South Moravia Road Trip from Brno: Caves, Wine Cellars and the Lednice–Valtice Chateaux in 3 Days

South Moravia is the corner of Czechia that borders Austria and Slovakia, a land of vineyards, wine cellars and chateaux. This loop starts in Brno, the Moravian capital and the easiest place to rent a car here. It goes north first to the caves of the Moravian Karst, then south to Mikulov and the limestone Pálava hills, through the Lednice–Valtice landscape the Liechtenstein princes built, and east to the wine cellars of Petrov–Plže before heading back to Brno. It makes about 283 km in three days.

The driving is short; the time goes on caves, chateaux and cellars. Many of them run a winter timetable or close, so each day says what is open in the cold months. If you come from Vienna, you can also start and end the loop in Mikulov, close to the border.

Day 1 — Brno, the Moravian Karst and on to Mikulov (117 km)

Pick up the car in Brno and drive north to Skalní mlýn, the paid car park for the caves, open every day of the year. The roads into the karst valleys beyond it are closed to cars: a road train runs to the Punkevní caves (Punkevní jeskyně), or you walk about 1.6 km.

The Punkevní tour is 1,250 m long and takes about 50 minutes. You walk through the caves to the bottom of the Macocha abyss, 138.5 m deep down to the surface of its lower lake, and then ride a boat along the underground river Punkva. Tickets cost CZK 450 in 2026 (CZK 350 from November to March). In the main season, April to October, tours are often sold out, so book ahead. A few fixed times a day are sold online at caves.cz, and the information centre at Skalní mlýn takes bookings up to a year ahead. The caves are open all year: from November to March, Tuesday to Sunday, 8:40–14:00 (first and last entry), closed on Mondays and on 1 January and 24–26 December.

After the tour, a cable car climbs to the upper bridge over Macocha, where you look down into the abyss from above. It does not run in January and February, and only at weekends in March.

A short walk from the same car park is Kateřinská cave (Kateřinská jeskyně), a 580 m tour of about 40 minutes. Its main hall is the largest natural underground space open to the public in Czechia. In November, tours start at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00, Tuesday to Sunday; from December to February the cave is closed.

Then drive back through Brno and south on the motorway to Mikulov. Sleep there.

Day 2 — Mikulov, Děvičky and Lednice to Valtice (36 km)

In the morning walk up Svatý kopeček, the Holy Hill above Mikulov. Its Way of the Cross has 17 buildings, including the chapel of St Sebastian, built 1623–1630; Cardinal Franz von Dietrichstein set it up partly in thanks for the end of the plague of 1622. Back in town, the Mikulov chateau belonged to the Dietrichstein family from 1575 to 1945. In its cellar stands a giant wine barrel from 1643 that holds 1,014 hectolitres. In 2026 the chateau is open from 2 April to 29 November, in November only Friday to Sunday, 9:00–16:00.

Drive north to the village of Pavlov and climb to Děvičky, a castle ruin on one of the Pálava hills that has stood here since the 13th century. The path is steep, and the view takes in villages, vineyards and the Nové Mlýny reservoir.

Then drive east to Lednice. The Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape, about 283 km² of parks, ponds and garden buildings, has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1996. The Liechtensteins held Lednice from 1322, and the chateau got its present English Gothic look in 1846–1858. In its park of almost 200 ha stands the Minaret, almost 60 m high, designed by Josef Hardtmuth. Park at the paid car park about 300 m from the chateau.

The Minaret is closed from 2 November to 31 March. In November and until 13 December, the main tour of the state rooms runs Tuesday to Friday at 11:00 and 14:00 and all day at weekends; from 14 December to the end of January it is closed, and most other tours stay closed until spring. Drive on to Valtice for the night.

Day 3 — Valtice and the cellars of Petrov–Plže to Brno (130 km)

Valtice chateau was the seat of the ruling Liechtenstein princes from the end of the 14th century until it was taken over by the state in 1945; its Baroque form comes from the 17th and 18th centuries. The main tour runs daily until 10 November; from 11 November to 23 December a self-guided Christmas tour takes its place, and the main tour is closed for the rest of the year. In the chateau cellars, the Salon vín shows the 100 best Czech wines of the year’s national competition, for tasting. It is open all year except January, Tuesday to Thursday 10:30–17:00 and Friday and Saturday 10:30–19:00. Then drive east to Petrov, near Strážnice. Its Plže quarter is a protected reserve of folk architecture with about 80 wine cellars, built from the 15th century on and painted white with blue decoration. The lane is open all year; in the season several cellars open each day for tasting. Czech law allows drivers no alcohol at all, so the driver tastes nothing, or you stay a night nearby. From Petrov the D2 motorway takes you back to Brno.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your dates. There are no tolls, but the quick way to Mikulov runs round Brno on the D1 and south on the D52, and the way back from Petrov on the D2: Czech motorways need the electronic vignette, linked to your number plate and bought at the official state e-shop edalnice.gov.cz. In 2026 a 10-day vignette for a car costs CZK 300 and covers the whole trip; a 1-day one costs CZK 230. Budget for accommodation, fuel for about 283 km, car rental, parking at Skalní mlýn, Lednice and Valtice, the road train and cable car, and tickets for the caves, the three chateaux and the Salon vín. From 1 November to 31 March, winter tyres are compulsory whenever there is snow, ice or frost on the road or it can be expected, with at least 4 mm of tread on a car.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.