luckyinla

We have most of our Girls Trip Safari itinerary complete!

June 6 - June 10 We will be at Jamala Madikwe Royal Safari Lodge
June 10 - June 13 We fly to Cape Town. We plan to visit Table Mountain, and spend a day in Stellenbosch. My friend & I will be wine tasting, while my daughters will be exploring (hiking, art galleries, etc depending on weather). We would love suggestions on hotels. So far exploring Derwent House, Blackheath Lodge & Labotessa. We thought this area might be best as it is winter. Would would love hotel, restaurant & winery recommendations and/or opinions.
June 13 - We fly to Sabi Sands for our second safari.
June13 - June 15 Savanna Private Game Reserve
June 15 - June 17 Dulini Leadwood (We had to book 2 different places in order to get 4 nights in Sabi Sands)

All flights within SA and safaris were booked through Southern Destinations. We are simply planning Cape Town & Stellenbosch on our own. (lodging, activities, meals)
Thank you for any insights you may have!

moosey

Hi, your trip sounds amazing! We were there in June of last year, so don't worry at all about the weather (just went and read your other post, as I have not been on the site in a while)
We absolutely loved Derwent House. We were only there one night, but they were so welcoming and had an amazing breakfast and display of snacks, coffees, drinks etc. in the evening. I even forgot the hotel's umbrella at dinner, and the security guard went and fetched it for me. The room was very comfortable, clean, had fantastic local decor which you could buy. Highly recommended. For dinner we walked about two blocks to Black Sheep, also amazing. It was so cozy on a cool, rainy night and they had great options for vegetarians (me) and carnivores (my son, who ate some type of antelope and something else unusual I can't recall). They had a small but wonderful wine list and some interesting cocktails as well. We felt perfectly safe walking there, even thought it gets dark early..

Will you be day-tripping to Stellenbosch, or staying there? We stayed two nights in Franschoek since it was a bit of a drive from CT to the Winelands. We stayed at LaFontaine in a room with a large balcony. It was also amazing and felt quite fancy. But if you are only spending one day wine tasting, staying at Derwent also makes sense.

As far as wineries, unfortunately day 2 of our wine tasting didn't happen as all of our luggage was stolen from our guide's car at the Ernie Els winery (I posted about this but don't know how to link it). We did get to visit Groot Constantia, which has nice grounds and is very small and friendly - we bought some of their dessert wines. We also enjoyed a visit to Vergelegen, where we had lunch and a nice tasting. I had delicious soup and a pot of rooibos tea to warm up, as this is where we had the most rain and wind. They had a lot of wines but focused on big reds (Bordeaux blends and Syrah) and a nice Bordeaux style white as well. The view from Ernie Els was fantastic, but it is NOT safe! This was the only winery we visited that did not have security at the gate, and apparently they needed it. The wineries we planned to visit, but did not, were Muillineux, Le Lude, Kanonkop and Meerlust. Honestly, I suspect you can't go wrong (security concerns aside). There is such a variety of wines (varietals, style) and I found the culture there to be so welcoming and relaxed. The tastings are all incredibly inexpensive compared to anywhere else I have been (Napa, Willamette, Bordeaux, Yarra Valley) that you won't have regrets. If you don't like the wine, you probably still have amazing views and will be out like $10!

Just a reminder do NOT leave valuables in your car, anywhere you go, ever. Others have warned about this, and i didn't take it seriously enough. So please be careful!

luckyinla

Thank you for your response! I had seen your post and noted your unfortunate experience at Ernie Els. I'm letting my friend pick the wineries since she is a sommelier. We are spending all 3 nights in Cape Town, and planning on hiring a driver to take us to Stellenbosch for a day. (We won't bring personal items that we can't carry with us!)

We ended up booking Labotessa Boutique Hotel, where we got the last suites available for our dates. I had read that another Fodorite had stayed there and enjoyed it. I will definitely check out your restaurant recommendation.

I especially appreciate your kind words about the weather in Cape Town during June. We intend to be prepared while hoping for good weather like you experienced.