African Sky offers a variety of private tours, safaris, and honeymoons that include a few days in the Winelands near Cape Town. The area is one of South Africa's most exciting, and though rarely the focus of any itinerary, the Cape Winelands offers a unique and exciting addition to any itinerary.
The Winelands of the Western Cape are a world of their own. Rolling hills, meandering mountain passes and picturesque farmlands define this region's beauty.
An extensive private tour of South Africa includes the Cape Winelands as one of the destinations in the Southern part of the country.
One of African Sky's most popular tours that explore the country's highlights in the company of a private guide with extensive knowledge and experience.
Two of the most popular regions near Cape Town are explored as the tour first visits the Winelands before traveling to the Whale Route situated around Hermanus.
The wine is undoubtedly the most obvious reason to visit the Boland – entirely with merit. With so many fine award-winning bouquets and uniquely South African blends, even the most discerning connoisseurs will be delighted by the variety and impeccable quality. South Africa's wine culture is traditional and dynamic, ensuring a complement for every palate.
An established and respected viticulture has fostered an equally revered food culture, which extends from imaginative, fresh market fare to fine dining restaurants festooned in awards. The Boland is the epicurean capital of South Africa, and you need not venture far from your accommodations to find something mouthwatering and memorable.
With their handsome Cape Dutch architecture and rural surroundings, the Cape Winelands' historic hamlets hold all the yesteryear charm. After Cape Town, Stellenbosch is the second-oldest settlement in the country. At the same time, Franschhoek's Huguenot legacy has been indelibly fixed in the town's tidy little streets, elegant structures, and romantic atmosphere.
A great deal of the allure of the Winelands is owed to the spectacular natural setting. Not only are the towns and the vineyards wonderfully picturesque, but a backdrop of dramatic mountain scenery also augments them. The avid outdoorsman may also go hiking or horse riding while visiting the Boland.
The Cape Winelands region is the Tuscony or Provence of South Africa. It is a region of rolling hills and vineyards, mountain views, good food, history, and culture. The area is the wine-making heartland of the country and has all the restaurants, art galleries, nature reserves, and shopping high streets to make it a wonderful tour destination.
The principal towns that make up the Cape Winelands are the towns of Paarl, Stellenbosch, and Franschhoek, all erstwhile French Huguenot settlements among the aboriginal Khoi tribes of the Cape. The first wine-making family to arrive here 400 years ago was from the Bordeaux region of France, though since then, South African wines have developed their unique varieties and tastes that have made them world-class in their own right. Today, lunch and wine tasting at one of the region's many Chateaux-like Cape Dutch farmhouses is a favorite weekend experience for locals and tourists.
Stellenbosch is the largest in the region and only about an hour’s drive from Cape Town. Dorp Street is the cultural center of town, where some of the best cellars, tasting rooms, shops, and restaurants can be found in whitewashed buildings that are iconic of Cape architecture. Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, just behind Stellenbosch, is an excellent outdoor outing, taking you to the beautiful indigenous floral vegetation of the surrounding mountains.
Franschhoek is a small town packed with the country's finest hotels, restaurants, and luxury establishments. The winding road between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek is home to many billionaire-owned wine farms, and Franschhoek caters primarily to the luxury tourist. A stroll through town here might discover more than one great restaurant and the Huguenot Memorial is here, commemorating the town's heritage in a park overlooking the surrounding mountains.
