Last Updated on October 5, 2024 by Hannah Stephenson
The Franschhoek wine tram is SO much fun, and it’s the perfect way to explore the area’s beautiful wine farms!
The tram takes you hopping between wine estates in the gorgeous Franschhoek Valley, and with the the wine tram explorer tour, you don’t need to book an overnight stay – or worry about a designated driver!
I’ve done the wine tram twice, and if you want to do it on a day trip from Cape Town, I definitely think that the wine tram explorer tour is the best way to go. So, I’ve written this guide to containing everything you need to know, and some tips to ensure that you have the best day possible.
Cheers!
- What is the Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer Tour?
- How to get to the Franschhoek Wine Tram from Cape Town?
- How does the Franschhoek wine tram explorer work?
- Which wineries do you visit on the Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer?
- What’s included with your Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer ticket?
- How much does it cost to do the Franschhoek Wine Tram from Cape Town?
- Why book the Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer?
- How to book the Franschhoek wine tram explorer
- Is it worth doing the Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer from Cape Town?
What is the Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer Tour?
Price: R750
Duration: 10 hours (including travel time)
Includes: transport to and from Franschhoek, wine tram tickets, complimentary glass of wine on arrival
Excludes: tastings and food – you pay for these on the day
Free cancellation? Yes
The Franschhoek wine tram is a tram and bus system that connects different wineries in the Franschhoek Valley.
Then, the wine tram explorer tour is a package deal that includes your tram tickets and transport between Cape Town and Franschhoek. I booked this tour because:
- It has great reviews!
- Ubering to and from Franschhoek is expensive and takes forever!
- The tour is great value for money – way cheaper than hiring a private driver
- We didn’t want to book an overnight stay in Franschhoek
- No-one wanted to be the designated driver – that’s no fun!
There are several different wine tram routes, but when you book the explorer tour, you usually get tickets for the Navy line. However, at select times of year and over the festive season, a few other routes are also available.
Personally, I don’t think that the route you do really matters, although I did love the wine estates we visited on the Navy line. The wine tram is a hop-on, hop-off tour, so you don’t visit every winery on the route, but I’ve got some insider recommendations for you below.
How to get to the Franschhoek Wine Tram from Cape Town?
When you book this wine tram explorer tour, you get return transport between Cape Town and Franschhoek, as well as your tram tickets.
The bus departs from outside the Cape Town aquarium at 8:30 am. If you’re not staying near the Waterfront, complimentary shuttles are available from several different points around the city. We caught one from Long Street just before 8 am so that we didn’t have to pay for an Uber to the Waterfront.
Then, the bus took us to the tram station and we hopped on the first tram of the day at around 9:30 am.
I have also done the wine tram by staying overnight near Franschhoek, but this meant we had to arrange a private shuttle in the morning and book our tram tickets separately. Doing the wine tram explorer tour was so much easier AND cheaper. I wish I had known about it sooner!
How does the Franschhoek wine tram explorer work?
So, as mentioned, the wine tram explorer tour takes you from Cape Town to Franschhoek, where you catch the wine tram.
Before we got off the bus in Franschhoek, the staff came around and gave us our wine tram tickets, plus a tram timetable and a list of specials that the different wine farms were offering.
The tram system actually consists of a proper tram and a tram bus. When you book the tour, you will choose whether to do the tram or the tram bus first.
It doesn’t really matter, but make sure that everyone in your group chooses the same option!
We chose to do the tram first, and we got a free tasting glass of wine when we boarded, then we set off to explore the wine farms.
Trams come past the wineries about once an hour. You’ll have a timetable, but the staff at the winery are very on-it and will make sure you don’t miss your tram!
You can visit up to 5 wine farms over the course of the day. However, we chose to do four and stay at one wine farm for longer so that we could enjoy a leisurely lunch.
The wine farms that you visit are up to you, but I’ll share my recommendations below!
Which wineries do you visit on the Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer?
For most of the year, the Franschhoek wine tram explorer takes you on the Navy line. There are 10 wineries in total, and we visited 4.
Plaisir
We started off at Plaisir, which had a beautiful tasting garden. We had an epic cheeseboard here and there was also a food market on site. One of our friends acutally found some (admittedly tasty) chicken and chips!
