Cape Town - South Africa
Table Mountain, Robben Island, Winelands and Great Beaches
A holiday in Cape Town, South Africa, has something to suit every taste, every pocket and every member of the family.
South Africans not living in Cape Town call it “es-capetown” because of its trendy café’s, glitzy nightlife and social scene right in the middle of the winelands. It’s hard to believe they get any work done at all in the Mother City, with breathtaking beaches on two sides - Indian Ocean and Atlantic.
Cape Town, South Africa is geared for visitors
Geared to the hilt for visitors, Cape Town in South Africa has a wide range of accommodation from five-star luxury hotels, to guesthouses, boutique hotels, self-catering accommodation, B&B's and backpackers lodges. Prices depend on location as well as season.
Most tourist attractions in Cape Town are easily accessible regardless of where the visitor chooses to stay. Shopping, beaches, arts and culture, gardens, adventure sport, markets, and so much more located in a spectacular settings makes Cape Town one of the world’s most popular long haul destinations.
Four of many reasons why you should spend your next holiday in Cape Town.
1. Food and wine
Friends are made around the Cape table where the bounty of the vineyards embraces the food of the region. Cape Town abounds with fine restaurants. Ask for the excellent local wine list. (South African beer is also good). Splash out in Cape Town and and dine at one of the excellent restaurants in the winelands, surrounded by mountains and vineyards.
2. Table Mountain
On on top of Table Mountain one feels like you’re on the top of the world. Some people climb Table Mountain, but for most it is a scenic six minute ride in the revolving cable car where they're spoiled with panoramic views of Table Bay and the Cape Peninsula.
3. Robben Island
For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, 12 kilometres from Cape Town, was a place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. Many come to see the tiny cell Nelson Mandela spent so many years of his life in. Others visit Robben Island to absorb the miracle of peace and reconciliation that emerged from this bleak island in the Atlantic Ocean.
Daily tours to Robben Island include the ferry trip there and back, an island tour and a tour of the prison with a former political prisoner as your guide. Book in advance. Robben Island ferries leave at regular intervals from the Clock Tower at the V&A Waterfront.
4. Township tours
Get out of the first world and see the other side of South Africa. Take a township tour of Langa, the oldest township in South Africa or Khayelitsha. These Township tours are usually co-led by a resident from the area and they showcase local industry and community projects and often include a visit to a township tavern or 'shebeen' to wash the dust (and the lump) out of your throat.
Visitors should take off as much time as they can to spend in the Cape. Public transport isn't great in South Africa, it is a good idea to rent a car and drive around. There is plenty to see and do.
Western Cape Accomodation map page.
Photographs from the flickr group of South Africa Rocks.
While you're in Southern Africa, also visit:
Durban in KwaZulu-Natal
Soweto - Johannesburg
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