Hi,
My husband and I are having second thoughts about staying in Camps Bay. It seems like the more I read about it, it seems sort of like Beverly Hills(ish)/ Miami kind of town. Is this the case? Is it a super hip, trendy place? We're very laid back in our early 30s but are not really into the "See and be seen" scene.

I stayed in Camps Bay last year. It's truly gorgeous with the ocean in front and the Twelve Apostles behind. I think it's quite a bit more laid back than either BH or South Beach though it does have a South Beach feel, in terms of layout, without the excessive glitz.
Also well located for trips into Cape Town, or in the other direction places along the roads to Cape Point.

We're just there late May. I didn't think it was all that trendy/hip. If you're from SoCal, I would say it's similar to one of the nicer beach towns there, say Santa Monica (but much smaller), and nothing like Berverly Hills. It's quite laid back and not glitsy at all.

If you go in the off season like we did, it's very very quiet. We really enjoyed staying there. It's also just 10 min to downtown/waterfront and very convenient.

Oops, just noticed from your name that you're from Palo Alto. We live down the road from you in Los Altos

Can't think of a NoCal equivalent beach town to Camps Bay. It's not like Santa Cruz or Carmel. Definitely more LA/Orange County kind of place.

Cape Town itself though, really reminded me of San Francisco....

Judy

If you're looking for something with a more laidback, 'village' feel perhaps stay in the Hout Bay area, about twenty minutes and a beautiful coastal drive onwards. Camps Bay is generally quieet but gets busy on weekends and holidays. But I'm quite sure it's not the 'see and be seen' stuff that Los Angeles is made of...

Thanks guys! We'll be in Camps Bay for our honeymoon in late Oct; it's not really too hot by then (according to the weather sites), so I'm thinking it won't be terribly crowded. I just started getting scared it was like South Beach Miami or something. We're more "quiet" than "hip".

Anyone familiar with Atlanticview in Camps Bay?http://www.atlanticviewcapetown.com/

Judy- Hi neighbor! (Has it been hot enough here for you the past few days??) I've heard from a lot of people that it's just like SF. We can't wait to go! Where else did you visit in SA?

Ruth

Hi Ruth,

Yes, way too hot last couple of days. Need fog to come back

We spent 9 days in South Africa in Cape Town, the Garden Route, and Addo Elephant Park. After that we went to Victoria Falls and safari in Botswana. It was BY FAR the best vacation we've ever had. Email me at [email protected] if you'd like more details on the places we ate/stayed/visited.

Also, here are the threads where I posted some of our pictures if you're interested. Be warned there are a lot

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34649026

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34636511

You will have a fab time! I'm envious already - wish we were going back,

Judy

I just got back from a trip to South Africa. Spent 4 days in Cape Town and a lot of time in Camps Bay. I live in Southern California and I would say that the one place you could possibly compare it to is Laguna Beach. That said, Camps Bay is about a thousand times nicer than Laguna. Beautiful backdrop of the 12 apostle mountains. Great restaurants and not too busy-although it is currently the South Africa winter (I was lucky and the weather was in the mid 70s every day)