Cape Town Itinerary

Old Feb 8th, 2012, 11:28 AM
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Cape Town Itinerary

I am looking to go to Cape town in July/August (i hope this is a good time as it is the only time i can get off) I know exactly what i what to see while in cape town. One thing though is that i cannot take a lot of time off 7-10 days at the most, 10 being a HUGE stretch. Anyway, i was thinking about just buying a couple of place tickets, booking a week hotel stay in a holiday inn express(there was one that got good reviews in trip advisor) and then seeing these sights. I am hoping i can do about 2 or so sights a day. As i don’t need to be in each of these places for more than a couple of hours. So with all that my only problem is how to get around. For reasons i don’t want to get into i do NOT want to rent a car. Not sure if a taxi would be a viable option. Does anyone know of reputable tour companies that i can hire each day to take me to these places? Here is what i want to see:


Table mountain/cable car
Tour of Robben island
Simonstown/boulders beach
12 apostles rock formation
Bloubergstrand for view of cape
Cape of good hope/cape point
VA waterfront/clock tower
Views from Signal hill/lions head
Rhodes memorial
Chapman's peak
Rooikrans
Bo-Kaap district

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
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Old Feb 8th, 2012, 09:38 PM
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Cape Town in July/August could be quite chilly as it is winter. Hopefully, you'll be able to rug up and get out and about and enjoy the sights.

Have you thought of staying in a B&B and asking them to arrange a car and driver for you? Alternatively, I can recommend Mariana of Cape Eco-tours http://www.cape-ecotours.co.za/ for Cape Town tours and day trips further afield.

Are you interested in Kirstenbosch Gardens for a short walk and magnificent views over the city, or day trips to the West Coast National Park for wildlfowers and maybe Hermanus for whale watching?

I used Hilton Ross http://www.hyltonross.co.za/tours.as...2&pid=21&cid=9 for a trip to Cape Point in 2004 and found this to be a very good day - we travelled via Chapman's Peak, the penguins at Boulders Beach to the Cape and stopped for a fresh fish and chip lunch at Fishhoek.


Happy planning,


Pol
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Old Feb 9th, 2012, 04:32 AM
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I was also going to suggest Hylton Ross, a very reputable firm. It should be whale season & whilst on the peninsular tour you should see them on the False Bay side, especially at Glencairn if the tide is in, this is just before Simon's Town.
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Old Feb 9th, 2012, 05:49 AM
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I'll suggest Wayne of Take2Tours.

http://www.take2tours.co.za/about-us.php

Here is an excerpt about Take2 Tours from my trip report.

"Take2 Tours- Though I knew nothing about the company, I stuck with this recommendation by African Shark Eco-Charters. And I am glad I did!

From my first email correspondence, which soon escalated into an assault from me on Take2’s inbox, I was impressed. In 18 months of contact, I made many tweaks, date changes, and alterations to my plans. All were accommodated graciously by owner, Wayne, with guidance and redirection bestowed when needed.

I ended up having Wayne book the hotels I chose (from choices recommended by African Shark Eco-Charters and Take2) and get my Robben Island tickets. He made sure I had all the confirmation numbers, and provided copies on my arrival.

He was especially helpful with Robben Island where there was a slight problem with the booking office and he alerted me to bring the credit card used to reserve the ticket.

Wayne was great in every respect and contributed in a huge way to my enjoyment of the Cape Town environs. His general knowledge of the area was immense and he knew the tricks and short cuts for what I wanted to do, such as hiking certain trails in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and dropping me off and picking me up in the best spots.

He made the time-saving and money-saving suggestion of having me do Robben Island on my own, my first morning in Cape Town, after checking out of the Waterfront Hotel and storing my bags at reception. Then he picked me up at the ferry dock, we retrieved the bags, had lunch, and began our Cape Town sight seeing that ended in Simons Town.

He had some good back up plans when last minute changes were needed. The cable car was not running on Table Mountain so instead we headed up Signal Mountain for nice views. The noontime canon blast on Signal Mountain represents the longest running daily cannon firing tradition in the world. Chapman’s Peak road was closed, so we went as far as we could and then headed to scenic Hout Bay.

Though I did not do a township tour, I ran into a family at the baboon walk who was raving about their recent township visit. They mentioned their guide named Wayne. When I inquired further, we discovered it was our very own Wayne of Take2 Tours!

Even with all he did for me, I believe I did not even really tap into Wayne’s forte. He could recommend what to order at various restaurants in and around Cape Town, from entrees to dessert. (I did follow some of this menu advice with great success.) He knew the wines and wineries, where to get the best croissants, what art galleries to go, which gift shops had the most unique book selections, the charms of each bay around Cape Town.

For anyone with epicurean interests beyond, say, munching a sandwich and Ranch Doritos on the shark boat in the stench of Seal Island, Wayne would be a most valuable resource.

Wayne’s helpfulness and dedication can be seen in this example. On the day we went to Kirstenbosch Gardens, I came right off the shark boat to meet him at the dock. He arranged for me to change clothes in the restroom of a nearby restaurant, so I could remove some long underwear and other layers that I needed on the boat. We piled my extra clothes, including my waterproof socks and balaclava, in the back seat and we were off. After a lovely day at the gardens, Wayne drove back to Sea Spray. He gathered up the huge pile of clothing, which represented about four extra layers for top and bottom, with his one arm-—my waterproof socks and balaclava dangling. He was on his cell phone with his other hand to Rikki Taxi or somebody on my behalf, as he schlepped my wardrobe down the steps to the entrance of Sea Spray. He truly had his hands full with helping to make every part of my Cape Town trip enjoyable."


