Summer in SA is four months long: December, January, February & Mad March.

If you are planning a summer visit and would like to include a Clare Valley or Barossa Valley wine tour, the best options (from the writing date of mid-December 2025) are January 2026 or mid to late March 2026. Booking early allows you to shape your trip around the dates that suit you, rather than fitting in around what remains.

Summer in South Australia is a time when long days, warm evenings, and festival energy come together. For many visitors, it is also when a wine tour becomes part of a bigger trip built around events in Adelaide and time spent exploring the regions. The Clare Valley and the Barossa Valley are both peaking over summer, with grapes and harvesting underway, vibrant cellar doors, relaxed lunches, and a sense that everyone is making the most of the season.

If you are planning ahead, it is worth noting that Valley Wine Tours is already nearly full for February 2026, and early March 2026 is now fully booked. Availability remains in January 2026 and later in March, but those tour dates are limited. Our tours are deliberately small and personal, whether in the Clare Valley or the Barossa Valley, which means that once any tour is booked, the date is gone.

A large number of our guests visit South Australia to attend major events in Adelaide, then add a day or two in wine country. January often brings visitors around the Santos Tour Down Under, along with school holidays and warm, settled weather. It is an ideal time to slow the pace and spend a day among the vines, particularly for those staying in regional South Australia rather than rushing out from the city.

February and March are known locally as Mad March, when Adelaide hosts several major festivals at once. Events such as the Adelaide Fringe, the Adelaide Festival of Arts, WOMADelaide, and motorsport events draw large crowds from interstate and overseas. Accommodation fills quickly, restaurants book out, and tour availability tightens across the state. This seasonal demand is why early March wine tours are already fully booked. You can probably find a seat on a bus, but it's not the same.

Whether you are travelling for a festival, a celebration, or a relaxed South Australian holiday, pairing your Adelaide plans with a locally hosted wine tour is a rewarding way to experience the region. View live availability online and book while dates remain open.