Cape town advice needed!

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jake.la.84
jake.la.84

Greetings, i am travelling to cape town around christmas for a 3 weeks vacation, i ve done extensive research about it but still puzzled by a couple of questions, would love some advice.

1- Best taxi company to use in cape town ( dont like uber ) , best local sim card, is green point and sea point safe to walk during the day? i would def use a taxi for night transfers.

2- Exchange booth and bureaux with good exchange rates and low commissions/ and or good atms spots to take from green point or VA waterfrond ( any bank in particular or atm color, what s the limit) , found 2 in CBD
www.towerfx.co.za/index.php/about-tower / http://www.interafrica.co.za/ anyone can suggest some around green point?

3- Boulders beach trip, i saw many tours but most stop for a brief stop at boulders beach but i really like to spend a day on that beach, so i might op for a train, i read first class tickets should be better and safer and no risk of mugging if i go in the morning and get back in the afternoon, how is the safety on those trains? getting from Simons town to boulders beach should be easy by taxi but how about getting back, you call a taxi?

4- My last question is about nightlife, i read a lot about clubs like club thirty one and caprice, anyone have an idea about booking a table with bottle and the charge for the table on weekends , how far in advance should you contact such places for events like christmas and nye to book a table?

Thanks a lot , any advice is greatly appreciated :)

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nathalie2
nathalie2

Cape Town is an amazing city, and with 3 weeks you will have plenty of time to enjoy the city and the surrounding areas.

1) Walking around most parts of Cape Town (including Green Point and Sea Point) during the day is not a problem at all. Of course you have to use common sense like everywhere in the world, but generally said, all the parts of Cape Town that are interesting for visitors are safe to walk around during the day. The CBD can get a bid dodgy after offices hours and on weekends. And when in doubt, follow your instinct and turn around and get back to a livelier street. I have been to Cape Town many times, most of the time alone, and I never had any problems. For taxis: I usually ask the place Im staying at to call a taxi. And if I like the driver, I get his card and call him to see if he is available to take me back from a restaurant or bar at night (or I ask the restaurant or bar to call a taxi). That has worked really well for me so far.

2) There are ATM's everywhere (I get all my money from ATM's), there is no need at all to worry on that. And if you are not sure about the ATM closest to your accommodation, ask there. I prefer to use machines that are inside a bank, a shopping centre (like the V&A) or inside a shop (like a Spar or Woolworths). Having said that, I've used ATM' s outside plenty of times, and didnt have any problems with that either.

3) The Metrorail is a great way to get to Simons Town. The False bay offers many great places (besides Boulders Beach) and the easiest way to go there (without a car), is by train. Im not sure about using other Metrorail lines around Cape Town, but in my experience, the one down the False Bay is safe to use. Other places you might want to check out in the False Bay are Kalk Bay (for a small working harbour and great restaurants / Muizenberg for a beautiful wide beach, which is great for surfing, and colorful beach shacks / St. James for a lovely rock pool and more colorful beach shaks).

4) Nightlife isnt my speciality, so I hope other posters can respond to that.

Edited by nathalie2
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nathalie2
nathalie2

OP, i just wrote another long post on non very touristy things to do and enjoy in and around Cape Town, but before I could post it, I probably hit a wrong key and it was all gone. If you are interested in that advise, get back to me.

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jake.la.84
jake.la.84
In response to #1

Thank you so much natalie, for the taxis i just found these 2 companies excite and rikis but i wanted to see if someone would suggest something else, i am buying sim so i can call one.

As for the ATMS yes VA waterfrond mall seem the best place to go to, i personally wouldnt use the outside ones after the stories i read. And will def use the metrorail then. Still have to figure out the nightlife then.

Thanks again :)

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pingu5
pingu5
In response to #2

hey nathalie I would be interested in the non touristy things to do and enjoy around Capetown, if you could possibly post that advice it would be very helpful.
thanks

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nathalie2
nathalie2

#4 Here a couple of ideas, in random order:
The Green Point Park infront of World Cup Stadium is a nice place for a walk or picnic or simply to relax for an hour or two, with good views https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/CapeTownStadium3/Pages/Greenpoint-park.aspx.
On saturdays the Neighbourgoods Market is a great place for food and busy with locals and visitors http://www.neighbourgoodsmarket.co.za/cape-town.
Another great Market is the Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay http://www.bayharbour.co.za/m_default.aspx.
For a movie in a cool location – on the roof-top of the Grand Daddy Hotel, where there are Airstream Trailers, check out the Pink Flamingo Rooftop Cinema http://granddaddy.co.za/play-and-eat/rooftop-cinema.
If you like to swim, the Sea Point Pools are good and with a spectacular location right on the sea.
If you are in Cape Town on the first Thursday of the month, and like art, check out « First Thursdays » http://www.first-thursdays.co.za/.
If you are in Cape Town between the end of November and the beginning of April, have a look at the Sunday concerts in beautiful Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
If you like to cook, have a look at http://www.bokaapcookingtour.co.za/, which includes a walk around the Bo-Kaap.
There are plenty of beautiful places in the nearby Winelands, one place I really like is Babylonstoren, which also has a good restaurant and a beautiful garden https://www.babylonstoren.com.
Yes, I like markets :-) - one nice place surrounded by vineyards in Stellenbosch is Root44 Market http://www.root44.co.za.

I hope that helps. And yes, I love Cape Town.

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pingu5
pingu5

thank you nathalie, your help is much appreciated :-)

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