PT Portugal
Douro Valley
Two nights around Pinhão, a quinta with time to spare, and the eastern stretch towards Tua for the landscape shift.
Best Sep — Oct · normally 4–6 daysTravel thoughtfully · drink responsibly · 18+
5 5 days
Enough to stop rushing.
Five days is the first length where a region stops being a highlights reel. You get a second base if you want one, a day that goes wrong without ruining the trip, and time for the long lunch everyone underestimates.
Regions that work at 5 days
FR France
Burgundy
Dijon and Beaune both, with a day each for the Côte de Nuits, the Côte de Beaune and the hospices.
Best May — Jun · normally 3–5 daysAR Argentina
Mendoza
Mendoza city, then the Uco Valley with a driver for two days. The altitude change is the point.
Best Mar — Apr · normally 5–7 daysIT Sicily, Italy
Etna
Randazzo as a base, several contrade on the same slope, and one long lunch nobody has to drive home from.
Best May · Oct · normally 4–5 daysDE Germany
Mosel
Trier at one end for the Roman city, then the river towns downstream at the pace the trains allow.
Best Jun — Sep · normally 3–5 daysES Spain
Rioja Alavesa
Alavesa properly, plus a day across the Ebro into Rioja Alta for the contrast in soil and style.
Best May · Sep · normally 4–6 daysFR France
Champagne
Both towns, the Montagne de Reims between them, and a day in the Côte des Blancs where the villages are quieter.
Best Jun — Sep · normally 2–4 daysES Spain
Jerez
All three towns of the triangle, with Sanlúcar given its own night for the manzanilla and the estuary.
Best Mar — May · Sep — Nov · normally 3–4 daysPT Portugal
Madeira
Funchal for the lodges, Câmara de Lobos for the terraces, and two days walking levadas between them.
Best Apr — Oct · normally 4–7 daysZA South Africa
Stellenbosch
Two sub-routes, a day in Cape Town at either end, and a driver for everything in between.
Best Feb — Apr · normally 4–7 daysIT Italy
Piedmont
Both zones with time to spare, plus Asti or Monferrato for the Barbera side of the story.
Best Sep — Nov · normally 4–6 daysFR France
Alsace
Colmar as the base for the southern half, then two nights further north for the Strasbourg end.
Best May — Jun · Sep — Oct · normally 3–5 daysFR France
Northern Rhône
Hermitage, Cornas and Côte-Rôtie, with Lyon at one end for the food.
Best May — Jun · Sep · normally 3–4 daysIT Italy
Chianti Classico
Two bases at opposite ends of the zone, with the drive between them treated as a day out.
Best May — Jun · Sep — Oct · normally 3–5 daysIT Italy
Tuscany
The Chianti zone plus Siena, with one day given to a single estate rather than a loop of cellars.
Best May — Jun · Sep — Oct · normally 5–7 daysES Spain
Priorat
Several villages at a village-a-day pace, plus Montsant next door for the cheaper, gentler version.
Best Apr — May · Sep — Oct · normally 3–4 daysGR Greece
Santorini
The island's wine belt properly, with the caldera villages kept for the evenings.
Best May — Jun · Sep — Oct · normally 3–5 daysAT Austria
Wachau
The Wachau at a slow pace, plus the Kamptal or Kremstal next door for a different style.
Best May — Jun · Sep — Oct · normally 2–4 daysHU Hungary
Tokaj
Several of the 27 villages, with a car, and time for the aszú tastings to be slow.
Best Sep — Oct · normally 3–4 daysNZ New Zealand
Central Otago
Queenstown or Cromwell as a base, Bannockburn and Gibbston, and one day that is not about wine at all.
Best Feb — Apr · normally 5–7 daysOne of these, written out in full
The Douro in four days sits between these two lengths and is the one route we have set out day by day — where you sleep, what moves, and what is worth booking before you go.
Not the length you have?
Try the other lengths, or start from the place instead with the region guides.