South Africa

The wine tramin Franschhoek

How the lines work, why you need two hours at a winery rather than one, and why it's better to take the red bus than a taxi.

Trip: February 2026Updated: 1 November 20262 min read

foodsightseeing
A double-decker Franschhoek wine tram at a station

On 23 February we went for a ride on the Franschhoek Wine Tram through the vineyards of Franschhoek. A guy we’d met on our travels came with us.

In short

Where it is

Franschhoek is a wine region of its own. The name means “French corner”: French Huguenots settled here at the end of the 17th century. Yes, this is the history of white colonists. Let’s not hide that. Now it’s vineyards and wineries one after another.

Vineyards and mountains of Franschhoek
Rows of vines under a mountain and clouds

How the tram works

The system is big. The tram has several lines of different colours, and they start from different stations. You choose a line and ride along it. Between stops you travel on the tram itself, and from the stop to the winery a bus takes you.

Each line has a timetable of all trams and buses, so you know in advance how long you can stay at each stop. People usually choose an hour or two. It takes a little time to work it all out, but then it becomes clear.

A green double-decker tram at a platform

An hour is not enough

It seems that an hour at a winery is enough. In fact it isn’t. First you have to get to a table, then order, then walk back to the stop, and half the time is already gone. At one winery we stopped for an hour, and everything was very fast: we finished eating and drinking almost on the run. To relax properly you need about two hours at each.

We managed three wineries: Boschendal, Plaisir and Vrede en Lust. All very beautiful. You can eat everywhere, and the wine is excellent everywhere. We took tasting sets everywhere. They’re inexpensive: a set of 4–5 wines costs about 110–200 rand (≈ $7–12).

Glasses of wine, bread and cheeses on a table under a parasol
An avenue leading to a white winery building under a mountain

Why the bus

There were two options:

  • Choose any line and arrange the transfer yourself.
  • Take the red City Sightseeing bus. It takes you from the Waterfront to the tram and back, and the tram ticket is already included. But with it only one line is available: ours was Navy, the blue one.

It was our first time, and we chose the bus, and it was comfortable and inexpensive. Getting there by taxi is easy, but getting back is a completely different story: it’s not certain there will be any taxi there at all. There’s no public transport, only cars. We didn’t have one, weren’t planning to rent one, and wanted to drink wine anyway. I think the bus is the ideal option.

One caveat: we missed the bus, and had to get there by taxi. Arrive well before departure.