Hello there,
sorry to be anon but can't log in at work. As a regular "lurker" and small time poster on the BVI forum I thought Id turn to the experts for help. We have 5 days in Cape town before going north on safari in sept and would like advice on how best to arrange it to see as much as possible. We'd like a look at the city, but whales and wine would be even better!! I can't work out how to arrange it. Also, does anyone know somewhere nice to stay close to the airport ( we have a 7am flight to J'burg). Thanks in advance - I promise a detailed trip report in return!
sarah x <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/typing.gif" alt="" />

I would not base hotel choice on being near airport. airport is not far from the waterfront. only like 15 min and no traffic at those early hours, I think our departure was 6 am or 7 am for JoBurg.. we stayed at the Portswood Hotel 3 weeks ago for 3 nights, near waterfront- walking 2 blocks, included nice breakfast (not the Hampton Inn kind), they even packed a bag lunch for the early am departure. hotel has good security- show room ID to get into elevator even in daytime. quiet.
we did two full day tours with Christine- I can get her company name. she supplied the car and it was just wife and I.

Sarah--can't really help you with Capetown, but would be really interested in where you're going on safari!! I doubt we will be going back to Africa soon, so would love to hear about it!

Hi Sarah,
I spent a week in Cape Town and I will try to help you a little. Cape Town is a fantastic city, it's not that big but there's plenty to see and do. Everything is close, as in no more than a 30 mins away. You do not need a car if you want to spend all your time right in Cape Town. They have cabs and the buses are dirt cheap, pay one small price and ride all day.
Here are some things to do right in Cape Town. Go on a bus tour through the city, it's on a Double Decker bus. Go to the top of Table Top mtn, this will take a half of day. Go to Robyn Island, again about half a day spent. A must is the Victoria Water Front. You can spend a lot of time there. There are shops, restaurants, boat rides, etc. You can take a boat ride out to see the whales. Go Great White shark diving (in a cage), plus much more.

If you have a car take a drive down the coast. Great beaches. Go to Simons Town and see the penguins. Go to the Cape of Good Hope. Drive about another hour and go to Cape Agulhas, that's where the two Oceans meet. If you do this drive leave early in the morning as this will take all day. You will walk a lot at the Cape of Good Hope. There are steps and trails to the top. It will be a lifetime thing to do, A MUST! Also walk down the steps to the beach. All I need to say is have a camera.

Wine country is about an hour and more north of Cape Town. Nice hills and country side. You can go on wine tours out of Cape Town. Also take a Safari tour out of cape Town. There are many different types of tours you can take. Most tours will pick you up at your hotel and include lunch.

Money, US dollars are ok, most will take them. You can go to a ATM and put in your card and get Rand Dollars out. The exchange rate will be good. The only person or business that didn't take US dollars was a cab driver. I thought this was neat. At a resterant the bill came in 4 different curancy, Rand, US dollars, Euros, and English Puonds.

If you have any questions you may PM me. This is a good start for you. Enjoy!
www.sailhoneycat.com
Greg

the tour guide we used in Cape town for the Cape tour and the Wine country tour was Christine Gibson, 1 george walk, constantia, cape town s africa 7806
e mail chrissie@bucknet.co.za

5 days isn't a lot of time, but I have always done self drive. There could be a lot of value with a guide. Driving is very easy as the roads and drivers are very good.

On visiting Table Mtn, don't plan a specific date/time as the clouds can roll in FAST and it isn't worth the visit.

In the wine area we generally stay at Grande Provence grandeprovence.co.za, it is the nicest place, and not too expensive, just looks expensive.

Driving the Garden Route is always fun, that that alone could take 5 days.

A decent drive from CPT is Oudshorne and the Cango Wildlife Ranch cango.co.za it is a Cheetah conservation facility. We donated some money years ago and are lifetime members (not that much money), the behind the scene tours you get are awesome. A very different experience from the game drives.

As Greg mentioned, Simons Town is pretty cool, strange enough it looks like the Baths in BVI.

People don't realize how much there is to do in SA. Every area is different, CPT is like San Diego, Jo-berg area is like Kansas, etc....

Thanks so much everyone for your advice. I'll get on with sorting - will let you know what we've decided and do a trip report!
Sarah x