My partner and I will be in South Africa for a week in September. From a starting point of either Cape Town (where he is doing a training course) or Johanannesberg (where I will land before meeting up with him), does anyone have any good tips as to what we should see and do?
(Doesn’t have to be in South Africa, we’re not adverse to taking a short flight elsewhere, but we do only have a week).
Love to hear suggestions based on personal experiences. Thanks.
Hello-
There is a SA doper or three here, so I’m sure they’ll be along sometime soon…
I’ve worked for a SA private bank for 5 years and went down each Christmas for company meetings. I would often only get a few days to travel, so I tried to pack a bunch in all at once.
Cape Town is a kickin place- lots to do and see, Robben Island, Table Mtn, Franshoek(sp?), Botanical Gardens, Stellenbosch, Cape Horn, etc. You could easily fill up a week there.
1 or 2 days on the water: Take trips out to Robben Island to see where Mandela was imprisoned, go to, um, um, well, shoot…seal island, forget the name, but it is one of the few places where seals breed in the world. You can go Great White Shark watching, do nightime dinner tours around the city, fishing, etc. etc. etc. Lots of fun, really enjoyable experiences to be had on the water. You can even go spearfishing and scuba diving if you are into that sorta stuff.
1 day of Wine routes. Best to go with a group and a designated driver or to take a tour. You hop from one winery to another sampling their AWESOME wines (I am partial to Pinotage) and have lunch at one. You can tour the largest winery (KMV?) in SA just north of Cape Town about half an hour. This will also take you to Stellenbosch and the surrounding area which is really neat.
1 day Franshoek, Table Mtn., botanical gardens and the beaches. Hiking day. Start early and you can get a whole lot done and seen. Kirstenbosch(sp?) are the gardens and they are great! You’ll not want to miss them. Then you can hike up the backside of Table Mtn. (3 hrs?) or take the lift up. Franshoek (I realize I am absolutely killing the spellings, sorry!) is a neat, quiet town with craft fairs, wine farms, etc.
1 day Cape of Good Hope and City tour. Tour around Cape Town proper and especially the waterfront and beaches (where you will want to go for dinner, dancing, etc. as well) then go down to the southernmost tip of Africa and take in the views and fight off baboons. This place also holds the distinction of having the only ‘beware of cobra sign’ next to the bathrooms I’ve ever seen in my life.
Any more days? Consider going to a wildlife park overnight somewhere (take a tour). That or maybe you’ll meet up with a local and they will invite you for a braai (BBQ) which is the national weekend pasttime.
I have personally never felt un-safe in Cape Town. But then again I was always with locals. I recommend tours or locals though, just to be sure you don’t get yourself into some trouble. Only walk around in popular areas at night, lock your car doors everytime you get in, follow the recommendations of the locals.
My favorite thing about South Africa: Culinary Experience Extraordinaire! The food and drink are second to NONE! Absolutely the best damn place to gain weight I’ve ever been to. Not only is the quality of the food incredible, the price is amazingly cheap. We’re talking Denny’s prices for Cordon Bleu food, m’kay? I went to a place called “The 5 Flies” (strange name for a 5-star restaurant I thought, but still) and had the large seafood platter: 8 tiger prawns, 2 medium lobsters, 6 oysters, calamari, mussels, a whitefish filet and scallops all on a bed of rice pilaf and fresh vegetables served on a platter about 2 feet wide. Price? About $15, but now the Rand is stronger, so it might be $20 these days. The steak is to die for in SA too, some restaurants have a mini meat locker and you can point out what you want and how thick and how to cook it precisely…The best sirloin I’ve ever had cost me $7 with sides and a beer. The meat melted in my mouth. And don’t get me started on the fruit and vegetables…(ok, I’ll start- they are the freshest, tastiest I’ve ever had). Basically, if you are into fine wine and fine food, live it up and wear loose clothing!
More info: http://www.cape-town.org/
-Tcat
South African #1 reporting in. Tomcat has covered quite a bit so I would just reiterate and add to what he said. Note that I live in Cape Town and so I will be heavily heavily biased towards it.
Firstly you will be here in September which is round about the end of winter here and might be very rainy so pack accordingly. However this might put a bit of a crimp on doing outdoors activities (I do not think the beach will be an option and hiking might not be a good idea either depending on rain and cloud cover on Table Mountain) but there is still plenty to do.
Secondly, I would highly reccomend you hire a car. Public transport in Cape Town is woefully inadequate for the moment. In fact I would say it’s a must if you plan to do some decent sightseeing.
A wine tasting visit to the wine farming towns (specifically Franschoek, Paarl and Stellenbosch) surrounding Cape Town is probably a very good idea. They are all within about an hours drive so it’s quite easy to pop out in the morning, spend a good day going from vineyard to vineyard, get a really nice lunch and be back in Cape Town proper in time for dinner. If you don’t feel like driving (good if you’rea wine fan) there are quite a number of vineyard tour operators that have regular tours around the whole region.
Next I would add a trip to explore the South Peninsula. There are a number of great little towns/suburbs on both sides of the Peninsula to explore. On the False Bay side there is Muizenberg, Kalk Bay (lots of nice restaurants and antique stores), Simons Town (home of the Naval base and don’t forget to go to Boulders Beach to look at the Penguins) and Fish Hoek. On the Atlantic side there’s Hout Bay, Kommetjie, Scarborough and Noordhoek. All worth a visit. If you’re going to explore the peninsula then of course a visit to Cape Point is well worth it as well. Some great scenery and you might be luckily enough to spot a few baboons.
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens is also well worth a visit. Depending on the weather it’s great to take food and have a picnic there. If there is a chance to do some hiking up Table Mountain there are a number of paths allowing you to walk down off the mountains into the depending on which route you take. If hiking up the mountain is not an option (or you’re not a fan of hiking as some of the routes are a bit tough) there’s always the cable car which is really nice. Once you’re at the top of the mountain there’s a number of nice easy walks to follow. Just make sure you take a warm top as it can get quite cold on top even when it’s warmer below.
Another area worth exploring that is a little off the beaten track (ie not many tourists but still worth checking out) is the west coast past Milnerton (where I stay) to Table View (lots and lots and lots of restaurants), Blouberg and even further out to Melkbosstrand, and Darling.
Also due to the favourable exchange rate there’s always shopping. There are a number of excellent shopping centers to do some retail therapy. The V&A Waterfront complex is probably the best bet for tourists due to it’s proximity to Cape Town itself. Lots of tourist type stores mainly. Further out towards Milnerton there is Canal Walk which is an enormous shopping center (one of the largest in the Southern hemisphere if not the largest). Also in the Southern Suburbs there is Cavendish Square which is quite upmarket.
Here’s a few links worth checking out:
Map to placenames mentioned above - http://www.cape-town.net/html/mappenin.html
Images of Cape Town - http://images.capetown.tripod.com/
Cape Town Tourism - http://www.cape-town.org
City of Cape Town Visitors Page - http://www.capetown.gov.za/visitors/default.asp
Cape Town Skies - http://www.capetownskies.com/
Gateway to South Africa - http://www.safrica.info/
Current Cape Town Weather - http://iafrica.com/weather/capetown/
Gauteng (Johannesburg) Toursim - http://www.gauteng.net/home/home.asp
Agreed. My travel policy is to void other tourists whenever possible.
On the west coast, north of Cape Town is a national park. Lots of wildlife to see; tortises, ostrichs, gemsbok, snakes, and beautiful scenery.
Continue north into Langebaan and enjoy a meal of fresh seafood on the beach at Die Strandloper.
http://www.strandloper.com/virtual.asp
One of the most romantic places I have ever eaten.
Howdy all,
This looks like a good one to break my dope fast.
Jozi (Joburg) is alive.
When it comes to socialising, Cape Town is the only place that can compete…
Where are you going to stay in Joburg? I can’t really guess your age profile, but if clubbing is you’re scene, then near the airport is a suburb called boksburg… just about any sort of music to suit your needs.
If you are staying at the Holiday Inn Eastgate, then I would recommend a trip around the Eastgate shopping centre itself, supposedly the biggest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere a few years back. Lots of restaurants, cinemaplex, etc… (If you do go, find the Anat Falafal and shcuwarma shop downstairs - delicious)
If you are gonna be in joburg for an extra day or to, try Sandton, it’s kind of our 'Upper Class" area (the term being used veeery loosely) Sandton square is amazing. Lots of shops, restaurants, etc, etc, etc.
Otherwise the Randburg waterfront could be an idea, last time i was there they had laser wars, putt putt, and if you have a designated driver, try a pub crawl… kudos if you manage to complete it and live to tell the tale (as opposed to dieing of alcohol poisoning)
you will definately need more than a couple of days to get enough… maybe use this visit as a starter, and come back on a longer vacation another time…
Ps. I don’t know how our crime situation is reported overseas, but it isn’t so bad. Trust me.
Bring your $$$, if you need assitance spending your $$$, my contact number is 555… 
A side note… I have been to Jo’burg international recently to drop ppl off, the ppl are very friendly, so if you get lost, you shouldn’t have any trouble identifying someone to help, they wear funny shirt things.
And don’t be put off by some rude ppl, all countries have them, ours might be worse, but theree are less of them
did i mention i would help in spending your $$$ if you have any trouble?
(The rand might be getting stronger, but it ain’t that strong yet)
And most important of all - ENJOY IT!
jo’burg has the nightlife, and some scenery, Cape town has the scenery and some nightlife…
enough from me.
My wife had a work assignment in Capetown and I flew into Jo-burg to join her. We spent our week on this trip, and it was fantastic. The guide was great, the accomodations were amazing for being really nice and really cheap (don’t know if prices have risen since then), and the game drives and animal-spotting was unforgettable. These game preserves are also conservation centers so the commitment is to replenish the species more than exploit them. The trip ends in Durbin, which is a nice beachtown (though it was raining when we went), and we flew back to Jo-burg on South African Airways–also excellent in service and value. My wife also did a day trip in Capetown but she said it felt a lot like San Francisco (where we live). It was only when we went on the field trip did the beauty and uniqueness and amazing expansiveness and diversity of the country truly hit us.
Oh, on review, the prices have gone up–but keep in mind that this includes all travel, accomodations (*** at least), game drives, park fees, breakfast & dinner each day, and terrific personal service.
Thanks everyone (sorry I didn’t get back earlier, I have not had easy access to the Board). We were strongly considering hopping across to Madasgar but the long layover will cost us so much time, plus you’ve done a good job selling Cape Town 
Madagascar, even.