The following is based on our own trip and our own research for our own trip

Where to Stay - What to Do - Where to Eat -

Getting Around - What not to do

 

Hostels (don't know about hotels though) in and around Long Street best bet

Ashanti Lodge - R400/night dbl room (nothing flash)

Cat & Moose - R250/night dbl room (nothing flash)

 

What to do: (2 full weeks - FULL ON days)

Table Mountain (1/2 day)- If you are insane like we were, you can walk to the top - take a cab to the Peterklip Gorge Climb - and hike up up up . It took us about 2+hrs. Start early, take lots of water, sunscreen, a hat and your camera. Its a hard climb but no special equipment required.Beautiful view from above. Keep an eye out for the lizzards and dassies! Then take the cable car down. If you are smart... take the cable car up too! (R60 each way) Restuarant & Shop at top.

Robben Island (1/2 day)- Buy a ferry ticket at the waterfront near the clock tower at Victoria Waterfront - R150 per person (can buy in advance as well!). Get to wharf early and make time before to check out the museum - very interesting. The 3.5hr trip includes ferry to and from island (keep watch for seals & wear sunscreen & hat on boat!) & bus tour of the island viewing Nelson Mandela's cell, Robert Soubukwe's house, Leper Cemetary, Lime Quary and wildlife that lives there (Jackass Penguins, Springbok, Bontebok, Bunnies & African Black Oystercatchers among others. Very emotional trip.

Book a Trip to Cage Dive with the Great Whites (1.5days)

Operators will pick you up in Cape Town (but really really early - 4.30am!) and take you to Gansbaai. 2hr drive - 150km east of Cape Town. Or rent a car to get there.

Operators: Shark Diving Unlimited ;

Luxury stay in Gansbaai - Saxon Lodge

Take A Wine Tour (1 full day)

Cape Wine Tours took us on a day tour of the Cape Vinyards which was a wonderful day out! 3 visits to vinyards plus lunch in a little village, chocolate tasting and lots and lots of wine. We visited the Stellenbosh, Paal and Franschoek Regions. 8.30am-4.30pm day, picked up from hotel & dropped off for R385 each (includes lunch and all wine tasting). Can book at most hotel/hostels.

Hire A Car and tour the Cape Peninsula (1 full day)

Book a car through the hostel/hotel - they will drop it off for you and even pick it up. You need a drivers licence and credit card and it is so very easy! (get car early and return within 24hrs - R230 plus return with full tank of petrol!

Drive out of Cape Town through to Kirstenhof then up to Kalk Bay (gorgeous little town). Then up through to Simonstown (the Meeting Place on main street did lovely lunch). Then go visit the Penguins at Boulders Beach National Park just around the corner from Simonstown (R25 entry fee). If you have time you can go to a little bay with a beach and hang out there and swim with the penguins too!

From Boulders Beach head to the Cape Point (there is a cable car but we didn't go £££) gorgeous views though. Then head to Cape of Good Hope where although it is swamped with tourist buses it is well worth it for the view (of the sea of course!) Waves crashing in on the boulders - breath taking!

The best bit of the drive (all was fab but this is the best) is going around the National Park. (it closes at around 6 or 7 so get there well before) There are many different roads - drive up and down as many as you can! On the drive we saw babboons, tortises, springbok, bontebok, and an ostrich! It was stunning especially the little beach we stopped at Olifantsbos - wish we had more time!!

From there we headed back towards Cape Town on the West Side of the peninsula (suggest you do East Down and West back for the sun set!) up through Chapmans Peak. Amazing views! Heading back into Cape Town through the the suberbanville Bays (lots of money there) could hang out for nightlife at one of them (Hout Bay)- we headed back to Long Street though.

Route Overview that we took:

Long Street - Orange Street - M3 up to False Bay Coast- - - *Kirstenhof, *Kalk Bay, Fish Hoek, *Simonstown, *Boulders Beach, *Cape Point, *Cape of Good Hope & National Park, *Olifantsbos, Scarborough, Misty Cliffs, *Chapmans Peak, Hout Bay, Sandy Bay, Llandudno, Camps Bay, Clifton, Sea Point, Green Point and back to *Long Street.

* where we stopped

Fly to Durban & Go on Safari, Trip through Swaziland and onto Nelspruit & then to Kruger (9 days)

We flew from Cape Town to Durban (R259/person one way with Kulula + R70each to get to airport), stayed in Durban one night at Tekwini Backpackers (1day). The next morning we hired a car - drove to Hluhluwe via St Lucia National Park - AMAZING AMAZING if you have time. (Drive from Durban + look around St Lucia & boatride (R130/person) to see hippos - 1full day) We stayed at Isinkwe Bush Camp (R230/night/dbl room) (a crazy drive from StLucia but not far) and did a one day safari (R550/person) with them where we saw the all of the Big 5 (1 full day + 2 nights).This place was amazing! From there we headed to Swaziland (R50 boarder tax) where we spent one night at Legends in Ezulwini (R190/night) (not far from the capital Mbabane). (1 full day as you have to drive so very very slow) We left early and drove&walked through Mlilwlane Wildlife Sanctury (R50) for a couple of hours (1.5days) We then left Swaziland back into S.Africa to Nelspruit for the night (night) & had the rental car picked up (cost about R1250 for 5days + R350 petrol) then got picked up there for the Kruger trip with Funkey Monkey Safaris (picked up at 5am drove straight to camp and spent 3 nights at Kruger National Park (R1700 / 3nights/person + R130 night drive + R220 morning walk) - I can't explain how wonderful it was! Well I can - see my Blog. (3.5days). The safari company drove us back to Nelspruit.

Alternative - fly from Cape Town through to Nelspruit and go to Kruger from there.

 

Getting Around:

Taxis - From Long Street to Waterfront ~60R

Take taxis at night - even if down the street!

Where to eat in Cape Town:

On Long Street - Afro Cafe on Church St (by market), Carribean Restaurant (yum), Masala Dosa, & there is a Game Restuarant which we didn't try but was supposed to be good!

Just off Long Street - Nelson's Eye (9 Hof Street, Gardens)- best best best steakhouse

Victoria Waterfront - Ferryman's Tavern & Cafe San Marco

Internet in Cape Town

i-mocha - cheapest we found on Long Street R12/hr opposed to R40/hr found in most

 

 

 

Wher

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