The best hot tub getaways near Cape Town

The best thing about leaving Cape Town for a soak is how little leaving it takes. An hour on the N1 or the N2 and the city falls away, replaced by vineyards, fynbos and the slow business of a wood-fired tub coming up to heat. The stays below sit roughly one to three hours from the city, near enough for a Friday-after-work run, far enough to feel properly away. We have sorted them by drive time and by mood, from a tucked-away studio for two to a manor that takes the whole family. Pick by how far you want to drive and how much company you want to keep.

Under an hour: a fast escape to Franschhoek

For the shortest run from the city, point the car at Franschhoek. Gite Studio Franschhoek sits in the village itself, a studio for two with a wood-fired hot tub, a braai and fast wifi, which is a rare and useful combination if one of you still has a Friday deadline. The appeal is the simplicity. You arrive, you light the fire under the tub, you walk to dinner. The village does the rest of the work, with its single main street of restaurants and tasting rooms a short stroll from the door. It is the kind of stay you book on a Wednesday and are soaking in by Friday evening, no grand plan required.

Around an hour: a pod near Wellington

If you want the soak without the village bustle, head a little further to the Hemingway Eco Pod near Wellington. It sleeps two and pairs a wood-fired hot tub with an indoor fireplace, which is the right setup for the cooler months when the point of the trip is to not go anywhere. Wellington is the quieter end of the Winelands, less polished than its famous neighbours and better for it. You come here to read, to do nothing in particular, to move between the fire inside and the steam outside as the evening cools. For a couple after stillness rather than a list of things to do, the pod is hard to beat.

For the whole group: a Franschhoek manor

Some getaways are a couple and some are a convoy. For the latter, The Manor House on La Roche Estate in Franschhoek sleeps twelve and carries a heated pool alongside its wood-fired hot tub. It is also pet-friendly, which matters when the dog is part of the family and the alternative is a kennel. With a group this size the house becomes the holiday, long lunches and late swims and a queue forming, good-naturedly, for the tub after dark. Still well within the under-two-hour band from Cape Town, it turns a milestone birthday or a reunion into something that needs no further itinerary than each other.

Two hours plus: over the mountains to the Overberg

Push a little past the Winelands and you reach the Overberg, the region you keep coming back to once you know it. Near Greyton, Suikerbos Cottage at Bokrivier sleeps six and offers a wood-fired hot tub, a fireplace and a pet-friendly welcome, which makes it a natural choice for two couples or a small family with the dog along. Deeper into the region, Fynbos Suites sleeps two with a wood-fired tub, a fireplace and, sensibly, backup power for when the grid wavers. Both reward the slightly longer drive with bigger skies and quieter roads. This is where you go when the Winelands feel too close to home and you want the mountains between you and the city.