It's been an year since i wanted to create a Blog but never really got time to do it. But this Cape town trip has motivated me to a larger extent to blog my experience and to share it with a wider audience. I have tried my best to explain how the trip was, what we enjoyed the most, what we missed to see etc.,
Planning: It was just me, my wife and our 2.5 yr old daughter that travelled and so we did not want to enquire about any cost-reducing services. I simply booked a holiday deal from Kulula for 4 nights 5 days which included 5 days car rental from Europcar, 4 nights stay at Protea Hotel Cape Castle , returns flights with British Airways operated by ComAir and a complimentary GPS rental from Tom Tom - all for ZAR 8524.
Places we covered (I'm not arranging it in any order, just the way i remember)
1) Cape Point / Cape of Good Hope:
I can't remember how many times I marked this place incorrectly in my secondary school geography exam and got scoldings from the teacher...!
The beach as such, at the cape of good hope is too dirty and is not fit for anything except fishing. All the branches of the shore side trees/plants get piled up here and you need to jump over a few of those to get to the water. You can find a few ostriches roaming around in that place. Nothing much.
Cape Point Light house (old) is another attraction and you reach there through a Flying Dutchman (i.e., a funnicular train) in less than 2 minutes. The train doesn't take you all the way to the light house, but to a curio shop and a flat surface which has a number of spectacular view points. You need to climb a further 50-60 steps to reach the light house where you find the distance tree for various international ports. You can also walk to that level, without the train, which takes 1.5 hrs. Most people go up by the train and walk down. But, having the kid, we din't want to walk that much.
There is also a 20 minute long beautiful hike trail (one way) to the Dias beach view point which is worth considering.
Two oceans restaurant: If you are a vegetarian - you only have 3 options. If not, the entire menu is yours. The sea food items are fresh and it is most likely that you will end up being there for lunch (if you are not cooking during the holidays, that is).
There were a few other places within the campus but not so attractive as these two.
The curio shop has some interesting and nice stuffs including a certificate (ZAR 20) where they will write your name on the cape point map.!
Cost:
Entry ticket: ZAR 85 for adults and ZAR 30 for kids from 2-11.
Flying Dutchman fares: ZAR 47 for adults and ZAR 20 for kids from 6-16 (return). ZAR 37 and ZAR 15 respectively for one way.
2) Table Mountain:
A very prominent landmark that overlooks the entire cape town. We reach on top of the table mountain through the cable car and then on, its a flat surface that has steps and are also weelchair friendly. There is a pathway that takes you alongside the mountain's borders where you can have a very good view of the entire cape town. On a clear day, Robben Island, Water front, Camps Bay, Hout bay are all visible clearly. There are more than 15-20 view points and each of them offer different views. It's a must-visit place.
There is a Cafe on top of the Table mountain serving snacks and cool drinks.
Cost: The cable car costs ZAR 175 for adults (return), ZAR 85 for kids from 4 - 18, and free for kids under 4. Tickets are available both at Table mountain office and online. In case of weather spoiling the cable car operation, you can postpone the ticket upto within 14 days. If not possible within 14 days, money will be refunded less some admin charges.
3) Robben Island:
A historic landmark that was made a world heritage site not long ago. Many political leaders, noteably, Mr. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 20 long years. It is similar to how Andaman was for India during Birish rule.
The cell in which Mr. Mandela was locked in, is the only worthy place to see. Tours to Robben island are operated only by the government and tickets are available both at the counters in Waterfront and online.
The 3.5 hr long tour includes a 30 min *2 = 60 minute boat ride, a 45 - 60 minutes bus tour on the island and a 1 hr tour inside the Maximum security prison. The prison tour will be be anchored by an ex-prisoner who was jailed there along with Mr. Mandela.
As I have seen a lot of freedom-fighting related movies and read few books on it, the narration din't have much of an impact on me. But Mr. Mandela's cell was worth a visit.
There is also a Penguin colony on the island but there is a better place in Cape town for that. I some how felt that the tour was overly priced for what the island offers.
They have a small Cafe that sells soft drinks and sandwiches.
Cost: ZAR 220 for adults and ZAR 110 for children below 18.
4) Boulder's Beach / Penguins beach:
This place is near Simon's Town and is on the way from Cape Point to Waterfront / False bay.
