Hiking around Cape Town

Hi there !
I'm a 20 year old female from Switzerland looking to go to South Africa in february. I'm planning on hiking around quite a bit and was wondering which trails you guys could suggest around Cape Town? Or if you know a good company that organizes multi day hikes? I'd rather not go too far into the country considering that I only have 2 weeks.
Furthermore I'd love to hear the experience of other young women who've gone to SA by themselves (safety being my biggest concern..)

welcome to the thorn tree
i'm also a swiss woman (but about double your age :-), so not that young anymore) and i have been to cape town (and other parts of south africa) 7 times (and cant wait to be back), most of the time travelling alone. of course you have to use common sense, like everywhere in the world, and you can get unlucky (again, like everywhere in the world), but i never had any problems safety wise.

you are right not to attempt too much with 2 weeks. you can easily spend 2 weeks in and around cape town.c ape town is an amazing city and it offers a lot for all tastes, budgets and ages. i'm not a big hiker, so dont have any tipps from personal experience on hiking trails or companies that organize multi day hikes. table mountain is an obvious choice, and hiking up the mountain from kirstenbosch botanical garden should be great (but i think you shouldnt hike alone).

if your budget allows for it, you should definitely include at least 3 days on safari in south africa. the best place for that in south africa (and one of the best places in the world in my opinion) is krüger national park (and the surrounding game reserves). if you like nature and wildlife, thats a must.

There are plenty of fantastic hikes on Table Mountain - mostly day hikes. I try to go once a month. If you want a multi-day hike on Table Mountain go for http://www.hoerikwaggotrail.org/. It's a five day hike from Cape Point to the Cable car but you can do less days depending on your schedule (if you do the hike, you have to buy the Slingsby maps which are great but you can just lend mine).

Also check out the Cape Union Mart Hiking Club - with their unfortunate website name of http://www.cumhike.co.za/ ! Cape Union Mart of the biggest chain for hiking gear and their club has been around a long time though I have no personal experience with the club.

Also I know a group (quite an international bunch) who occasionally go hiking, usually on a Sunday, so when you do arrive, send me a PM and I'll check if they're going.

Outside of Cape Town, look into: Otter Trail, Whale Trail, Drakensberg Amphitheater, Wild Coast (Port St Johns to Coffee Bay).

Oh, forgot to mention hiking up Lion's Head, which is relatively easy and safe. Though its been getting too crowded for me lately. People even do it at night around about the full moon..

Hello.
We were in Cape Town last november, 2 women, independent low-cost travellers.
Town and surroundings OK.
We hiked to Table Mountain and Lion´s Rock. Easy to get there by public transport. Great views from both. 100% recommended, safe.
Details on our blog... route, prices, acommodation... and also duration of trecks.
Safe trip!

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