Last updated on November 4th, 2024 at 07:36 pm
You might not think child friendly wine farms are a thing but they are in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. On our trip to South Africa’s Winelands, we found that some of the best wine farms in Stellenbosch have fantastic activities for kids. Similarly, there are some great options for families when it comes to wine farms in Franschhoek. If you’re travelling to South Africa with kids, make sure you consider what’s on offer in the Cape Winelands for families.
Wine tasting in South Africa is a must-do activity for many, and with good reason. Read on for our opinion on the most child friendly wine farms in Stellenbosch and kid-friendly wineries in Franschhoek.
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Child Friendly Wine Farms Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch is in the heart of the Cape Winelands, around a 50-minute drive from Cape Town. You can easily make a day trip there, but you’ll want to stay at least a night or two to fully enjoy wine tasting in Stellenbosch!
Stellenbosch is probably the most well-known wine area in South Africa and has some of the best vineyards in South Africa. You’ll also find many of the restaurants in Stellenbosch wine farms are worth stopping for alone.
This map will show you where all of our recommended Stellenbosch wineries are located:
Tokara Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
Established in 1999 by businessman and art collector GT Ferreria, Tokara is a great choice for families and is definitely considered one of the best Stellenbosch wine farms.
It’s well known for its fine dining restaurant (named one of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World) but also for its popular and family-friendly delicatessen. This ensures its place near the top of the list for best wineries in South Africa (not just Stellenbosh).
The Deli is laid back – perfect for families – and there’s a fantastic play area for kids right outside. They do a kid’s menu here (our kids thought the burgers were seriously good) and lots of other fabulous dishes for foodies.
Tokara has a fantastic shop selling a range of their own olive oil – as well as Tokara wine, of course, and many other items. These make great choices to take home as gifts. Another bonus is the fantastic art on display here (due, I expect, to the owner being an art lover). Regular exhibitions are put on in the art gallery at this Stellenbosch winery.
Book in for wine tastings or a tour of the vineyard if you’re feeling energetic.
However, the views from the restaurant and deli make it seem like a sensible option to just sit back and relax.
Address: Helshoogte Rd, Stellenbosch, Cape Town, 7600
✅ Book HERE for the best rates on places to stay near the Tokara Wine Estate via Booking.com
Vergenoegd, Stellenbosch
Vergenoegd is one of the best wine farms near Cape Town and is most famous for its runner ducks. Vergenoegd is particularly committed to sustainability practices and the working flock of Indian Runner Ducks are part of a natural pest control solution helping to ensure the quality of this Stellenbosch vineyard’s wines.
The ducks wander across the Homestead grounds every day at 9 am and 12 pm. You might also see them travel past the Homestead on their way to the vineyards or spot them heading for a swim before they go back home.
You can enjoy your duck-watching while having breakfast or lunch at Geuwels Restaurant or lunch or a wine tasting at Clara’s Barn. You can also pick up a picnic.
They hold a market and a popular family-inclusive 2.5 or 5-kilometre run around the grounds on a Saturday. It’s worth stopping by if you’re in the Winelands over a weekend.
Address: Faure Village RdMacassar, Cape Town, 7130
✅ Book HERE for the best rates on a stay at Vergenoegd Low Boutique Hotel and Spa via Booking.com
If you’re interested in a full-day family tour from Cape Town which includes wildlife and wine, this is a great one:
✅ Book HERE for an amazing Cape Winelands Family Tour & Wildlife Encounter
Jordan Wine Estate, Stellenbosch
If you’re looking for wine farms in Stellenbosch with restaurants, the Jordan Wine Estate is a great option. The Cellar Door is particularly family-friendly (and has great wine tastings) while Jordan Restaurant is more grown up with some of the best food in the area.
You can take a picnic in the extensive grounds, and a highlight for kids is likely to be the open safari-style truck which you can book to take you around the Stellenbosch vineyard and to enjoy the views. Included is a tour of the wine cellars and wine tasting.
There are luxury suites available at Jordan Wine Estate too so if you want to make the most of your stay, you can book to stay here as well.
