Cape and Wine, Drive-n-Dine

Today you'll drive from Cape Town through the rolling hills of the Stellenbosch Mountains and past vineyards to the picturesque University town Stellenbosch. This town has been an important centre for South African wine production for over 300 years. During your visit you'll also be able to enjoy Cape-Dutch architecture in neighbourhoods with oak-lined streets. Some of the best red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage and Shiraz come from this area.

You'll stay in a very warm and welcoming Stellenbosch guest house. Breakfast is included.

Tip: Interested in a unique dining experience during your Cape wine tour? We can reserve a table for you in a private gazebo in the Moyo restaurant located on the Spier estate. This open air restaurant has several 50m long buffets filled with the most delicious cuisine. Best of all, it's an all you can eat buffet! You won't forget this dining adventure anytime soon. At the guest farm's reception area you can reserve a taxi and go on to enjoy the most amazing wine during dinner. If you prefer, you can also enjoy a fun picnic here with a nice bottle of your favourite wine.

This morning you'll leave Stellenbosch and you'll drive to Franschhoek. It's surrounded by mountains on three sides and vineyards can be found around every corner. This is a wonderful place to enjoy a large (French) lunch and a few glasses of wine that are produced in this area. Your only problem will be choosing from the abundance of delightful small restaurants in town. The town can easily be explored on foot. Be sure to visit the information centre on Main Street; they can provide very detailed information on the region.

From here our Cape wine tours continue on towards Paarl. Then at the end of the day you'll spend the night in a cosy guest house in Tulbagh (breakfast included); a small wine area where vineyards are planted right next to fruit orchards and fields of grain. The town features many beautiful examples of 18th and 19th-century Cape-Dutch architecture. There are also excellent small restaurants in this area, many of which operate from restored homesteads.

Tulbagh is a typical example of a Cape-Dutch town. Everywhere you look you'll see 18th and 19th century houses scattered throughout town. Although many houses were restored after a 1969 earthquake and are therefore 'new', Church street is still worth a visit. It's a good example of a street with many of these restored houses.

Aside from visiting all of the vineyards in the Tulbagh area, you can also visit the 'Old Drostdy Museum'. Here you'll find old Cape furniture, household supplies and even old record players. You can also go on scenic hikes, go bird watching, go horseback riding or mountain biking. Later in the afternoon you'll arrive in Cape Town where you can try a few Cape Town excursions with our Discover the Cape module.