Safety: what the official advice says
The German Foreign Office puts it plainly: in 2026 South Africa's crime rate remains very high, including robbery and violent crime. It says nothing specific about Stellenbosch, Franschhoek or Robertson. So be as careful in the wine towns as you would be in Cape Town. Your own government's travel advice is worth reading too.
Most of the specific warnings concern drivers. At traffic lights, thieves smash windows and grab bags, so leave nothing visible on the passenger seat. On quiet roads after dark there are hijackings. On motorways around Cape Town, explicitly including the N2 to the airport, criminals place rocks on the road at dusk to force cars to stop.
In the Western Cape the advice also mentions break-ins where the remote central locking is jammed. After locking, give the door handle a quick pull. At the airport, illegal drivers wait with fake Uber stickers, and at cash machines fraudsters work with tampered devices or pose as friendly "helpers". Hike in a group.
- Emergency from a mobile: 112
- Police: 10111
- Ambulance: 10177
- Mountain rescue (Wilderness Search and Rescue): 021 937 0300
The Western Cape is malaria-free.
Power: load shedding is behind you
Older travel tips still tell you to install an app for power cuts. That advice is out of date. The last scheduled cut was in May 2025, and the whole winter of 2025 saw just 26 hours over four evenings. In April 2026 the utility Eskom took the Western Cape off its load-reduction schedules entirely, and by mid-May 2026 the country had gone a full year without load shedding (as of September 2026).
Local outages after storms still happen, as in May 2026. That is damage to the lines, not load shedding.
Water
Tap water in the towns of the Western Cape is considered drinkable. On farms and remote estates the water often comes from their own boreholes, so ask. The German Foreign Office asks visitors to watch for notices about water restrictions in the Cape region.
Money, cards, coins
The currency is the rand (R). Almost everyone takes credit cards, markets included; the Franschhoek Village Market, for instance, has card payment and a cash machine. Most car-hire firms take the deposit by credit card only. You need cash mainly for tips, for petrol attendants and car guards. Withdraw money at machines inside banks or shopping centres, not at a lone machine on the street.
Tipping: the usual amounts
These amounts are guidelines, as of September 2026.
- Restaurants: 10 to 15 per cent, 15 to 20 for very good service. Large groups sometimes find a service charge already on the bill. You can tip on the card machine, though cash is preferred.
- Petrol attendants: R5 to R10, some sources say up to R20.
- Car guards: R5 to R10, R10 to R20 if they help you load up.
- Wine tour guide: R150 to R300 per person, according to the operator wineinthecape.co.za (as of June 2026).
Tastings: what they cost, what to book
The tour operator wineinthecape.co.za quotes R100 to R250 per person per estate for a tasting (as of June 2026), more at premium estates such as Kanonkop or Meerlust. Other round-ups online put a standard tasting at R80 to R150. Expect to pay more in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek than in Robertson, Tulbagh or the Breede Valley; at the big names a tasting costs about as much as lunch.
Some estates waive the fee if you buy wine. Ask at the counter before you pay.
Book ahead at the well-known premium estates and always for restaurants on wine farms, with plenty of notice for the most sought-after such as Babel or FABER in Paarl. Tours in high season, November to April, need booking one to two weeks ahead. For simple tastings estates handle it differently. A quick call the day before costs nothing. Which estates are worth the drive is on our page about wine estates.
And afterwards: who drives?
The limit is 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres of blood, 0.02 for professional drivers. Anyone over it, the German Foreign Office warns, faces arrest.
In Franschhoek the Wine Tram solves the problem most neatly. Tram and bus run five lines, each serving six to eight estates, more than 30 in all, from stops in Franschhoek and Groot Drakenstein. Uber runs in Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl, where Bolt works too; from outlying estates in the evening, though, you often wait a quarter of an hour or longer. And on a guided tour someone else does the driving anyway.
Our tip If you drive yourself, spit and keep to one or two estates. How to reach the valleys without a car is on getting there and car hire.
Frequently asked questions
Is there still load shedding in the Cape Winelands?
South Africa's last scheduled power cut was in May 2025, and Eskom took the Western Cape off its load-reduction schedules entirely in April 2026 (as of September 2026). Local outages after storms still happen, but they are not load shedding.
Can you drink the tap water in the Cape Winelands?
Tap water in the towns of the Western Cape is considered safe to drink. On farms and wine estates the water often comes from their own boreholes, so ask there.
How much do you tip in restaurants in South Africa?
Ten to fifteen per cent is usual in South African restaurants, more for very good service. Large groups sometimes find a service charge already on the bill, so check it before you pay.
How safe are the Cape Winelands for tourists?
The German Foreign Office describes crime in South Africa as very high across the country and says nothing specific about the wine towns. For drivers it names smash-and-grab robberies at traffic lights and driving after dark as the main risks.