Address: Stellenbosch Kloof Road, Vlottenberg, Stellenbosch, 7604
Spier Wine Farm, Stellenbosch
Around since 1692, there’s loads to do at Spier Wine Farm, and it’s where we based ourselves when we stayed in the region. This is not just one of the best Stellenbosch wineries, however – there’s a huge amount of activities on offer here.
There’s wine tasting with kids on offer (grape juice for the kids), bicycles to borrow, a kids club, and picnics to order from the farm. Spier also has Eagle Encounters on the grounds – my younger one loved the owls, tortoises and meerkats here. They run an Eagle Encounters talk and demonstration on the hour every hour.
Spier also has Segway tours of the farm – one of the kids’ favourite activities. Children must be over 10 for the 1-hour tour (half of this is practising on the Segway and half an hour is a tour around the farm – to the edge of the vineyards and to visit the chickens and back), or you can book a 2-hour tour if your kids are over 12 years old. So much fun.
Every year (including while we were there), Speir has a Light Festival called Spier Light Art. It features art installations created by local artists illuminating the pathways of the farm.
Not only has Spier Wine Farm won lots of awards for its wine (we can certainly confirm it was one of our favourite wine tastings in Stellebosch), but in 2011 it was also the first winery globally to win the WWF Conservation Champion status for its sustainable farming.
Address: R310 Baden Powell Dr, Stellenbosch, 7603
✅ Book HERE for the best rates on Spier Wine Farm and places to stay nearby via Booking.com
Vredenheim Wine & Wildlife, Stellenbosch
Vredenheim is one of the oldest wine farms in Stellenbosch and is now owned by a family who used to be game farmers. They’ve brought their love of animals to Vredenheim, and a huge highlight of this wine estate is that they have their own Big Cat Park.
The Big Cat Park will be a big hit with kids and makes this one of the most kid friendly wine farms in Stellenbosch. The Cape Nature-approved park currently has three lions, three tigers, two leopards, sables, zebra, springbok, deer and eland.
Book a Big Cats Encounter, watch them being fed (at 11 am and 3 pm) or book a game drive and enjoy a scenic drive around the farm.
There’s a small farm as well, and kids can enjoy feeding the farm animals here.
There are two restaurants at this winery in Stellenbosch: Hudsons which is very relaxed and has a play area on the lawns outside, and Barrique.
Wine tastings are of course available, and kids can enjoy a special kids tasting which includes grape juice and sweet treats.
Address: R310, Stellenbosch, 7600
✅ Book HERE for the best rates on places to stay near Vredenheim Wine & Wildlife via Booking.com
If you’re interested in visiting some of the Stellenbosch wineries but don’t want to drive (and obviously, we would strongly advise not to if all adults are keen on sampling the wine), then a guided tour of the wine route in Stellenbosch may be more suitable for you.
✅ Book HERE for one of the Top Cape Town Wine Tours
Franschhoek With Kids
Franschhoek’s name, meaning ‘French Corner’ reflects its Huguenot heritage. It’s a bit further east than Stellenbosch and it takes just over an hour to get there from Cape Town.
Franschhoek is a beautiful town, known for its fine food, art galleries and boutique hotels – and of course, its wine estates!
This map will help you locate all the Franschhoek Wine Tram and our recommended Franschhoek wineries:
Franschhoek Wine Tram
If you want to visit some of Franschhoek’s famous wineries, but you’re concerned the kids might not have the same level of enthusiasm, book tickets for the Franschhoek Wine Tram. The ‘Hop on Hop off’ experience consists of 10 lines, stopping at around 50 different wineries in the region. The company recommend the Blue and Green lines for families. This is because the wineries these lines stop at are more family-friendly with activities for kids, such as play areas, kids’ tastings and farm animals.
Take a look at the Franschhoek Wine Tram map and the different lines available here.
The Franschhoek Wine Tram experience consists of a bus and a tram. The tram actually only stops at three wine farms – but make sure you experience it. Our kids loved it.
The bus takes you to the others – but that’s also fun (if a bit bumpy). You’ll see some of the town and hear a bit about the history of the area.
Address: Corner of Main Road and, Cabriere St, Franschhoek, 7690
✅ Purchase your tickets for the Franschhoek Wine Tram HERE.