One other suggestion since you are going at peak time for breaching Great White Sharks is to spend a day out in False Bay near Seal Island, departing Simons Town with Rob Lawrence on African Shark Eco-Charters. You can safely cage dive with the sharks, or do as I did, and remain dry and warm on the boat and enjoy these amazing predators. The sharks around False Bay breach as part of their seal hunting techniques. This activity requires a 7:00 am departure from the dock and you arrive back in early to mid-afternoon. You can stay several steps away from the dock or a couple of blocks so that it is easy to get to the dock on foot. Observing Great Whites is a unique and rewarding part of any trip to South Africa.
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Old Feb 9th, 2012, 09:53 AM
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Here's a link with video to shark diving. This was done in a different bay off of Cape Town, not from Simons Town.

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...-with-jaws.cfm
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Old Feb 9th, 2012, 02:54 PM
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I read that Gansbaai is the best place for shark cage diving. Is it far out of the way? If so would there be a closer place that would come close to being as good?
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Old Feb 9th, 2012, 02:58 PM
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Also i think that Cape Agulhas, would be fun to see, since it is the most southern part of the contient, but it looks far away.
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Old Feb 9th, 2012, 04:19 PM
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I was in CT last August and yes it did get chilly, especially at Cape Point and on the Robben Island ferry. But we had clear days (not always the case I understand) so just put on the jackets and went. We used Hylton Ross for the Cape Point day and loved it! Also did a day in the wine country which I was less enthusiastic about. That wasn't the company's fault, but the insufferable couple who shared the vehicle with me. You will have a wonderful time! And by all means do Kirstenbosch!
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Old Feb 10th, 2012, 08:48 AM
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I am not so concerned about the weather. I am from the midwest and we get terrible winters!! I hear that the winters in cape town are in the low 60's. I also went to Australia in July and was told it would be cold, however it was low 70's. I think it is just what you are used to. If you can survive negative temps in your life, anything else is pretty easy!
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Old Feb 10th, 2012, 09:41 AM
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Hi travel442
If you want contact Tony Shuman at [email protected]
Tony has been in the Travel Industry for more than 3 decades. He was the GM at Magari Safaris and now runs his own private company.

Yours on Safari
Mark
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Old Feb 10th, 2012, 11:56 AM
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The shark trip folks will pick you up very early from just about wherever you are staying in the Cape Town area.

The Seal Island trips with breaching sharks are out of Simons Town. The others, which put more emphasis on cage diving, are out of Gansbaai. The link I posted above to another fodor post, which has a video, is Gansbaai.

An earlier report included comments on different shark spots.

"Other Shark Trips in the Cape Town Area

There are three boats licensed to operate shark viewing trips and permitted to tow seal decoys in False Bay around Seal Island. Chris Fallows and Rob Lawrence represent two of the boats and there is another guy with a similar sized boat named Swallow.

I did not go to Gansbaai; I only was told about it. In Gansbaai where Shark Alley and Dyer Island are, there are eight licensed operators. Chumming is the norm and the sharks do not breach over there. False Bay is the only place where sharks routinely breach. Several days when we were able to go out in False Bay, the Gansbaai trips with Dyer Island and Shark Alley were cancelled due to high winds and waves because Gansbaai is not as protected as False Bay.

If you wish to see Great White Sharks predating naturally on seals and minimize intrusive actions to the sharks’ behavior, then False Bay with African Shark Eco-Charters is what you want. If your interest is primarily shark cage diving, even some of the crew mentioned that Gansbaai with Dyer Island and Shark Alley might be a better bet. The chumming of the water that is routinely done in Gansbaai brings in more sharks and the trip is devoted to cage diving and viewing sharks drawn to the boat. There is no time allocated to watching natural predations on seals and no time pulling a decoy in hopes of coaxing a breach.

Some shark enthusiasts I met on Rob’s boat were combining False Bay and Gansbaai, with several days at each."
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Old Feb 13th, 2012, 12:42 AM
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Apex Predators is the outfit in Simon's Town about 45 mins from the city centre. Could then combine this with a trip to Boulders & the Cape Peninsula.

Cape Agulhas is about 2 hours straight drive from Cape Town, it's coastline is very rugged, mystical, has a light house, not a lot else here but the drive along the coastline & through the countryside is fantastic, I've seen Eagles several times around here. There is another Penguin colony at Stoney Point & Harold Porter botanical gardens is not to far.

Then there's Hermanus, one of the prime places to be to see Whales, I've never seen a breaching Shark but have seen a Whale breach around the whole bay at Hermanus, it must have done at least 10 breaches ! This was in the month of August to.

A couple of other great view points along False Bay side is Boyes Drive above Kalk Bay & Red Hill just before Simon's Town also the drive down through Silvermine Mountains on Ou Kaapse weg is fantastic, better on the way down than the way up.

Sir Lowry's pass is also better on the way back to CT & there is a viewpoint at the top, so it's best to go coastline route to Hermanus/Cape Agulhas & then the more direct N2 route back.

If you find time go to the Aquarium in the afternoon, find out what time the divers go in to feed & watch.

I think you will find the SA tourism office is in Long Street they will have all sorts of tours on offer & will find you accommodation, Holiday Inn is ok but it's right in the business district & you would need to be careful around that area if out late at night, there is much better areas to stay in especially as most the things you want to do are spread out of the city itself.
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Old Feb 13th, 2012, 12:55 AM
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Just so you know I am not in the travel business I just happened to have the opportunity to live in False Bay for 2 years.
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Old Feb 13th, 2012, 05:31 AM
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I went to Cape Aghulas two years ago. I thought it was fantastic! There's nothing much to do but the scenery was really interesting. Also check out Arniston if you can. I spent a night there. Nice little village.
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