Cape Town has sooo much to offer, which I didn’t realize until I started planning our trip there. There’s mountains to hike, beautiful beaches and bays, lots of vineyards, the V&A waterfront, Cape Point, opportunities to see whales, seals, penguins and more! It really has something for everyone and I will probably do a full “Why Travel to Cape Town” type post in the future!
But today I wanted to share specifically about some of the vineyards! When we were deciding what we most wanted to see in Cape Town, since sadly we just had 5 days there and couldn’t do it all, one thing we really wanted to do was explore the vineyards a little bit. Overall I want to mention that you will not be disappointed drinking the local wines in Cape Town! We LOVED the South African wines, and they are so inexpensive to buy while over there too!
TIP: Consider leaving room in your luggage to bring home a bottle or two of South African wines for yourself or as gifts!
Now let me tell you, you could go to Cape Town for probably two weeks or more and just go to different vineyards each day, but if you are trying to see a little bit of everything that Cape Town has to offer, then this post is for you! We spent one afternoon seeing a few vineyards, and I really think we did it right because it was amazing. Plus we were able to fit in a hike that morning on Table Mountain and a nice dinner by the beach in Camps Bay. It was literally the perfect balanced day! 🙂
Explore the Cape Town Vineyards in an Afternoon
Start with a picnic lunch
We were so excited to find this option for a picnic lunch in the vineyard when searching for the best Cape Town vineyard experiences, and it seriously was above and beyond our expectations even.
You get to choose from three location options on their property, a Family Picnic Area {great if you have little ones as there is a little swingset and room to run around on level grass – they also have a kiddie menu to choose from!}, the Mid Level Picnic Lawn {great for gatherings or larger parties}, or the Dam {a little quieter and romantic close to the little dam they have}. The Dam is the option we chose as we wanted a romantic picnic for two! 🙂 But actually since we went on a weekday, and in the heat of their summer {January} it wasn’t very packed so we felt like we had so much space to ourselves.
TIP: If you aren’t really into picnicking or it ends up being a really hot day, they have a beautiful restaurant too with indoor and patio seating!
From the drive in, the property is beautiful as you can see from my pics! You drive down a long drive until you reach the parking area at the back. There are two small lots and either is fine. When you arrive for your picnic, you will check in at the restaurant.
They will then escort you to your own little picnic location which has a picnic table {we didn’t use ours, but a great option if you prefer to not sit on the ground the whole time}, an umbrella, a rollout blanket, and two beanbag type back pillows to rest against. The staff unrolls the blanket for you and sets it up when they bring you to your spot and also will put your umbrella up for you so you don’t have to do a thing except relax! 🙂
NOTE: You should definitely reserve ahead, but you can do this online or on the phone very easily! We actually ended up moving our time later the day before so we could get our hike in and the staff was super friendly and accommodating about it when we called!
They will then give you a wine menu {also with other drinks of course} for your to make your selection. We chose a lovely rosé and a bottle of still water as it was a super hot day. They bring your wine out with a little ice bucket and glasses for you and of course your picnic basket! The menu is pre-set and you can view it here, but I’m sure if you have allergies or anything they would alter it for you. It was almost tapas style with little bites of different things to try and we loved it all!
Once you eat, you are free to relax or just leave your things and wander the vineyard. You can walk up into the actual rows of grapevines or down onto the water in the dam, both of which offer beautiful views and photo ops! I don’t know quite how long we stayed for, but they don’t try to rush you out or anything and you could probably stay for hours just relaxing and enjoying the beautiful surroundings and serenity!
Next visit a couple nearby vineyards
We were staying in Green Point, Cape Town, so the Constantia Wine Region was on the way back towards our place and only about 15 minutes from Cape Point Vineyards, so we decided that would be a good route to take. Plus, there are 10 wine farms in this area so a great opportunity to see {and taste!} a few in a short period of time.
Since we stayed a while relaxing at our picnic spot, we only had time to visit two of the Constantia wine estates, but this was fine for us as I still had to drive us back lol! I highly recommend visiting the Groot Constantia winery as it’s very pretty with tables inside and out, easy access to the vineyards to walk through and take some photos, and there is a nearby little shopping area if you are interested.
We stopped at this shopping area to grab a coffee at the Deli there and I popped in a couple stores. It was such a beautiful little shopping spot I wanted to take so many pictures of just how cute it was lol! I really liked Tessuti Boutique for gorgeous {high end} women’s fashion and some really unique and beautiful home items. I wanted like everything in the store lol. Next door is Birds of a Feather, which has some great little gifty items if you have some family or friends to bring gifts home to!
If you want to see more of the Constantia Wine region, you can take one of these guided tour options, which I would highly recommend and definitely want to try next time we are there. This region is so close to all of the main areas of Cape Town so it’s so easy to see more of it in just a short drive {likely 25 minutes or less} from wherever you are staying. Or you could even find lodging right in the region if this is your primary focus of your travels to Cape Town! If you want to do more shopping in this area, which I wish we had gotten a chance to, I recommend the Constantia Village.
Finish with dinner in one of the best dining spots in Cape Town
The Constantia region is known for it’s dining options, and I really wish we had gotten to eat dinner there. We had decided to go back to our Airbnb to shower and change after spending the day in the vineyards, but I think next time we would definitely check out one of the restaurants in this article. They all look amazing, and will be nearby and perfect to fill your belly after a day of sipping wines!
Here are some additional suggestions if you have more time or want to devote more of your time to seeing vineyards while in Cape Town and South Africa.
- Take the Franschhoek Wine Tram {info here}. I actually considered booking this for us until we found the vineyard above that did picnic lunches and decided to go that route. This tram option seems like a nice simple way to see a bunch of “wine estates” as they call them, without having to do a lot of legwork yourself. If we go back to Cape Town, we would definitely consider checking this out!
- Visit the Stellenbosch Wine Region {check out this article here with some info & tour recommendations}. This region was a little too far for us to do in our short time frame, but it offers a lot of beautiful options!
- If you’re looking for a more bougie way to see the vineyards and this is your primary focus while in Cape Town, check out the Condé Nast picks here, they all look amazing!
- Brush up on your wine tasting vocabulary & skills before you go with this great article!
I hope you have a great trip to Cape Town and get to check out some of these suggestions! It’s a truly beautiful and magical place and I can’t wait to go back! I honestly would move there in a second! If you have any questions at all or even additional recommendations and experiences to share, please comment below!
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