you enjoy Sain Emilion as much as we did. Cheers!
Great post. Thank you! Taking a group to Bordeaux in August – they’re going on a wine river cruise. I’m probably DIYing!
Hi, chanced upon your blog and I really find it very helpful and informative. Initially I was still contemplating whether or not it’s worth to go with a tour. After reading your blog and did some findings, I have decided to skip the tour and explore it at our own pace. Really thankful for this! Hopefully we get to enjoy the trip as much as you did!
Good day =)
That is such great feedback to hear! I hope you have (or had) a wonderful time exploring St Emilion on your own. Cheers!