I think that Plaisir had the best wine of all of the farms we visited on the Navy Route!
Vrede en Lust
Vrede en Lust had beautiful views, and we were able to snag the best table! We did the premium tasting, so we got to try 5 wines for R90 each, which was pretty great.
Bartinney
The highlight of the day was definitely wine farm number 3, which was Bartinney.
The views here were just spectacular, and we got a cheese and charcuterie board which was absolutely delicious. In fact, we loved it here so much that we decided to miss the next tram, order some bottles of wine, and stay for 2 hours. It was a good decision!
Le Pommier
We finished up at Le Pommier, which also had very beautiful views, and some award-winning wines. We arrived towards the end of the day so they were winding down and we couldn’t order any food, but the sommelier was very patient with our group, as we were pretty tipsy by this point.
I really liked the reds here, too, and the tasting only cost R55 – what a bargain!
What’s included with your Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer ticket?
The wine tram explorer includes a tour bus to from Franschhoek, your tram ticket, and a free glass of wine when you first get on the tram. The tastings and food are all on all on your own account, since this is a hop-on, hop-off tour.
I definitely recommend the cheese boards at both Plaisir and Bartinney!
How much does it cost to do the Franschhoek Wine Tram from Cape Town?
The tour costs R850, which is £30 or $39 USD at the time of writing. How much you spend overall does depend on the tastings and food that you choose along the way, but here’s how much I spent, including tips of around 10% at each wine farm, which is the standard in South Africa:
- R750 for the tour
- R90 for my tasting at Plaisir Platform
- R100 for the premium tasting at Vrede en Lust
- R280 at Bartinney for my tasting, a cheeseboard shared between two people, and two bottle of white wine, we which split 8 ways
- R55 for a tram tasting at Le Pommier
So the whole experience cost me R1,275 in total – not too bad for a beautiful day of tasting wine in the sunshine!
Why book the Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer?
Ease
The Franschhoek wine tram explorer is by far the easiest way to do the wine tram from Cape Town.
You don’t need a designated driver, and getting an Uber back from Franschhoek can be tricky. I wouldn’t bank on that, as it will take you quite a while!
Everything was super well organised from start to finish, and it was so easy to book online. We didn’t have to worry about finding a driver, timings, booking separate tickets, or choosing a route.
All we had to do was sit back and enjoy the day!
Cheap
As well as being super easy, the Franschhoek wine tram explorer is much cheaper than hiring a private driver or taking an Uber there and back.
You just pay one flat price for your return transport and tram ticket, which also includes a free shuttle to the Waterfront.
Flexible
The wine tram is a hop-on, hop-off experience. You can choose which wine farms you want to visit and how long you want to stay for.
There are also plenty of tasting options, including tram specials that can be done in exactly the right amount of time.
A few of the wine farms, such as Plaisir Platform and Bartinney, also offer gin tastings, which is ideal if someone in your group (gasp!) doesn’t like wine.
Beautiful wine farms
The wine farms on the Navy route are absolutely stunning. Bartinney is actually my all-time favourite wine farm, because the views were just so beautiful. However, every single one that we visited was honestly gorgeous.
How to book the Franschhoek wine tram explorer
We booked the Franschhoek wine tram through Viator. It was super easy, and you can change or cancel your booking for free up to 24 hours beforehand, so it gives you extra flexibility.
When booking the Franschhoek wine tram explorer, you can choose to do the tram or tram bus first. It doesn’t really matter which one you choose, as you will end up travelling on both.
Just make sure that your entire group chooses the same option!
Is it worth doing the Franschhoek Wine Tram Explorer from Cape Town?
Yes! As I’m sure you can tell from this review, I think it’s an amazing day out, and so worth it.
The Franschhoek wine tram is a Cape Town must-do, and this tour makes it so much easier.
I’ve done it independently and with the tour, and I had a WAY better day with the explorer tour.
We had a great time tasting and I love that we didn’t have to worry about a thing the entire day. In fact, this is hands down my favourite tour in Cape Town. I really cannot fault it – it gets a 10/10 from me.
Click here to book your spot on the Franschhoek wine tram explorer