The winelands in South Africa are just beautiful and we would urge you to consider visiting them during your family-friendly South African vacation.
Don’t like wine? Don’t worry! There’s so much more family-friendly stuff to do in this area of South Africa besides wine tasting which is why we recommend visiting the Cape Winelands with kids.
Our post covers some really fun things to do with kids in the Cape Winelands and we also give recommendations on where to stay and eat in the Cape Winelands with kids.
You might also like to read about family-friendly places on the Garden Route or Garden Route safaris for families to help with your holiday planning.
And if, after visiting, you fall in love with the Cape Winelands, take a look at Hermanus and the Hemel-en-Aarde wine region!
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Background info on the Cape Winelands
The Cape Winelands is located in the Western Cape of South Africa and has, quite frankly, one of the most stunning landscapes in South Africa.
You can expect to see majestic mountains, rolling vineyards, and charming towns like Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, and Paarl. The Winelands are easily reached within 45 minutes of Cape Town. See our family guide to Cape Town.
The region’s history dates back to 1652 when the Dutch East India Company established a supply station at the Cape of Good Hope.
The fertile soil of the Winelands soon caught the attention of early settlers, and by the 1680s, the first vineyards were planted.
The region is home to some of the country’s oldest and most prestigious wineries, producing exceptional wines.
But nowadays there’s so much more to the region than just the wine and we hope this post will encourage you to explore this area of South Africa.
So what is there to do in the Cape Winelands with kids?
Our favourite things to do in the Cape Winelands with kids
Enjoy a wine estate picnic
We love food and wine and beautiful scenery so were thrilled to find that there were loads of wine estates in South Africa that offered picnics in their beautiful grounds.
We’ve been taking family holidays in the Cape Winelands since the kids were tiny and this is still one of our favourite things to do in the Cape Winelands with kids.
We love it so much that we’ve tried quite a few over the years! See here for our favourite family-friendly wine South African estate picnics.
Each one has something slightly different to offer but the ones we’ve listed in the link above all have great facilities for kids and a kids’ menu.
The lovely thing about picnics is that no matter how posh the place may seem, the picnics are very informal (aka relaxed). Our kids have been known to play in nearby water features while we’re enjoying our food!
Visit Boschendal Wine Farm
Located between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, Boschendal is a beautiful wine estate dating back to 1685.
There are lots of family friendly wine farms in South Africa but we’ve singled out Boschendal because it is one of the best places in the Cape Winelands to visit with kids.
It is also the perfect place to base yourself if you want to spend a couple of days exploring the Cape Winelands with kids.
Boschendal has a Kids Outdoor Experience which is a fun 2-hour immersive session for kids to learn about life on the wine farm. They also run extra activities through the school holidays and you can book kids in for a full day if you’d like to visit some of the high end wineries that the kids may not enjoy so much.
If you are staying at Boschendal, you receive one free session at the Kids Outdoor Experience.
There is also a lovely playground with a bike track. You can either bring your own bike or rent one there. There are also lovely walking tracks and longer mountain biking tracks on the property.
In case you missed the section above, Boschendal also offers a fantastic picnic for families.
You can see what’s on at Boschendal here.
If you’d like to stay in family-friendly accommodation at Boschendal, take a look on Booking.com or Expedia to book.
Explore Jonkershoek Nature Reserve
The Jonkershoek Nature Reserve is perfect for families who enjoy nature walks or hikes. It is located around 10km from Stellenbosch and offers beautiful trails that are suitable for children as well as mountain biking trails and wild swimming areas.
The reserve is home to a variety of wildlife but do be on the lookout for native reptiles including Berg Adders, Puff Adders, Boomslang and Cape Cobras.
Explore the gardens of Babylonstoren
Another wine estate that is worth visiting with the kids is Babylonstoren. It is one of the oldest Cape Dutch farms in South Africa and is simply stunning.
Our kids loved exploring the ornate gardens and water features. They particularly loved the ‘spitting frogs’ water feature! The idea of the gardens is to promote a sense of wellbeing. They also use a lot of their produce in their restaurants so it is worth eating here if your visit coincides with a meal time. Take a garden tour online here.
- Babel
- Greenhouse
- Old Bakery
- Deli
If you have time, there is a trail to the top of a hill from which you will have stunning panoramic views of the farm.
Take a look here for workshops they run through the year as there are some lovely ones for kids.
They also have lovely family accommodation.
Visit ‘Pigcasso’ the painting pig
If you’re looking for something slightly unusual to do with the kids in the Cape Winelands, this has to be it!
Pigcasso Wine Estate is located in Franschhoek and although it is a wine estate, it really is all about Pigcasso the painting pig!
You really have to see it to believe it. We didn’t see Pigcasso painting live but there was a video of him painting and we did meet him and the kids got to feed him. There are other farm animals you can visit too.
Pigcasso Wine Farm is reached on the blue and green lines of the Franschhoek WineTram.
Let the kids have fun at Spier Wine Farm
There are lots of fun activities for the kids at Spier Wine Farm, particularly during the school holidays. You can read more about their events here.
They offer kids’ wine tasting and pick your own from the food garden. There is a lovely play garden inspired by the elements that the kids will love. They may also enjoy visiting the vineyard on a segway if they are old enough.