There are 1000's of Cape Penguins in this area , on the beach, and sometimes on the main road too. You can enter the beach and play in the water / swim along with Penguins or you can use the walkway to view the penguins from a distance. Kids will love this place. At any given time of the day , you should be able to see atleast 50-60 of those tiny penguins.
Cost: ZAR 45 per adult and ZAR 20 for under 18s.
5) Camps Bay:
This is where I touched the water from Atlantic Ocean for the first time in my life. and the water was really really colder than what we feel in the Indian Ocean. It's a very clean beach and ideal for any water related activity, if you can surive the cold water. Parking is available in the roadside marked areas and is free to use.
Try and be here for sunset. With the beach being clean and with white sands, you will enjoy seeing the sun go down the sea.
6) Seal Colony:
The official Seal Island is on the False bay. But we had been to a Seal Colony that is near Hout Bay. There are around 14000 cape fur seals on that island and is reachable by boat. When you get a stinking smell, you know that the island is nearing. Several boat companies operate that tour from Hout Bay. Its a one hour round trip by boat and the tour also gives you a good view of the chapman's peak. They take you very close to those harmless creatures and you can see plenty of them doing all sort of things like diving, crawling etc.,
Cost: ZAR 65 for adults and free for kids under 5.
7) Chapman's peak drive: (my favorite)
This is one of the scenic routes in South Africa and one of the world's best roads to drive in. It is 9km in length and has more than 100 curves, with beautiful beaches on one side and gigantic mountains on the other. There are plenty of view points along the road in corners, where you can park your car to have a 180 degree view of the gorgeous landscape. The drive streches from Noordhoek to Hout Bay and it is wise to cover this route on the way from Cape Point to Waterfront.
Cost: There is a toll of ZAR 31 for Cars.
8) V & A Waterfront:
The most lively area in capetown. There are plenty of boat companies offering variety of marine tours , couple of big malls, lots of restaurant offering different cuisines, small bunches of road-side musicians and dancers who keep entertaining the public during day and mainly night. There is also the giant Cape Wheel located here. All in all, it is a very lively place and a must-visit during late evenings / night.
Cost: Free entry for waterfront. ZAR 80 for Adults and free for kids for the cape wheel.
9) Waterfront Craft market & Wellness centre:
This is a good time-pass place where there are more than 100 stalls selling variety of crafts including those made out of wood, sea shells, paintings etc., The wellness centre have few spa's as well. If you want to buy anything as a memory, this is the place. There are a couple of Cafe's inside the market.
Entry is Free.
10) Ostrich Ranch:
This one is off N7 and is called the West Coast Ostrich Ranch. They have a 45 minutes tour where you learn about Ostrich, their body parts, their life style, feed them and sit on them (with table mountain in background).
The guiness record holding smallest living Ostrich is from this ranch. If you interested to know more about Ostrich and to see them very close, this is the place.
They also have a restaurant where you find some Ostrich dishes. I was told that an Ostrich egg omlette can serve 4 people for lunch..!!
Cost: ZAR 60 for adults, ZAR 45 for children between 6- 16 and ZAR 15 for children below 6.
11) Wine tours:
Cape town is famous for its vineyards, as more than 95% of the South African wines come from Cape Town. There are plenty of vineyards in and around Cape town and most of them have a tour on wine-making where they explain the processes involved in wine making and the tour also includes wine tasting where you can taste varieties of wine like red wine, white wine, sparkling wine, port wine etc.,
We had been to Groot Constantia vineyard where they had a 45 minutes tour and 15 minutes wine tasting where they even teach you about assessing a wine, holding the glass, and in reading its flavours.
If you are wine drinker, then you must make it a point to visit one of the vineyards in Cape town.
Cost: R38 per adult (Groot Constantia vineyard).
12) Red Bus city tour:
The Red bus city tours are available to almost all major attractions in Cape town and the buses start from Waterfront bus stop. The frequency is pretty good. If you find it difficult to drive and enjoy the views at the same time, you could use this bus so that you can sit on the open top and have a 360 degree view all the time. They also operate package day tours like sunset tours. When you book a tour, you will be given an earphone by which you can listen to a recorded commentary about the history of the various places that you see during the tour.
We picked up the Sunset tour to Signal Hill for 2.5 hours.
