City Sightseeing South Africa · Cape Town and the Franschhoek Valley
A coach from the V&A Waterfront to Franschhoek, a one-day hop-on hop-off ticket on one colour line, then the coach home. Pick it if you want to choose your own estates and nobody in your group wants to drive.
Read the ticket for what it is: transport. The listing's know-before-you-go says tasting fees are charged separately by the estates, lunch and other food are not included, and cellar tours cost extra. One line in its Includes list says the opposite ("wine tasting fees, food and cellar tours"). Go with the know-before-you-go. You pay at every estate where you taste or eat, so bring a card.
The coach does the hard part. You ride from Cape Town with free WiFi, and the listing says pickup is from set points around the city, not from your hotel; the last pickup is outside the Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront. An email with your pickup options arrives at 8:00 the day before. Check your spam folder. In Franschhoek you join one colour line and ride trams and open-air tram-buses between its estates, with live commentary on board according to the listing.
Much of the line is a bus. The rails run past some estates, and the wine tram FAQ says the experience is a mix of tram and tram-bus because not every winery sits by the railway. The service runs one way: you get one chance to get off at each estate, and there is about an hour between vehicles. The listing says to expect 4 or 5 of the 8 estates on your line. We would plan on four and pick them before you go. Which lines run varies by day, and the ticket is valid on the day you booked. Ages are not stated on the listing.
The listing says an email with your pickup options arrives at 8:00 the day before. It can land in spam, so look there too.
Pickups run from set points across the city and finish outside the Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront. The drive to the valley takes roughly an hour to an hour and a half, depending on traffic.
You board a tram or a tram-bus on the line running that day. The operator asks passengers to check in 10 to 15 minutes before departure, and departures do not wait.
About an hour at each stop is the rhythm. At the bigger farms, such as Boschendal, Plaisir or Grande Provence, a farm vehicle can take 10 to 20 minutes to reach the tasting area, according to the operator.
Lunch is not included. Pick one estate for a proper meal and book a table at least a day ahead, as the operator advises.
Head back to the terminal in time for the coach. Wine you bought can be left with the estate and collected at the terminal.
★★★★★It is certainly a MUST DO when in Cape Town! Everything from the beginning to the end was smooth and easy.
★★★★★This is a MUST do when visiting Cape Town. We had the best day ever and did the blue line bus first
★★★★★Very well organised and appropriate help all along the way.
★★★★★This was such a convenience experience where you don't have to worry one bit about where to go or what to do.
Read next:
No. The listing's know-before-you-go says tasting fees are charged separately by the estates, and lunch and cellar tours are extra. One line in its Includes list says otherwise, but the ticket covers transport.
Not according to the listing. Pickup is from set points around Cape Town, and the final pickup is outside the Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront. The email with your options arrives at 8:00 the day before.
The listing says to expect 4 or 5 of the 8 estates on your line. With about an hour between vehicles and a farm shuttle at some estates, four is a comfortable full day.
The listing says the lines on offer vary by day of operation, and you choose when you book. Check the estates on each line first, because the line decides which farms you can reach.
Ready to book
A coach from Cape Town and a one-day hop-on hop-off ticket on one colour line: you choose the estates. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Full-Day Wine Tasting Tour with the Wine TramStellenbosch on foot, Lanzerac and Tokara, then the tram to three estates near Franschhoek. Accommodation pickup in Cape Town.★ 4.7 · 9.5 hours
Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Wine Tasting & TramZevenwacht, a Stellenbosch walk, Franschhoek, a tram ride and Rickety Bridge. Tastings and the tram ride are extras.★ 4.7 · 8 hours
Half-Day Wine Tram & Cheese TastingFairview wine and cheese, a short tram ride and a Rickety Bridge tasting, back in Cape Town in about five hours.★ 5.0 · 4.5 to 5 hours