zinfanatic

Selwyn will be in London while we are in Capetown. I have another vague lead for a private guide- driver. We are mainly interested in driving south to Boulders, Cape Point and then back through the beautiful mountains. Can anyone recommend a guide-driver for early October? We leave tomorrow!

Philbill

We had a rented car and did fine! We got the exact route to take from our guest house owner and by the way Chapman's Peak was closed this month when we were there a week ago.

ekscrunchy

Zin.. I booked through the following agency which has been great to deal with; I would guess they would arrange a good driver for you:

www.southerndestinations.com

Ask for Liesl. Happy eating!

Kavey

We loved having Selwyn as our guide for Cape Town itself plus the winelands as he was a) able to tell us lots about the history of the country and region and b) knew the various vineyards so well he took us to some lovely ones.

But we did the peninsula drive on our own without any problems and it was wonderful.

You could ask Selwyn whether his brother is available or whether he could recommend someone or you could go it alone, still very worthwhile!

annhig

hi, zin,

we drove ourselves too and found it a doddle. [though we are from the UK so didn't have to worry about driving on the wrong side of the road].

if you are going to DIY, do get a good map and guide book before you go.

regards, ann

zinfanatic

Yes, we are going to hire a car, but we were hoping to do it as we leave Capetown the following day. I can always call our travel agent and I will check southern destinations too.I prefer the local knowledge of a guide on this drive.

annhig

hi, again, zin,

how long do you have in CPT?

I believe that it is possible to do Table Mountain, and the cape all in one day and you wouldn't want to miss either, IMO. they were the highlights of our stay in the CPT area. [click on my name for my trip report, which starts off in CPT].

regards, ann

zinfanatic

Ann, I did read your trip report- sonds great. We are all packed and leaving tomorrow from the Westcoast of the US- grueling flight! After a Safari in Botswana, we will be in Capetown for six nights and five full days- all in CT then onto Winelands and Garden Route. As you can tell we will have more time than most people. I still need a guide -driver for a trip south. I guess I will end up asking our B&B.

africanj

Why not check with companies like Springbok Atlas, Hylton Ross Tours or Cape Escape. These are reputable companies with excellent and vibrant guides. If you're staying at the Portswood or Commodore Hotels there is a fantastic young guide called Leroy.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

zinfanatic,

Please tell me exactly what dates you will be in Cape Town. As you know I cant help you as I will be in London but maybe I will be able to make some other suggestions to you.

Also tell me where you will be staying in Cape Town.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

LAleslie

We used Glenn Christie of Vineyard Ventures last October for two days, one a Cape tour, the other a Winelands tour. Can't reccommend her more highly: knowledgable, experienced, fun, professional, has excellent taste. Web site: www.vineyardventures.co.za.
Leslie

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Great recommendation Leslie. Glenn's speciality is the winelands but then I feel she is a wonderful Cape Town guide and doing the Peninsula tour with her should be a fabulous ride. Just hope that she would be available at such short notice

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

zinfanatic

Selwyn, I would appreciate your input. I am leaving tomorrow for our safari. We are staying at the African Villa, arriving late on October 3 and leaving via rental car on the morning of October 9. The only day we cannot do the tour is Ocotber 5 as we have a resevation for Robben Isalnd. I would prefer, Monday October 8. Thank you and good luck in London! Zin

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Zinfanatic,

Please write to me soonest per email as I think I have a solution to your problem.

Btw An African Villa-Great choice. Saw Annie Lennox from the Eurythmics there three weeks ago as she and the band were all staying at the Villa while doing the recording of a CD for an AIDS foundation in Cape Town.

Look forward to hearing from you per email.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

africanj

One of the fantastic things about South Africa is it's people and it's diversity.

When you're taking a private tour, at least, you have a chance of connecting with a local person and get local perspectives etc. The next day you might meet another guide etc.
Then you also have white, coloured and black tourist guides each with their own culture etc. and you get a reasonable overview of the country in that way.

I read the trip report from a guest at a 5 star hotel, recently, and it said that "above all the guide was fantastically good company".

I hope you have a fantastic trip.

Clematis1

I wish to second that opinion. It is wonderful to have a local guide in Africa who can talk to you about modern Africa while also driving you (so you can concentrate on the sights). You will learn things that you just can't get out of a guidebook and it's a lovely experience getting to have some good conversation with a local person.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

africanj and Clematis1,

I think that both of you have mentioned some wise words relative to when it comes to travelling in South Africa with guides.

As much as I believe that it helps with continuity if you stay with the same guide for your whole journey I recently started thinking about this all when I travelled with a group who used a different guide for each day of their stay in Cape Town. My original thought was that this was not a good idea as continuity would be disturbed however in retrospect and especially looking at what you are saying africanj, I think this could make a lot of sense when using tourguides in South Africa. Our cultural diversity is SA is so wide and different that I actually believe it would be important to travel with different guides. This system might not be a good one for the tourguide but as far as I am concerned the tourguides needs only count 5% and if the system makes the visitors journey a more informative one then this could be a way to go. Definitely something to think about. Thanks for both your inputs as I found them to be invaluable.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

ekscrunchy

Zin...If you see this in time I want you to know that we arrived last night and were picked up by our guide with whom we spent all day today. His name is Charlie Ratcliffe. Although it has been only one day, I give him by highest recommendation. We are doing the Peninsula drive tomorrow with him..
his phone is 082-687-8967.

ekscrunchy

Here is the e-mail address for Guide Charlie Ratcliffe; we have been with him now for three full days in CapeTown and continue to give him our highest recommendations:

[email protected]