If you have kids aged 13 or over and you’re looking for a unique way of getting around Franschhoek and a couple of different wine farms, then how about a Stellenbosch bike wine tour? An E-biking tour, specifically, won’t feel too strenuous after a glass of wine:
✅ Book HERE for your Franschhoek E-Bike and Wine Tour
Here are a few of the most child-friendly wine farms on the Franschhoek Wine Tram route:
Pigcasso, Franschhoek
This quirky and unusual wine farm will be a big hit with kids. Its main draw is Pigcasso, the painting pig. He’s had his work displayed across the globe and has a book coming out (the foreword is written by Jane Goodall).
Pigcasso paints first thing in the morning, so you may not be able to see her at work. In fact, she was lazing in the shade, under a tree when we visited. However, you will be able to see some of her artwork, watch videos of her at work, read about her and buy prints to take home.
Younger kids will enjoy getting a box of veg and bird feed from the small shop here and feeding the sheep, goats and chickens. Adults can enjoy wine tasting (there isn’t a huge range here, but the Rose is great).
Address: Elandskloof Road, Franschhoek, 7690
✅ Book HERE for the best rates on places to stay near Pigcasso via Booking.com
Rickety Bridge, Franschhoek
One of the oldest wine farms in the region, Rickety Bridge has a kid’s play area and there’s a fun tractor ride from the tram stop to the farm (over the not-so-rickety bridge). The restaurant was closed when we visited, but there were pizzas on offer for the kids (as well as cheese and meat platters for adults, to go with tastings).
There’s a range of wines to try here and you’ll definitely want to buy a few to pack in your suitcase. There’s a kid’s tasting which consists of three drinks and sweets to accompany them. If you’re not drinking, there’s also an iced tea tasting with accompanying snacks.
Rickety Bridge runs a number of events across the year, including music events. Take a look at their website to see what’s on!
Address: R45, Franschhoek, 7690
✅ Book HERE for the best rates on places to stay near Rickety Bridge via Booking.com
Boschendal Wine Estate, Franschhoek
While parents can indulge in award-winning wines, kids can run free on the lawns, and play in the tree house and kids play area at Boschendal.
You can book horse riding and mountain bike riding here and enjoy picnics under the trees. There are also supervised holiday camps for kids available during the school holidays.
Don’t miss the Farm Shop and make sure you make a booking at the Deli or Werf Restaurant to experience some seriously yummy food.
Accommodation here includes a number of self-contained cottages – perfect for families wanting some peace and privacy.
Address: Boschendal Estate, Pniel Road, Groot Drakenstein, Franschhoek, Western Cape, 7690
✅ Book HERE for the best rates on places to stay near the Boschendal Wine Estate via Booking.com
Stellenbosch Wineries FAQ
How Many Wine Farms Are There in Stellenbosch?
There are approximately 160 wine farms in Stellenbosch, although this number may change slightly due to closures, or one wine farm taking ownership of another. Even if that does happen, that’s still a lot of wine farms to work your way around!
What is the Oldest Winery in Stellenbosch?
There are a few wine farms which claim to hold the title of ‘oldest winery in Stellenbosch’. While it’s unclear which wine farm has actually been around the longest, some of the oldest Stellenbosch vineyards include Spier Wine Farm (established in 1692), Blaauwklippen (established 1682) and Rust En Vrede (1694).
How Many Wine Farms Are There in Franschhoek?
Franschhoek is smaller than Stellanbosch; it has around 50 wine farms.
What is the Oldest Winery in Franschhoek?
The oldest wine farm in Franschhoek is Boschendal, established in 1685. Other older wine farms include Rickety Bridge (1797) and Grande Provence (established 1694).
If you plan on combining your visit to Stellenbosch wineries or wine farms in Franschhoek with some time in Cape Town, take a look at 5 Days in Cape Town – The Perfect Family Cape Town Itinerary too.
We visited South Africa’s Winelands at the beginning of our Garden Route tour. If you’re planning on travelling the Garden Route too, check out Cape Town to Knysna: The Garden Route with Kids.
[…] to spend a few days in the Winelands – or take a day trip there. If that’s the case, The Best Wine Farms in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek for Families will help you plan which vineyards are your best […]