Which wine tram line is best

Which tram line is best in Franschhoek?

The one that stops at the three or four estates you most want to visit. Each line has six to eight, and you will not manage more than four or five in a day.

Here are the five current lines with the estates the operator's website lists for each. Red, Blue and Pink all share the same three estates near the village, which are the stops the tram itself reaches on rails. The rest of each line runs on open-air tram-buses.

The simplest way to ride any line from Cape Town: a coach to Franschhoek, a one-day hop-on hop-off ticket and the coach home. You pick the estates.

★ 4.6 · 8.5 hours

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What is the Blue line on the Franschhoek Wine Tram?

The Blue line leaves from the Franschhoek Terminal and mixes the three tram estates near the village with five smaller farms reached by tram-bus.

The five Blue-only stops are La Bri, Holden Manz, Maison, Paserene and Klein Goederust. On the operator's timetable they sit on two short bus loops out of the village terminal, so the Blue line is more bus than tram. That is fine if you came for the farms.

What makes it worth choosing: La Bri does chocolate, Turkish delight and biltong pairings, according to Stingy Nomads' wine tram guide. Klein Goederust was bought by Paul Siguqa in 2019, and TimesLIVE calls it the valley's first fully black-owned wine farm. Holden Manz has its own restaurant, Franschhoek Kitchen, so the Blue line works well with a booked lunch.

Like Red and Pink, the Blue line comes in two versions: Blue Line Tram First and Blue Line Bus First. One guest on the coach day from Cape Town wrote that they "did the blue line bus first" and had a great day. Both versions visit the same estates in a different order.

What are the Red and Pink lines like?

Red is the line for sparkling wine and views on the Franschhoek Pass side. Pink is the family and lunch line, with Leopard's Leap, Chamonix and Pigcasso.

The Red line runs out to Mont Rochelle and Haute Cabrière on one bus loop, then Eikehof and Lynx on another, before the tram trio. Haute Cabrière is a Cap Classique house: its tasting page lists the Pierre Jourdan range, an underground tasting room and a tasting format for tram guests. Mont Rochelle has moved its tasting venue and restaurant to Miko for now, because of building work, according to the operator.

The Pink line shares the three tram estates and adds Atlas Swift, Leopard's Leap, Dieu Donné, Chamonix and Pigcasso. Leopard's Leap is known for family-style rotisserie lunches and a big lawn for children, Cape Town Magazine reports. Dieu Donné sits high on the slope with wide views. Chamonix has a cellar tour that needs booking ahead. Pigcasso is the wine farm of Farm Sanctuary SA, home of the painting pig of the same name.

If you can only pick one of these two: Red for wine people, Pink for a mixed group where someone is happier with a pizza than a flight of Pinot Noir.

What are the Orange and Green lines?

The two lines from the Groot Drakenstein Terminal. Orange has the famous names: Boschendal, Babylonstoren and Vrede en Lust. Green swaps Babylonstoren for smaller cellars up the Helshoogte road.

The Groot Drakenstein Terminal is at the corner of the R310 and the R45, about a quarter of an hour by shuttle from the village. Both lines share Boschendal, Plaisir and Vrede en Lust, which have tram platforms on the timetable.

Orange adds Babylonstoren, Baccō and Noble Hill. Babylonstoren is the big draw, with its fruit and vegetable garden and restaurants that cook from it. It is also the one estate on the network that charges an entrance fee, says the wine tram FAQ. Boschendal is one of the oldest farms in the valley: its title deeds date to 1685.

Green adds Allée Bleue, Camberley, Bartinney, Le Pommier and Zorgvliet, all on a bus loop toward Stellenbosch. It feels further from the crowds. Note the name: parts of the operator's own site call this the Navy line, and its FAQ lists "Green" among the old line names. If a booking page says Navy, it is the same loop.

Plan more time per stop on both. At Babylonstoren, Boschendal and Plaisir a farm vehicle takes 10 to 20 minutes from the platform to the tasting area, and the operator says large estates need two hours or more.

How much of each line is really on the tram?

Less than the name suggests. On the Franschhoek side the rails reach three estates; on the Groot Drakenstein side, three or four platforms. Everything else is an open-air tram-bus.

The June 2026 timetable splits each side into tram departures and bus departures. Near the village, the tram runs from the terminal to Rickety Bridge, Grande Provence and Franschhoek Cellar and back. Every other Red, Blue and Pink estate is on a bus loop. At Groot Drakenstein the tram rows list Boschendal, Plaisir and Vrede en Lust platforms.

None of this is a secret, but it surprises people who picture a full day on a vintage tram. The railway is the old Paarl to Franschhoek branch line, opened in 1904 and reopened for the wine tram in 2012, Urban Transport Magazine explains. Many wineries simply are not beside it. The tram-buses are open-sided and pleasant, with the same live commentary.

If the rail ride itself matters most to you, start with the tram leg and make one of the three rail estates your lunch stop.

What happened to the Purple, Yellow and Grey lines?

They have gone. The operator lists Purple, Grey, Yellow and Burgundy as discontinued, and their estates now sit on other lines.

Old blog posts and some tour listings still mention these colours. If you read about the Purple line or the Yellow line, check where that estate sits today using the table above. Staff at the ticket office can map an old name onto a current line, says the FAQ.

One half-day tour on this site, the wine tram and cheese tour, calls its tram ride the "Silver Line". That name is not on the operator's current list, so treat it as the tour's own label for a short ride near the village rather than a sixth line. Our post on the discontinued lines follows where each old estate went.

Which line suits families, food lovers or first-timers?

Families: Pink, with Tram First. Food lovers: Blue or Orange. First-timers who want the classic: Red. Groups wanting quiet: Green.

• Families with young children: the operator suggests any Tram First departure. Pink adds the Leopard's Leap lawn and Rickety Bridge, which has a playground and a pizza oven according to Stingy Nomads. Prams must be folded on board.
• Food lovers: Blue for the pairings at La Bri and lunch at Holden Manz. Orange for the garden restaurants at Babylonstoren and the picnics at Boschendal. Book lunch at least 24 hours ahead, as the operator advises.
• First-timers: Red. Cap Classique at Haute Cabrière, the three tram estates and the closest stops to the mountains.
• Couples who dislike crowds: Green, or the Blue line on a weekday outside summer.
• Horse lovers: Vrede en Lust is on both Orange and Green. A one-hour ride through its vineyards is booked separately, for a morning before your tram or another day.

Vrede en Lust from the saddle: an hour on a quiet horse through the vines under the Simonsberg, with a guide and helmet.

★ 4.8 · 1 hour

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How do you plan stops on one line?

Pick three, maybe four, estates. Put the big one with lunch in the middle, check the timetable for hop-on times, and accept that you cannot go back.

The lines run one way. Miss your stop or leave too early, and that estate is gone for the day. The operator says to plan at least three hours, but most visitors make a full day of it, and Stingy Nomads found three farms a day was right.

Read the timetable down for the time you hop off and across for the next hop-on, says the FAQ. Departures from the village run roughly every half hour from 9:30 on the June 2026 timetable, and you should check in 10 to 15 minutes before. Late passengers are not waited for.

Buying wine? Leave it with the host at the estate and collect it at the terminal at the end of the day. The operator keeps uncollected bottles for seven days. The full picture of how the day works is in is the wine tram worth it, and our wineries guide helps you choose the three estates.

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