Basically, the grounds are at your disposal. They have bikes for hire at reception with safe bike tracks to explore the farm.
If you are staying at Spier (see here for family accommodation at Spier), there is a really fun kids clubhouse offering childcare.
Take an Alpaca for a walk
The Alpaca Loom in Southern Paarl offers tours and walks (at 10.00 and 16.00 preferably by appointment). The Alpacas accompany you on a walk around the farm where you learn more about the life of an Alpaca.
You can also visit the weaving studio to watch weavers creating products from the Alpaca wool. If you happen to be there between March and May, you may even get to see some baby Alpacas!
There is also an onsite coffee shop and a jungle gym.
Other animal related activities in the Cape Winelands
Here are some of the top things to do in the Cape Winelands with kids that involve animals.
- Learn about giraffes at the Giraffe House. Pre-booking is essential for one on one sessions.
- Horse riding at Vrede-en-Lust wine estate (for kids aged 8+).
- Le Bonheur Reptiles & Adventures – home to Africa’s deadliest snakes and crocodile diving.
- Meet the climbing goats at Fairview.
- Cheetah Outreach – on the fringes of the Winelands in Somerset West kids might enjoy meeting and learning about cheetah.
- Vredenheim Big Cats and Animal Farm.
Winelands Light Railway
The Winelands Light Railway opened in 2019 and is one of the best things to do in Stellenbosch for young (or old) railway enthusiasts.
The train ride around the 760m scenic track lasts around 7 minutes. Visitors are invited to bring a picnic and hang around before or after the ride to enjoy more of the lovely scenery.
Visit the wine estates in Franschhoek by Tuk Tuk
If you are visiting the wine farms for some wine tasting then we recommend hiring a driver or taking the wine tram.
More recently, we discovered a tuk tuk service that runs out of Franschhoek and will take you wherever you want. This is such a fun experience for the kids.
We booked our tuk tuk in the centre of Franschhoek.
If you can’t book a tuk tuk tour then you might like to take a look at the tractor tour instead!
Tractor ride around Eikendal Wine Estate
Head to Eikendal Wine Estate for a tractor ride around the estate. Booking ahead is advised. There are also other fun activities for kids including their own wine tasting and biscuit decorating which they can do while you are enjoying your own wine tasting.
Mini golf and Hazendal Wine Estate
There is LOADS going on for kids at Hazendal Wine Estate. They will no doubt enjoy the 27 hole putt putt course in the gorgeous grounds. They also have a padel course which older kids may like.
Kids aged 5-13 will love the Interactive Edutainment Centre – Wonderdal.
Try some family-friendly wine tasting
Yes, wine tasting can be family-friendly.
There are some gorgeous wine estates in the Cape Winelands with some amazing facilities for kids but these ones in particular are the ones that offer wine tasting for kids.
And by wine tasting, we mean grape juice tasting!
- Spier – a 30-60 minute mini wine tasting with 2 grape juices.
- Van Loveren – Papillon Kids Tasting.
- Neethlingshof – 3 bite-sized dishes paired with 3 non-alcoholic drinks.
- Skilpadvlei – a couple of different sweet pairings for the kids.
- Bloemendal – sweet kiddies pairing available.
- Le Pommier – kids juice and pizza pairing or flavoured milk and sweet surprise.
- Koelenhof Winery – Koel Kids Grape Juice Tasting (with a treat).
Family accommodation in the Cape Winelands
As you can see, there’s so much more for families to do in the Cape Winelands than wine tasting so why not spend a bit of time here?
If you are thinking of staying the in the Cape Winelands, here are some family accommodation options that we recommend.
Family accommodation in Franschhoek
The Orchard Cottages at Boschendal have been our favourite accommodation for families in the Cape Winelands. There is just so much to love about it (as mentioned above). The wine farm is located a little way out of the centre of Franschhoek.
Family accommodation in Stellenbosch
Spier Hotel and Wine Farm is excellent for families because there is so much going on there for kids. They also have a fabulous kids club.
Family accommodation in Paarl
We absolutely loved our stay at Denneboom Vineyards & Wildlife. There are a couple of cottages inside the wildlife reserve and you can sit and watch wildlife (including zebra and wildebeest) wander past your window. They also have BBQ facilities and a small plunge pool.
There are also a couple of cottages on the vineyard. All set among 200 hectares, there’s plenty of space for everyone!
Places to eat in the Cape Winelands with kids
First and foremost, we would recommend a wine estate picnic as mentioned above. But if the weather isn’t great or you are looking for something different, we can recommend:
Spice Route – As well as the wine tasting, they also have chocolate tasting and the best (and biggest) ice creams you’ve ever seen! There are also a couple of lovely restaurants there and the views are spectacular.
Tokara Delicatessan – almost half way between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek is a beautiful family-friendly bistro nestled in the vines with a great play area for kids right outside.
Babylonstoren – if you drew a triangle between Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek, Babylonstoren would be almost in the middle. We love the relaxed Greenhouse restaurant in the gardens at Babylonstoren.
Col’Cacchio – a pizza restaurant chain with delicious pizzas and a small play area for the kids in the centre of Franschhoek.
To be honest, it’s hard to go wrong because most of the wine estates in the Cape Winelands will have suitable food for kids!