Cost: ZAR 80 per adult and free for kids below 5.
13) Activities:
There are also a wide range of activities that you can indulge in. Examples - Sunset Cruise (with & without Champaigne), Whale watching, White Shark cage diving etc., which you can pick as per the season.
What we missed:
It is perhaps a little lesser known fact that Cape point is not the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, but it is the Cape Agulhas. It is around 220 kms from Cape town, and takes around 3-4 hrs drive with all cliffs and bends. If you have some space in your itinerary, do fit this in.
Stellenbosh is a very beautiful town and also has its famous vineyards. If you get a chance to visit the city, do cover it.
The Valley of birds, Kirstenbosch botanical garden & the Two oceans Acquarium were a few places that we deliberately missed as we had covered similar places already in other cities and we did not consider that to be a speciality of capetown as such.
Food:
There are plenty of good restaurants in and around cape town, but you don't need to go in search of one. Near most of the prominent attractions, you will find a good restaurant. However if you are a vegetarian, your options are very less. It will be advisable then to choose self catering rooms. You can also find plenty of Indian Restaurants like Bhukara, Jewel of India, Taj etc., and you also have the Eastern Food Bazaar where you will find the cheapest Indian food if you dont want to spend much.
Tips:
Do not travel to Cape town between April to July as it will be very cold. You will not be able to get the best from the view points. Try and be at the mountain tops like Cape Point, Table mountain, Signal Hill, and at the beaches for either Sun set or sunrise whichever appropriate. If you can be organised, you can consider the online ticket bookings for Table Mountain and Robben Island, and I believe you get some discounts too, while booking online.
And of course, GPS is a must if you want to navigate, although plenty of sign boards are placed alongside the roads. Before planning your trip, do check for the Cycle tours happening during that period. Most of the important roads will be closed if a cycle race or tour is happening.
Overall, it was a very memorable experience and Cape Town is definitely a "must-see-place-before-you-die".
I sincerely hope that you get a chance in your life to visit this lovely place.
Planning: It was just me, my wife and our 2.5 yr old daughter that travelled and so we did not want to enquire about any cost-reducing services. I simply booked a holiday deal from Kulula for 4 nights 5 days which included 5 days car rental from Europcar, 4 nights stay at Protea Hotel Cape Castle , returns flights with British Airways operated by ComAir and a complimentary GPS rental from Tom Tom - all for ZAR 8524.
Places we covered (I'm not arranging it in any order, just the way i remember)
1) Cape Point / Cape of Good Hope:
I can't remember how many times I marked this place incorrectly in my secondary school geography exam and got scoldings from the teacher...!
The beach as such, at the cape of good hope is too dirty and is not fit for anything except fishing. All the branches of the shore side trees/plants get piled up here and you need to jump over a few of those to get to the water. You can find a few ostriches roaming around in that place. Nothing much.
Cape Point Light house (old) is another attraction and you reach there through a Flying Dutchman (i.e., a funnicular train) in less than 2 minutes. The train doesn't take you all the way to the light house, but to a curio shop and a flat surface which has a number of spectacular view points. You need to climb a further 50-60 steps to reach the light house where you find the distance tree for various international ports. You can also walk to that level, without the train, which takes 1.5 hrs. Most people go up by the train and walk down. But, having the kid, we din't want to walk that much.
There is also a 20 minute long beautiful hike trail (one way) to the Dias beach view point which is worth considering.
Two oceans restaurant: If you are a vegetarian - you only have 3 options. If not, the entire menu is yours. The sea food items are fresh and it is most likely that you will end up being there for lunch (if you are not cooking during the holidays, that is).
There were a few other places within the campus but not so attractive as these two.
The curio shop has some interesting and nice stuffs including a certificate (ZAR 20) where they will write your name on the cape point map.!
Cost:
Entry ticket: ZAR 85 for adults and ZAR 30 for kids from 2-11.
Flying Dutchman fares: ZAR 47 for adults and ZAR 20 for kids from 6-16 (return). ZAR 37 and ZAR 15 respectively for one way.
