South Africa has 3 different capitals- Cape Town is the legislative capital , Pretoria is the executive capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital. However, the biggest city is Johannesburg. We chose Cape Town as our starting point in South Africa to be close to the water and enjoy the balance of nature and city with some side trips. The climate in August was ideal for visiting as that is their winter.
WHAT TO DO:
My number one to-do is hike Table Mountain! Apparently this is very weather-dependent, and we absolutely lucked out. The odds of a clear view without the “blanket” of clouds obstructing if hard to get. Usually, we would wing it and hike on our own (see Aconcagua in Argentina). However, after seeing so much about crime in Cape Town, including mountain muggings, we decided to do a guided hike. I’m so glad we did! We found Hike Table Mountain online, and booked ahead of time. There are multiple route options, and we settled on India Venster for the best views. The trail name comes from the ravine shaped like subcontinent of India, and Venster (window in Afrikaans) for the view framed by rocks. The company we used does offer the option to reschedule if the weather doesn’t cooperate, but we had little wiggle room in our schedule. So, we had an early 6am wake up after getting in at 10pm the night before from the U.S. and hoped for the best. Our guide picked us up from our hotel, and drove us to the mountain. The hike wasn’t high altitude or super long, like Aconcagua, but it DID have some technical sections. Some parts of the trail required actual rock climbing with strategic foot holds, so I was glad to have a professional watching!
Our guide was a born-and-raised South African with a wealth of knowledge on Table Mountain and the flora/fauna. We were part of a group including a German family, a British couple, and ourselves. The guide took us up to the top, stopping along the way to take in the views and amazing sunrise. She also pointed out different plants, like what to NOT touch (blister bush sounds like poison ivy x 1000).
We crossed paths with another guide and his adorable dog, who definitely put us to shame as she bounded up the rocks gracefully. Once we got to the top and soaked in the views, we took the cablecar back down. The car itself rotates as you go down, so you can see a full 360 view of Cape Town and the coastline. If we really wanted to, we could’ve hiked down, but time was of the essence! Lots to do in a little amount of time. For a shorter hike, try Lion’s Head.
Bo Kaap: Take a stroll through the brightly colored houses in this neighborhood. This predominately Muslim area is home to Indonesian, Malaysian, and African descendants of slaves from the 16th and 17th centuries. It is thought that residents painted their homes bright colors to celebrate their new-found freedom and individuality after Apartheid. Stop in Atlas Trading Co. to find just about any spice under the sun for dirt cheap. Check out Bo-Op, a co-op of local designers. Steve found some lemur swim trunks, which are certainly one-of-a-kind. I found free walking tours online through Bo Kaap, but it didn’t align with our schedule.
V&A Waterfront: It’s pretty touristy, and reminded me of National Harbor in Maryland, but it’s right on the water and bustling with live music, shopping, and restaurants. One place to check out is the Watershed building full of South African artisans. It’s a one stop shop for all your handcrafted souvenir needs. There are some hotels down here as well.
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens: Back to the recurring theme of crime…. We rented a car on the back end of our trip so we could take some side trips, and were concerned about parking in the city with all of our stuff in the car. Our flight out of Cape Town was really late at night, and we were told not to be out driving after dark. Maybe that was extra cautious, but better safe than sorry, right? We decided to end our trip at the botanic gardens, because they offered free, secure parking on-site in a nice neighborhood. We wandered around the grounds and in the greenhouses until sunset. It was a beautiful way to end our trip!
Things I would’ve done if I had another day:
Robben Island Museum: If we had another day, we would’ve taken the ferry over to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was held.
Parkrun: this is a worldwide 5k “club” that does free races. What a great way to see the city and meet locals! And get this: they have a run in Hoedspruit, where we did our safari! Imagine that run!
Sofar Sounds: Worldwide concert series where local musicians perform in secret locations with the address revealed the day before. Who knows, the artists may be the next Billie Eilish (famous Sofar alums)!
District Six Museum: a memorial to the 60,000 inhabitants of District Six forced to move during Apartheid in the 1970s
This post will get extremely long if we include the side trips from Cape Town, so stay tuned for Stellenbosch/Franschoek and Cape of Good Hope side trip posts!
WHERE TO EAT:
Swan Cafe: Parisian crêperie with good salads
Haas Coffee: Really loved this spot, just down the street from Swan Cafe.
Deluxe Coffeeworks: Super tiny coffee shop connected to Bo-Op in Bo Kaap
Harvest Cafe & Deli-: In Bo Kaap- Great smoothies and a nice view of all the colorful houses
Gorgeous George: The cocktail was great, and dinner was really good, but the service was soooo sloooow. This may be a Cape Town thing, but it took forever!
