Travel to the winelands of South Africa
Booking your flights
British Airways flies direct to Cape Town, South African Airways and Virgin Atlantic also fly from the UK to Cape Town via Johannesburg. The flight lasts around 11.5 hours and, because there is only one or two hours time difference between the UK and Cape Town, there's no jet lag to recover from.
Hire a car
Hiring a car is one of the best ways to travel around the South African winelands, making it easy to visit a number of different wine producers and wine regions and explore the surrounding areas. If you are planning a day wine tasting, consider taking a private wine tasting tour, to ensure that you can relax and enjoy all the delicious South African wines without having to worry about driving. Many of the wine estates have superb restaurants and accommodation too.
New rules for travelling to South Africa
Please note that new rules now apply if you’re travelling to South Africa or transiting through a South African airport with a child under the age of 18. You must now be able to produce the child’s full unabridged birth certificate. There are additional requirements if the child is travelling with only one parent, with neither biological parent, or unaccompanied. Find out more here and in this statement by the South African Department of Home Affairs and leaflet. You can also visit this website or contact the South African High Commission if you have any specific questions about your trip.
South African winelands activities
For the adventurous traveller South Africa offers a myriad of unforgettable experiences from shark cage diving and quad biking to horse riding in the vineyards, there's plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat.
For nature lovers, the South African wine regions are situated in the Cape Floral Kingdom, a biodiversity hot spot and home to more than 10,000 plant species, that's more than in the whole of the northern hemisphere. Many wine estates offer walking trails around the farms, where visitors can immerse themselves in the natural beauty of the surroundings before enjoying a refreshing glass of one of South Africa's excellent white wines.
If all the adventure sounds exhausting there are plenty of world-class hotels and spas to relax in and, of course, South Africa's famed cuisine and wines can be enjoyed in the many spectacular restaurants.
Wine routes in South Africa
All the wine routes in South Africa have individual websites packed with information on visiting the regions. Simply select the wine route you'd like to explore to find out more about what awaits you on your South African adventure.