2) Table Mountain:
A very prominent landmark that overlooks the entire cape town. We reach on top of the table mountain through the cable car and then on, its a flat surface that has steps and are also weelchair friendly. There is a pathway that takes you alongside the mountain's borders where you can have a very good view of the entire cape town. On a clear day, Robben Island, Water front, Camps Bay, Hout bay are all visible clearly. There are more than 15-20 view points and each of them offer different views. It's a must-visit place.
 |
| Table Mountain Cable Car |
There is a Cafe on top of the Table mountain serving snacks and cool drinks.
Cost: The cable car costs ZAR 175 for adults (return), ZAR 85 for kids from 4 - 18, and free for kids under 4. Tickets are available both at Table mountain office and online. In case of weather spoiling the cable car operation, you can postpone the ticket upto within 14 days. If not possible within 14 days, money will be refunded less some admin charges.
3) Robben Island:
A historic landmark that was made a world heritage site not long ago. Many political leaders, noteably, Mr. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 20 long years. It is similar to how Andaman was for India during Birish rule.
The cell in which Mr. Mandela was locked in, is the only worthy place to see. Tours to Robben island are operated only by the government and tickets are available both at the counters in Waterfront and online.
 |
| One of the cells in the Maximum Security Prison. |
The 3.5 hr long tour includes a 30 min *2 = 60 minute boat ride, a 45 - 60 minutes bus tour on the island and a 1 hr tour inside the Maximum security prison. The prison tour will be be anchored by an ex-prisoner who was jailed there along with Mr. Mandela.
As I have seen a lot of freedom-fighting related movies and read few books on it, the narration din't have much of an impact on me. But Mr. Mandela's cell was worth a visit.
There is also a Penguin colony on the island but there is a better place in Cape town for that. I some how felt that the tour was overly priced for what the island offers.
They have a small Cafe that sells soft drinks and sandwiches.
Cost: ZAR 220 for adults and ZAR 110 for children below 18.
4) Boulder's Beach / Penguins beach:
This place is near Simon's Town and is on the way from Cape Point to Waterfront / False bay.
There are 1000's of Cape Penguins in this area , on the beach, and sometimes on the main road too. You can enter the beach and play in the water / swim along with Penguins or you can use the walkway to view the penguins from a distance. Kids will love this place. At any given time of the day , you should be able to see atleast 50-60 of those tiny penguins.
 |
| Penguins marching their way at the Boulder's beach. |
Cost: ZAR 45 per adult and ZAR 20 for under 18s.
5) Camps Bay:
This is where I touched the water from Atlantic Ocean for the first time in my life. and the water was really really colder than what we feel in the Indian Ocean. It's a very clean beach and ideal for any water related activity, if you can surive the cold water. Parking is available in the roadside marked areas and is free to use.
Try and be here for sunset. With the beach being clean and with white sands, you will enjoy seeing the sun go down the sea.
6) Seal Colony:
The official Seal Island is on the False bay. But we had been to a Seal Colony that is near Hout Bay. There are around 14000 cape fur seals on that island and is reachable by boat. When you get a stinking smell, you know that the island is nearing. Several boat companies operate that tour from Hout Bay. Its a one hour round trip by boat and the tour also gives you a good view of the chapman's peak. They take you very close to those harmless creatures and you can see plenty of them doing all sort of things like diving, crawling etc.,
 |
| Cape fur Seals resting in Seal Island |
Cost: ZAR 65 for adults and free for kids under 5.
7) Chapman's peak drive: (my favorite)
This is one of the scenic routes in South Africa and one of the world's best roads to drive in. It is 9km in length and has more than 100 curves, with beautiful beaches on one side and gigantic mountains on the other. There are plenty of view points along the road in corners, where you can park your car to have a 180 degree view of the gorgeous landscape. The drive streches from Noordhoek to Hout Bay and it is wise to cover this route on the way from Cape Point to Waterfront.
 |
| A view of the spectacular Chapmans peak drive |
Cost: There is a toll of ZAR 31 for Cars.
8) V & A Waterfront:
The most lively area in capetown. There are plenty of boat companies offering variety of marine tours , couple of big malls, lots of restaurant offering different cuisines, small bunches of road-side musicians and dancers who keep entertaining the public during day and mainly night. There is also the giant Cape Wheel located here. All in all, it is a very lively place and a must-visit during late evenings / night.
 |
| The distance tree at V&A Waterfront |
Cost: Free entry for waterfront. ZAR 80 for Adults and free for kids for the cape wheel.
