CocoNat

Hubby and I will be spending 3 days in Cape Town in mid-May, and are wondering if taxis are safe way to travel short distances? A woman I work with, a native Capetonian, insists that taxis and buses are unsafe for tourists. My father-in-law booked our hotel for us in Century City and from what I understand that's quite a distance from the city centre.

Any advice or personal experiences would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.

betsyatl

century city is the new big mall (retail, theme park)development, right? if so, i was there earlier this month. i had a rental car and drove there before going on to the airport. i can't imagain why cabs would be a problem. it was about 10-15 minutes on the highway from the city center. i would just ask the hotel to hire you a cab to take you into the city, and if you go somewhere well marked, there should be cabs available (or go to the nearest big hotel and they will get you a cab). i would not get on to the white mini-vans that locals call "taxi's", i am not sure if they are as safe for tourists, as they are packed full to the brim with locals. not sure where you are from, but cape town is a small city as city's go(easily drivable), and no more or less un-safe than any other city.

CocoNat

Thanks for the advice Betsy.

mossway1

Yes, you will be fine in a taxi if you get your hotel to arrange it. Our hotel called a very reputable driver who we really enjoyed. He picked us up every night and drove us to dinner. We also made arrangements for him to return to pick us up after the meal. We just gave the host the driver's card and asked that he be called when our check was presented. We always used a taxi at night even though we had a rental car that we used in the day time. Have fun. Capetown is great and there are many wonderful restaurants to try.

hills27

Bump

Selwyn_Davidowitz

CocoNat,

All metered taxis in Cape Town are safe, efficient and not expensive at all. When taking your first taxi, if you like your driver, ask him for his cellphone number and from thereon call him when you need transport.

In terms of the combi taxi (which in my opinion in a derogatory way are referred to as "black taxis" ) I would suggest that you take a ride on one simply for the experience. I promise you that you will have a whale of a time on board especially when all find out that you are tourists. Furthermore the ride will be one of the cheapest that you will take in the world.

I must mention that Century City aka Canal Walk is by Cape Town standards far outside of the city of Cape Town but you will probably think that the ride is a short one relating back to your travel standards. There is a shuttle that commutes between Century City and the city that operates 7 days a week, between 09h20 and 21h00. The bus departs from entrance 2 at Canal Walk (Century City). Bus schedules are available from the Century City visitors' information centre. Shuttle bus tickets cost R35 per person, one way. Tickets can be purchased for the visitors information centre when departing from Canal Walk and on board when departing from hotels.

There also is an internal shuttle service that travels along the Century Boulevard continuously. This shuttle is managed by the Century City Property Owners' Association.

OK CocoNat I hope that clears all up for you with regard to taxis in Cape Town and how to get to and from Century City.

Enjoy Cape Town when you visit us.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa