21 September 2009 2:47pm
Insider tips: Cape Town
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Known as the Mother City, Cape Town’s colour and calm can entrance and beguile. Here are some dos and dont’s to clear the mind and make sure you see the range of what this city has to offer.
Do save your pennies
The Cape Town economy has been on a roll over the last few years, and is rapidly catching up with similar cities abroad. This means that the city’s not quite the bargain it used to be.
Do sleep with a hippo
Arrange a sleepover with a hippo at Rondevlei Nature Reserve.
Do help local enterprise
Buy South African-made merchandise to boost job creation. Look out for the eye-catching logo in the national-flag colours on local products.
Do eyeball your money
Check your R20 notes before handing them over. They look a lot like R200 notes.
Do hang onto your receipts
Foreign visitors can reclaim some of their VAT expenses on departure.
Don’t miss a trip to Robben Island
Used as a prison from the early days of the VOC right up until the first years of majority rule, Robben Island’s most famous involuntary resident was Nelson Mandela. For this reason alone, it is one of Cape Town’s most popular pilgrimage spots.
Don’t get (too) lost in Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
Covering over 500 hectares of Table Mountain, this is one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.
Don’t be eaten by a shark
(When you go diving with them at Two Oceans Aquarium). This excellent aquarium features denizens of the deep, including great white sharks, penguins, stingrays and turtles. Lose your kids in the kelp forest or let them touch the sea creatures in some of the pools.
Don’t leave your hotel without an umbrella
The peninsula’s shape creates microclimates, so you can be basking in the sun on one side of the mountain and sheltering from chilly rain and winds on the other.
Don’t leave your stuff on the beach while you go swimming
That’s asking for trouble.
Further information
Get some help planning a trip to Cape Town with our ever vigilant Thorn Tree community here.
Our new Cape Town city guide is also available in all its glory – or if you’d prefer, in bits and pieces of its glory.
Comments
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23 September 2009 5:18AM
hakii
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Thanks for writing about my favorite city, and giving some advice that I had not thought about before (like the VAT returns)..!
Here are a few tips I would like to add:
1. Climb at least one of the three mountains, Devils Peak (less touristy), Table Mountain (The icon of Cape Town) or Lions Head (easiest hike).
2. Visit one of the Clifton beaches.
3. Go to Camps Bay for a sundowner.
4. Check out the nightlife on Long Street.
5. Visit the District 6 museum.
Also, check out my blogpost about "Why Cape Town is the Perfect Travel Destination City":
http://www.theafricatravelblog.com/african-travel-destinations/why-cape-town-is-the-perfect-travel-destination-city/
Happy Travels!
