Wine country weekends from Cape Town: Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Constantia

Living in Cape Town means some of the world's prettiest vineyards are closer than the Cotswolds are to London, so make the most of it, and leave the car keys with someone sober.

The short version

• Constantia is inside the city, about 20 minutes from the centre, with seven farms on its official wine route, including Groot Constantia, founded in 1685 [3][4].
• Stellenbosch, about an hour's drive away, has more than 200 producers on South Africa's oldest wine route, founded in 1971 [5].
• Franschhoek is best done on the Franschhoek Wine Tram, a hop-on hop-off tram and tram-bus service that cost R370 (about £17) a person, excluding tastings, when we checked [6].
• South Africa's drink-drive limit is 0.05g per 100ml of blood, the same as Scotland's, and the government wants to cut it to zero [7].
• The FCDO warns about carjacking and robbery, especially after dark, so plan to be off the back roads before nightfall [1].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = ZAR 22.20).

Constantia: wine on the doorstep

Constantia is the easy win. It's a leafy suburb in the Southern Suburbs, tucked under the back of Table Mountain, and you can be tasting within half an hour of the city centre. The Constantia Wine Route calls it the oldest uninterrupted wine-growing region in the southern hemisphere [4]. The farms on the route include:

• Groot Constantia, which describes itself as South Africa's first wine farm, established in 1685 [3]
• Klein Constantia
• Buitenverwachting
• Steenberg Vineyards
• Eagles' Nest
• Constantia Glen
• Beau Constantia [4]

Groot Constantia's estate is open from 10am to 5pm daily, with its tasting and shop open 9am to 6pm. It has two restaurants, Jonkershuis and Simon's, and picnic baskets you must order at least 24 hours ahead. You can't bring your own picnic onto the estate [3].

Constantia works as a long Sunday lunch rather than a weekend away. The roads are short, but it's still driving, so book a ride-hailing car or nominate a driver.

Stellenbosch: the big one

Stellenbosch is a university town with oak-lined streets, old Cape Dutch buildings and vineyards climbing every hill around it. Stellenbosch Wine Routes says it's South Africa's first wine route, established in 1971, and represents more than 200 wine and grape producers [5].

The area splits into five sub-routes, which helps if you're planning a day [5]:

Stellenbosch Wine Routes runs a visitor office at 141 Dorp Street with maps and tour itineraries, and lists events such as a sparkling-wine festival at Villiera on 14 November 2026 and Carols by Candlelight on 6 December 2026 [5]. Opening hours vary wildly between farms, and many close on Mondays or Tuesdays, so check each estate's own site before you go.

From Cape Town, the drive is about an hour, depending on traffic, mostly on the N2 or N1. If you're heading out from the airport side, the FCDO's advice to stay on the N2 and M3, avoid the R300 and use the airport approach road rather than Borcherd's Quarry Road applies here too [1].

Franschhoek and the Wine Tram

Franschhoek, settled by French Huguenots in the late 17th century, is the pretty one: a single high street of restaurants and galleries ringed by mountains. It's roughly an hour and a quarter from Cape Town, a little further than Stellenbosch.

The Franschhoek Wine Tram solves the driving problem neatly. You pick a colour-coded line, then hop on and off trams and open-sided tram-buses at the estates you fancy [6]. When we checked in November 2026 the lines included:

• Red Line: Mont Rochelle, Haute Cabrière, Lynx, Eikehof, Rickety Bridge, Grande Provence and Franschhoek Cellar
• Blue Line: La Bri, Holden Manz, Maison, Paserene, Klein Goederust and others
• Pink Line: Leopard's Leap, Dieu Donné, Chamonix and others
• Orange Line: Boschendal, Plaisir, Babylonstoren, Vrede en Lust, Noble Hill and others [6]

Prices listed on the site when we checked:

Source: Franschhoek Wine Tram [6]. Prices change; check before booking.

The tram leaves from Franschhoek itself (corner of Main Road and Cabriere Street) or from Groot Drakenstein, depending on the line [6]. It also offers transfers from Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Paarl. Book ahead for weekends and the summer holidays; it's a popular day out and the lines fill up. The site warns that roadworks around Franschhoek, Simondium and Klapmuts can cause delays [6].

Planning a weekend

A typical winelands weekend for Brits in Cape Town looks something like this:

1. Pick one base. Stellenbosch or Franschhoek, not both. Driving between them on the Helshoogte Pass is lovely, but it's not where you want to be after a tasting.
2. Book lunch first. The well-known estate restaurants book up weeks ahead in summer (December to February). Then plan tastings around lunch.
3. Limit yourself to three or four farms a day. Tastings are usually small pours of five or six wines, but they add up.
4. Use the tram, a tour or a driver for the drinking day. Ride-hailing works in Stellenbosch town, but cars can be scarce out on the farms late in the afternoon.
5. Plan the drive home in daylight. The FCDO notes that carjacking and robbery are more common after dark, at junctions and traffic lights, and that criminals sometimes put objects in the road to force cars to stop [1].
6. Ship it, don't carry it. Many farms will courier cases to your home in Cape Town, which saves a boot full of bottles while you stop for lunch.

Drink-driving: lower than England, heading for zero

South Africa's current legal limit is 0.05g of alcohol per 100ml of blood, or 0.24mg per 1,000ml of breath. Professional drivers have a stricter limit of 0.02g per 100ml [7]. That's lower than the limit back home in England and Wales, and the same as Scotland's.

In January 2026 the Department of Transport announced plans to amend section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act to scrap the legal limit altogether [7]. When we checked in November 2026 that was still a proposal, not law. Either way, the practical answer is the same as it would be in the Cotswolds: if you're tasting, you're not driving.

Weekend and public holiday roads carry extra risk. The FCDO says fatal accidents are common, especially at weekends and during public holidays, and that overtaking on the hard shoulder is common [1]. Police roadblocks with breath tests are frequent around the holiday season, and a drink-driving conviction can mean a criminal record. Our guide to driving and getting around Cape Town covers licences and insurance, and driving abroad on a UK licence explains when you'll need a South African one.

Staying safe in the winelands

The winelands feel like a holiday, but the FCDO's general advice still applies [1][2]:

• Keep bags and phones out of sight in the car, especially at farm car parks and in town.
• Use the official ride-hailing app, and check the car and driver match before you get in [1].
• If you're staying over, ask your guest house about the safest route back and where to park.
• Save 112 from a mobile, 10111 for police and 10177 for an ambulance [8].

For tips on which farms do the best Sunday lunch or child-friendly tastings, ask our community group for Brits in South Africa. Someone will have been last weekend.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): South Africa travel advice – safety and security
2. GOV.UK (FCDO): South Africa travel advice (still current at 7 November 2026, updated 5 November 2026)
3. Groot Constantia
4. Constantia Wine Route
5. Stellenbosch Wine Routes
6. Franschhoek Wine Tram
7. SAnews: Government plans to amend legislation on driving and drinking policy (15 January 2026)
8. GOV.UK (FCDO): South Africa travel advice – getting help

Keep reading

• Nightlife in Cape Town
• Driving and getting around Cape Town
• Safety in Cape Town: FCDO advice and everyday precautions
• Driving abroad on a UK licence