scrubbedexpat141

Afternoon campers,

Heading to Cape Town in August (yes, I'm looking forward to a 'winter' holiday) and wanted to ask the esteemed, average and sub-par members of the bored for any advice, things to see, hotel recommendations.

You know, this is the usual Scamps-going-on-holiday-and-wants-some-advice thread.

We're thinking 9-10 days and focusing on Cape Town, happy to rent a car and stay up / down the coast and into the wine regions. Just keen to hear of any great / bad experiences and must-do's.

Thanks in advance
Scampsneverbeensouthoftheequator

iggle

Cape Town is stunning, obviously you have Table Top mountain etc etc.

Highly recommend driving the Garden route and go Whale Hunting. (no not you misses, but actual whales)

Oh my advice, don't wear watches, rings, bling bling and carry nothing valuable with you. If you get mugged, had everything over. So go out, with nothing you can afford to lose.

Serious comment there by Mr Iggles

mission

I've heard it's rough as hell too....kinda puts me off going.

Millhouse

Good luck.

don't get your asshole re-bored.

hnd

I would suggest staying outside of Cape Town. We visited last September and stayed in Stellenbosch (about a 30 minute, easy drive from the airport) at Oude Werf Hotel. It's a fabulous small hotel, with great and really helpful staff, in the heart of the town and, while it is very, very pricy by SA terms we found it remarkably cheap (when compared with hotels here in Muscat). It also has secure off-road private parking which is not to be sneezed at in Stellenbosch. About a five minute walk from the hotel there's a great restaurant called the Big Easy which is owned by Ernie Els and they serve fabulous steaks. From memory the hotel was about 800dhs/night inclusive of all taxes and breakfast (we had a 'superior' room in the old part of the hotel -very nice, with old furniture but a very modern bathroom!).

There are more wineries (pretty much all of them have restaurants ranging from fine dining to burgers and chips) than you could shake a stick at in the immediate area and Franschoek with all its wineries is only about 40 minutes drive away, too.

As Iggle says, though, don't go out wearing expensive watches, jewellery etc and and keep cards and cash in the most inaccessible places possible whenever you are out and about. Also make sure you lock your car doors whenever you are in the car.

Irishbeekeeper

Hmmm
3 advisors and all 3 said the same about valuables and the possibility of muggings. What are the odds of a mugging turning into something nastier?
If it was me I'd probably not go based on those odds.

Rubydo

Millhouse

In fairness, there is none of this is a reason why you wouldn't go.

(apart from the asshole re-boring, that may be a deal breaker).

iggle

My friend in Jo-burg said, at night if your coming to a red light....you keep going!

Anyway, I've be SA twice, its stunningly beautiful. I'd highly recommend the garden route (ie Stellenbosch!)

https://www.google.ae/search?q=stell...h=755&dpr=1.25

hnd

Stellenbosch isn't on the Garden Route - that runs from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth

Standanista

Simon's Town. Brass Bell pub at Kalk Bay.

Bob

South Africa - British Expats

Asked in there?

scrubbedexpat141

Thanks everyone for responses and tips so far, much appreciated.

Bob - Will do now. Thanks.

It'll be fine. Like when we travel anywhere we're sensible, we take cash and a bank card at most when we go out, one phone and the rest of the stuff is locked in the safe. Fingers crossed we'll be fine.

Weirdly - the one place we don't do this is when we're in London. Probably feel more unsafe there than most other places.

csdf

In Cape Town: V&A waterfront for views of Table Mountain and some good restaurants. Signal Hill and the cannon. Go for a meal at Blues in Camps Bay (or the Codfather, notwithstanding the name). We stayed at the 2Inn1 - small boutique place in the Gardens area.

Outside Cape Town: Constantia wine area (just round the back of Table Mountain) for stunning scenery and great wineries/food. Cape Point lighthouse. Simonstown and swimming with penguins on Boulders Beach. The famous beach huts at St James.


A bit further away, Franschoek is awesome - eat at La Petite Ferme and stay at the Plumwood Inn.

Garden Route: Whales at Hermanus. There are a few "game reserves" you can visit too where, because they're not really game reserves (just really large safari parks), you've got a 100% chance of actually seeing the animals. Then there's the continent's most southerly point at L'Agulhas.

NorthernLad

I always feel safer in Cape Town than Joburg, but probably not a good comparison.

Cape Town is one of the few places I'd love to move to, from a security perspective just be sensible.

Camps Bay and V&A Waterfront are decent places - in V&A there is a Mitchells pub which is definitely worth a look.