Yours Truly: Nice and casual, order at the counter restaurant with huge salads. They had the best kombucha ever- African rose made from rooibos tea. SO good!
Today & Tomorrow: Same owners as Yours Truly, with a bigger menu and table service. Same delicious kombucha though!
Truth Coffee Roasting: Very unique space with excellent breakfast and coffee fuel before road tripping
Here are a few I wished we had hit:
Raptor Room: Wanted to go to the Dino-themed spot, but they were closed the days we were in town
The Company’s Garden:Cafe in a little park!
Shortmarket Club: A fancy pants dinner spot if you get a reservation
Commissary: The more casual, small plates sibling to Shortmarket Club
Old Biscuit Mill: It’s off the beaten path, but may be worth the trip to Woodstock when the Neighbourhoods Market is open on Saturdays.
WHERE TO STAY:
The Gorgeous George: We didn’t make it to the hotel until 10pm, and the signage was really hard to find. Thankfully, our Uber driver was awesome and parked the car and walked with us to find it. We said that wasn’t necessary, but he indicated it wasn’t safe to wander looking lost. He said he’d feel terrible if something happened to us on his watch. The hotel is still pretty new, so it had a few hiccups, but overall, would recommend staying there. It included free breakfast, but we missed it due to our hike and early departure for the airport.
Airbnb: Research neighborhoods before you commit. The properties were all very reasonably priced. We ended up staying in The Four Seasons Apartment, and again, signage was horrible trying to find it. Also, this is not the actual Four Seasons by any stretch of the imagination, but it did the job and had a rooftop gym! It was located in the central business district (CBD signs everywhere- I was thinking of a different CBD the whole time…). While it is, in fact, centrally located, I would probably stay off of Kloof Street or even by the water in Cape Town if I did it again. Ubers are so cheap, so why not stay in a nicer, safer, area and then Uber to your destinations for a mere $1 or $2?
TRANSPORTATION:
Uber is SO cheap. Like $1-$3 a ride. We walked around during the day, but at night we Ubered to dinner. On the back end of our trip, we rented a car. Keep in mind that you drive on the opposite side of the road. That took a little while getting used to (I speak as a passenger). Also, be aware of pedestrians on the highway. Yes, on the highway. We saw people walking along the road and through the merge lanes onto the highway, so be on high alert! Gas stations have attendants you handle filling up and payment right at the car (the one we went to accepted credit cards, but tip the attendant in cash). If you are driving, make sure you’ve got directions. You don’t want to get lost in the townships, which is the most unsafe part of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As for flights, we did Dulles to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Cape Town. There was a flight without Minneapolis, but it was way more expensive. Coming back, we were able to do Cape Town to Amsterdam (11.5 hours) to Dulles (8ish hours). It was a really long journey, but time change was only 6 hours. Funny story: Cape Town is the 6th busiest airport in all of Africa and Steve shut down their security system. The airport was pretty much empty when we arrived for our late night flight, so there was no line for security. Steve was swinging his bag around to go on the security belt, and all of a sudden the conveyer stopped and lights went out. Turns out he bumped the on/off switch for the whole system…. How secure! Good thing there wasn’t a line behind us.
TIPS:
I’m glad we started our trip with the hike. It gave me the chance to ask a local for tips. I peppered the guide with all my questions about Cape Town safety, the best neighborhoods, and what life is like for residents of Cape Town. She was very candid about safety concerns and the still-fresh aftermath of apartheid.
Safety: Just like anywhere else, don’t flash valuables around and be aware of your surroundings. We were told to not walk after dark and take Uber even if it’s a few blocks. Don’t drive through the townships as poverty and opportunistic crime is high. On a map, look for ‘Cape Flats’ to see areas to avoid. It’s terribly sad that over 20% of the population lives in shacks; the effects of Apartheid are very apparent and painful to see firsthand.
Did I mention you can drink the water? What a huge bonus! We were reminded everywhere we went about the recent drought, which made us much more aware of our water usage. Some restrooms didn’t even offer soap- just hand sanitizer to conserve water. Our guide on the hike said there were HUGE fees if you exceeded your permitted water usage at home.
Language: There are 11 official languages in South Africa. English is widely spoken, as is Afrikaans, a language with Dutch roots and some German influence. We learned one thing in Afrikaans- baie dankie aka buy a donkey aka thank you.
Currency: South African Rand. I took out some cash from the ATM, but mostly used credit cards. For restaurants, be sure to add tip before they run your credit card unless you are carrying cash. The hike guide accepted USD at the current exchange rate, which was super helpful since we hadn’t made it to the ATM yet to get out rands yet.
Check out my recap on our safari in Hoedspruit here, and side trips from Cape Town!
Map of all my recs here: