The Ultimate South African Wine Tour
14 nights from $13,035pp
Taste your way through every major wine region in South Africa on this exceptional 14-night journey. We’ll take you from the historic estates of the Constantia, the stunning vine-clad valleys of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek to the cool-maritime producers of the Hemel-en-Aarde, with a Big Five safari along the way.
This is the ultimate South African itinerary for wine lovers, offering a true deep dive into the diverse terroirs, climates and wine styles to tell South Africa’s wine story in full.
Highlights of Our Ultimate South African Wine Tour
- Private tour of Cape Town including skip-the-queue on the Table Mountain cable car
- Full-day Constantia Valley tour and Stellenbosch ‘vineyard safari’
- Two days exploring Franschhoek and Paarl, including wine tram tickets
- Big Five safari in the Klein Karoo
- Sample fortified port-style Klein Karoo wines
- Boat cruise through the Knysna Heads
- Walk the ancient forests of Tsitsikamma National Park
- Estate visits in South Africa’s smallest wine region at Plettenberg Bay
- Whale-watching and wine tasting in Hermanus and Hemel-en-Aarde Valley
- Boutique accommodation throughout
- Private transfers and tours as described (international flights not included)
Day 1 – Welcome to Cape Town
Arrive into Cape Town International Airport and meet your private driver for the transfer to your boutique hotel in the heart of the V&A Waterfront. It’s a beautiful base for the days ahead, with Table Mountain as a constant backdrop and the Waterfront’s restaurant quarter just a short walk away.
Fancy adding a bit of flair to the first evening? Enjoy a couple drinks at a lively whisky bar on the waterfront. We can book you into their hidden wine cellar to kickstart your South African wine journey with a tasting of several vintages from their curated collection.
Day 2 – Table Mountain and Kirstenbosch
Your first full day begins by exploring Cape Town in the company of a private guide and no trip would be complete without seeing the city from the top of Table Mountain. With skip-the-queue tickets, you’ll enjoy a smooth glide to the top in the iconic cable car with panoramic views the whole way up.
Afterwards, enjoy the ride through the colourful Bo-Kaap district and Houses of Parliament before visiting Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. There’s over 528 hectares of native flora and birdlife to see here, with sweeping views of the surrounding fynbos. Discover the forests from above on the treetop walk, with sections that sit above the crown of the canopy.
Day 3 – Constantia Wine Valley
Meet your guide for your first full day of South African wine with a private tour through the Constantia Valley, the oldest wine-producing region in the southern hemisphere and one of the most beautiful stretches of the Cape.
Begin at a renowned wine farm in Cape Town’s southern suburbs, where you’ll enjoy an intimate and premium tasting of award-winning vintages with cheese and charcuterie. Next up is Groot Constantia, the historic homestead that put South Africa on the world wine map in 1685. Here you’ll enjoy five wines in a fascinating and historic tasting experience.
Next is a boutique wine producer with views over False Bay to sample a selection of their family range wines before a fabulous, four-course lunch in their renowned and innovative restaurant.
Your final visit of the day takes you to a fourth boutique producer known for its stunning sunset views and Bordeaux-style blends, where you’ll toast the day with a tasting of seven estate wines.
Day 4 – Private Full Day Stellenbosch Tour
After breakfast, say goodbye to Cape Town as your guide takes you into Stellenbosch, the heart of South Africa’s Winelands.
Begin with a guided ‘vineyard safari’, in an open-sided game vehicle. You’ll not only learn about the terroir and taste wines, but discover the role of biodiversity and how the estate is doing its part to preserve the Cape Floral Kingdom. With your appetite at the ready, sit down for an exceptional four-course seasonal menu at the esteemed onsite restaurant, with the option to include paired wines.
After lunch your guide will take you for tastings at three additional Stellenbosch estates, all the while sharing fascinating insights into the history and culture of the valley. Finish the day by crossing the Helshoogte Pass and on to Franschhoek, where you’ll check in to your five-star wine estate hotel in the valley, which is home for the next three nights.
Day 5 – Franschhoek & Paarl Wine Tour
Today enjoy a full-day tour of Franschhoek and Paarl, two important districts in the Cape’s Coastal wine region. Start in Franschhoek village, exploring the French Huguenot architectural heritage.
Your first estate visit of the day takes you to one of the Cape’s most acclaimed producers, where you’ll sample a multi-regional selection of both white and red wines. From here, the famed Babylonstoren, with its unbelievable kitchen gardens, olive groves, vineyards and bee hives. Sample six wines all produced with the same sustainable ethos.
The afternoon crosses to Paarl, where the warmer climate and lower altitude offers a bolder contrast to Franschhoek’s wines. Here, you’ll enjoy a premium wine tasting inside an architecturally stunning vaulted-ceiling cellar.
Day 6 – Franschhoek Wine Tram
Today is dedicated to the most iconic wine experience in South Africa: The Franschhoek Wine Tram. This laid back train dating back to the early 1900s circuits the valley each day, stopping at a rotating selection of estates. We include hop-on-hop-off tickets so that you can embark and disembark at leisure.
Depending on the types of wines or estates you want to explore, our team can recommend which of the coloured lines to join. Or, embrace the spirit of adventure and see where the day takes you – the choice is yours!
Ask our team to arrange a lunch table at a restaurant above the village, where dishes are paired with exceptional Pinot Noir and outstanding Pierre Jourdan Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine.
Day 7 – Head to Robertson Wine Region
Enjoy a sumptuous breakfast before taking a transfer east via the Du Toitskloof Pass, a beautiful mountain road that climbs through the Franschhoek range before descending Route 62 into the Robertson wine region.
This is one of the Cape’s best-kept wine secrets, known locally as the “Valley of Wine and Roses”. Fertile, chalky and lime-rich, the soils and continental climate call to mind Champagne and England’s South Downs, with over 50 wineries putting out top-level Chardonnay, Shiraz and Chenin Blanc.
Check into a boutique country house hotel in the heart of the valley for a relaxed evening, perhaps exploring the local Soekershof gardens, full of endemic flower and cactus varieties.
Day 8 – Welcome to the Klein Karoo
After breakfast, you have time to further explore the Robertson area. We can add a visit to a local olive and lavender farm, where you can sample homemade cordials.
You’ll then continue east into the Klein Karoo. The landscape shifts dramatically as you leave the mountains behind, with red rock formations, ancient dry riverbeds and an overwhelming sense of geological time. Your destination is Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, a malaria-free Big Five wilderness, and one of fewer than a handful of reserves in the world that is home to the rare white lion.
Enjoy a relaxing lunch on arrival in the lodge before settling into your luxury tented suite. Join your first game drive in the afternoon, exploring two different biomes in an open sided Land Cruiser. As the sun starts to set, stop off at a scenic spot overlooking the semi-arid terrain for refreshing sundowner drinks, before returning to the lodge for dinner.
Day 9 – Big Five Safaris at Sanbona
Your wake up call is early and atmospheric, as you join your first game drive of the day, enveloped in the awakening sounds of the bush. Before the sun rises, wildlife is still active, giving you an excellent opportunity to spot antelope, cheetahs, hippos and more.
Between drives, an array of options await and it’s entirely your choice as to what you might do. Guided bush walks immerse you in the reserve’s diverse flora and fauna for an insight into this unique ecosystem. You could also choose to see some of the ancient rock art sites or unwind with a spa treatment. There’s also the reasonable option of simply reading on your terrace as endemic bird species flit around you.
The afternoon drive gives you a chance to practice photography, tick off more species from your list, and watch as the southern hemisphere constellations emerge above. Enjoy another fabulous dinner, perhaps accompanied by a vintage from the lodge’s cellar.
Day 10 – Onward to Oudtshoorn
Enjoy a final morning game drive and breakfast, before departing Sanbona and heading southeast toward Oudtshoorn. The valley between the Swartberg and Outeniqua Mountains produces wine of real character, particularly fortified styles similar to Port, and this route gives you the opportunity to stop off and sample a few.
In the afternoon, you’ll check into your suite at a boutique spa hotel in the Olifants River Valley. After some free time to relax after the journey, you’ll visit a nearby local ostrich farm, where a tractor tour brings you up close to the world’s largest bird. End the day with an unforgettable ‘ostrich derby’, which is exactly what it sounds like!
Day 11 – Oudtshoorn to Knysna
After breakfast, a transfer will take you to the Cango Caves, renowned as a great wonder of world. You have the option to amp up the adventure and go deeper into the caves, but this isn’t for the faint of heart!
You’ll then cross the Outeniqua Pass out of the Karoo and into the Garden Route. Stop for lunch in George or Wilderness before arriving in Knysna for a late-afternoon cruise through the famous Heads – the sandstone sentinels at the entrance to the lagoon. Check in to a boutique hotel above the water, in time for oysters and a glass of Chenin Blanc before dinner.
Day 12 – Tsitsikamma & Plettenberg Bay Wine Estates
After breakfast, head east to Tsitsikamma National Park. Spend the morning marvelling at the ancient coastal forest on a hike through the Storms River Mouth trail.
You can then head to Plettenberg Bay – the ‘Jewel of the Garden Route’ and South Africa’s smallest and most easterly wine growing region. It’s not well-known internationally, but is producing great cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc and award-winning MCC sparkling. We’ll arrange an estate lunch and with the option to add on visits to several other boutique estates. This is sure to leave you with a richer and deeper appreciation of South African wine, having visited somewhere far off the well-trodden Winelands trail!
Return to your hotel in Knysna for a relaxed evening overlooking the ocean.
Day 13 – Knysna to Hermanus
Today you’ll begin your westward journey toward Hermanus and Mossel Bay along the coast. The day is yours so take your time. Your driver can stop along the way for clifftop walks and views across sweeping views across the Indian Ocean.
We recommend stopping for lunch and a tasting near Riversdale. Arrive in Hermanus in the afternoon, which sits on Walker Bay, arguably the world’s best land-based whale-watching location (from August to November). Check in to a boutique guesthouse, where you’ll have an ocean-view suite for the next two nights.
Day 14 – Whales & Wine in Hermanus
This morning gives you time to explore the idyllic coastal town of Hermanus, with its charming colonial streets and views over Walker Bay. During whale season, we recommend adding on a whale watching boat cruise aboard a catamaran, for close encounters with these gentle giants.
Ten minutes from Hermanus, the Hemel-en-Aarde valley produces some of the finest cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the southern hemisphere. Make your way to a renowned estate situated at the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, where we’ve booked you a five-course seasonal menu, complete with a pairing of six wines.
Several other esteemed wine farms can be added on in the afternoon for casual tastings before returning to Hermanus for the final evening of your South African wine journey.
Day 15 – Your Journey Home
Wake up and enjoy breakfast before a final stroll through Hermanus. Pop into one of the many local art galleries to find a piece to take home or explore the clifftop fynbos trails of the Fernkloof Nature Reserve.
Transfer back to Cape Town airport for your final flight home. Or if you’re not ready for the adventure to end, why not take a connection up to Victoria Falls, one of the world’s greatest natural wonders for an extra night or two? Ask your Travel Designer for more details.
We craft each itinerary just for you. Contact our Travel Designers to plan your ultimate South African wine tour.
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