I went to Cape Town in South Africa for a weekend. My conclusion is that you can see a lot in Cape Town over a weekend. But it will be a busy weekend. Cape Town is such a beautiful place with a lot to see and do.Extraordinary and unexpected view
I had a really nice breakfast at the SAS Radisson in the Waterfront. Suddenly the waiter came by and said - Look at the waves and pointed at the sea.
I looked and nodded. The view of the sea is nice. But then I thought, why are so many people gathering by the window with their cameras?
Then I realized, I heard wrong, he didnt say waves, he said whales... so I grabbed my camera and joined the crowd to get some pictures of the awesome view... whales in the sea, just outside the hotel.
- Visit the Cape of good hope. It is totally stunning to see the two seas meet, and definitely worth the trip. It is about an hour from Cape Town. Take a picture of yourself in front of the famous sign. It is said that it is the most southern-western part you can visit of Africa.Bring your camera but watch out for the baboons on the way there. Their favourite hobby is to steel food from tourists...
- I just loved to watch the pretty penguins on the beach. They are so sweet. Go to Simonstown to see the penguins on the way back from the Cape of Good hope.
- Back in Cape Town go for some wine tastings in the wine yards. Spier is very close to Cape Town and offers a range of wines.
You can rent a car or take a tourist trip with a tourist company to the wine district. Short overview on: http://www.wineanorak.com/saregions.htm
My favourite is Franschhoek. There are so many super nice hotels and restaurants here!!
Vrede en Lust, Graham Beck, La Motte and Rupert & Rothschild, do I need to say more? Last time we visited Theleme wine yard. Lovely wine and after that we had a luxury lunch at the Delaire Graff Estate. Their suite hotel is gorgoeous with private pools. - Take a boat trip to Robben Island for a tour where Nelson Mandela was a prisoner and get to know more about the South African history. Robben Island was originally part of the mainland, the peak of an ancient mountain. Today it is an island and a World Heritage Site and museum
- You should also take a tour to the township to get some more knowledge of the life that too many South Africans live today. Townships were created as living areas for non-whites under the old political system of Apartheid. But you cannot go there on your own. Book a guided tour through your hotel. And do not go there during nighttime.
- If you need extra exercise take a hike up the Table Moutain and enjoy the fab view over Cape Town and the ocean. You can also go by the cableway. http://tablemountain.net/
The trip with the cableway takes about five-minutes, but if you take a hike the 3 km could take between 1-3 hours. - The Aquarium could be nice for kids on a rainy day. http://www.aquarium.co.za/
- If you need some light exercise go for shopping in the Waterfront area.
The large shopping area by the sea is called Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and it is situated between Robben Island and Table Mountain.
Where to shop...Some of my fav shops are:
Cape Unions Mart Travel and Safari - Outdoor clothing for you safari trip
CNA - papers and stuff
Crabtree & Evelyn - cosmetic
Edgars - clothes
Exclusive books
Woolworths, Truworths, Nine Weest - clothes and bags
Out of Africa - fab souvenirs
Where to eat 
Breakfast is nice at Mugg and Bean
Lunch at Ocean Basket, I just love their fresh fish or at Steers or Wang Thai.
Have a nice dinner at Cape Town Fish Market and Sushi Bar. The large selection of sushi is going around in the restaurant on a conveyer belt or you can have some fab fresh fish for your main meal. The best place for grill and wine is the Belthazar. Amazing food! They also have the biggest wine bar in the world according to themselves. But save the dessert and go to the Haagen-Dazs for an icecream, yummy...
Where to stay
Stay in with a great view of the sea in luxury at the Table bay hotel. Or in the cheaper but not cheap SAS Waterfront Cape Town. Or even cheaper at the Commodore hotel. The exclusive Delair Graff Estate is also an amazing for a night on the wine yard estate.
Wow, the writer of this article has done a great job of packing so many of the popular attractions of Cape Town into a weekend. There is so much to see and do in this beautiful part of South Africa that most tourists would be advised to spend a week. Visitors to Cape Town should be aware of the special offer of a "Go Cape Town" card that enables one to visit the three most popular attractions of the city at a discounted price.
ReplyDeleteVisitors pay only R360 per card, which includes a return trip on the Table Mountain Cableway, a visit to the Two Oceans Aquarium and a ride on an open-top City bus.
Well, Cape Town is one of the top tourist destinations in South Africa. It has plenty of outstanding beaches and places where number of tourist comes from all over the world especially for Table Mountain.
ReplyDeleteIt is one of the most prominent feature and a world famous landmark in Cape Town. This wonderful mountain is visible from almost everywhere in Cape Town which seems like awesome view.