9) Waterfront Craft market & Wellness centre:
This is a good time-pass place where there are more than 100 stalls selling variety of crafts including those made out of wood, sea shells, paintings etc., The wellness centre have few spa's as well. If you want to buy anything as a memory, this is the place. There are a couple of Cafe's inside the market.
Entry is Free.
10) Ostrich Ranch:
This one is off N7 and is called the West Coast Ostrich Ranch. They have a 45 minutes tour where you learn about Ostrich, their body parts, their life style, feed them and sit on them (with table mountain in background).
 |
| Australian Ostriches at the West Coast Ostrich Ranch |
The guiness record holding smallest living Ostrich is from this ranch. If you interested to know more about Ostrich and to see them very close, this is the place.
They also have a restaurant where you find some Ostrich dishes. I was told that an Ostrich egg omlette can serve 4 people for lunch..!!
Cost: ZAR 60 for adults, ZAR 45 for children between 6- 16 and ZAR 15 for children below 6.
11) Wine tours:
Cape town is famous for its vineyards, as more than 95% of the South African wines come from Cape Town. There are plenty of vineyards in and around Cape town and most of them have a tour on wine-making where they explain the processes involved in wine making and the tour also includes wine tasting where you can taste varieties of wine like red wine, white wine, sparkling wine, port wine etc.,
We had been to Groot Constantia vineyard where they had a 45 minutes tour and 15 minutes wine tasting where they even teach you about assessing a wine, holding the glass, and in reading its flavours.
If you are wine drinker, then you must make it a point to visit one of the vineyards in Cape town.
 |
| Wine barells during maturation |
12) Red Bus city tour:
The Red bus city tours are available to almost all major attractions in Cape town and the buses start from Waterfront bus stop. The frequency is pretty good. If you find it difficult to drive and enjoy the views at the same time, you could use this bus so that you can sit on the open top and have a 360 degree view all the time. They also operate package day tours like sunset tours. When you book a tour, you will be given an earphone by which you can listen to a recorded commentary about the history of the various places that you see during the tour.
We picked up the Sunset tour to Signal Hill for 2.5 hours.
Cost: ZAR 80 per adult and free for kids below 5.
 |
| The Red City bus during our sunset tour to Signal Hill |
13) Activities:
There are also a wide range of activities that you can indulge in. Examples - Sunset Cruise (with & without Champaigne), Whale watching, White Shark cage diving etc., which you can pick as per the season.
What we missed:
It is perhaps a little lesser known fact that Cape point is not the place where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, but it is the Cape Agulhas. It is around 220 kms from Cape town, and takes around 3-4 hrs drive with all cliffs and bends. If you have some space in your itinerary, do fit this in.
Stellenbosh is a very beautiful town and also has its famous vineyards. If you get a chance to visit the city, do cover it.
The Valley of birds, Kirstenbosch botanical garden & the Two oceans Acquarium were a few places that we deliberately missed as we had covered similar places already in other cities and we did not consider that to be a speciality of capetown as such.
Food:
There are plenty of good restaurants in and around cape town, but you don't need to go in search of one. Near most of the prominent attractions, you will find a good restaurant. However if you are a vegetarian, your options are very less. It will be advisable then to choose self catering rooms. You can also find plenty of Indian Restaurants like Bhukara, Jewel of India, Taj etc., and you also have the Eastern Food Bazaar where you will find the cheapest Indian food if you dont want to spend much.
Tips:
Do not travel to Cape town between April to July as it will be very cold. You will not be able to get the best from the view points. Try and be at the mountain tops like Cape Point, Table mountain, Signal Hill, and at the beaches for either Sun set or sunrise whichever appropriate. If you can be organised, you can consider the online ticket bookings for Table Mountain and Robben Island, and I believe you get some discounts too, while booking online.
And of course, GPS is a must if you want to navigate, although plenty of sign boards are placed alongside the roads. Before planning your trip, do check for the Cycle tours happening during that period. Most of the important roads will be closed if a cycle race or tour is happening.
Overall, it was a very memorable experience and Cape Town is definitely a "must-see-place-before-you-die".
I sincerely hope that you get a chance in your life to visit this lovely place.
1 comment:
Good one.. quick recap on my trip to capetown too... a must see place for any age :)
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