My male friend and I will visit and stay in Cape Town for 3 days. Then our African friends will pick us at Cape Town and we will drive through Garden Route (in about 4 days) to Pretoria and fly off from Johannesburg. I will arrive Cape Town one day prior to my male friend.

I'm choosing a reasonably-priced guesthouse for 2 singles in either Green Point, Garden, or Tamboerskloof area through this site porfoliocollection.com

Q1: Since i have to rely on public transport, would that be easy to get around if i stay at guesthouse in the above-named area but not in the city center, or is there any reasonably-priced hotels in the city centre for 2 singles?

Q2: And is it easy to get around using public transport in Cape Town area to, for example, the Cape of Good Hope and the Penguin's colony?

Q3: Any suggestions for not-to-miss itinery for this S. African trip?

Thank you for any help!!!

My partner and I have just got back from a wonderful two weeks in South Africa and would recommend the Cape Town Guesthouse, 10 mins walk from Long Street in the Gardens area / 30 mins walk to the Waterfront, where we stayed for 3 nights. It is reasonably priced, secure and clean and has a nice view of Table Mountain. Have a look on hostelworld.com for more information

We drove by car to Boulders Beach / Cape Point but noticed some tour buses so you may be able to get there without a car.

As for 'not to miss' suggestions : Camps Bay at sunset was lovely, The Meeting Place restaurant in Simon's Town was nice and dinner at one of the restaurants in Franshoek is recommended (we went to Haute Cabriere). The trip to Robben Island was interesting. I wouldn't recommend the aquarium as it is pretty small.

Hope this helps !

Thanks Susie for your recommendations!

Breakwater Lodge on the Waterfront is an ideal location if you have no car. It is excellent value. They have what I think is called an executive suite which is actually 2 small rooms, shower and separate toilet - the one room is a bedroom and the other has a TV and couch in it. You could ask the hotel if they could take the couch out and put a bed in instead and then you would each have your own room at a cost of about R780 a night for the two of you. Couldn't get better value for the position!!!!!!! (My son and his male friend stayed there this Feb and that is what they did)
To see the Penguins at Boulders Beach you would probably need a car. Or else you could catch the train from Cape Town to Simonstown and then get a taxi to take you to the Penguins and back to the staion in Simonstown. I hear it is quite reasonable. The train trip is fantastic - from Muizenberg to Simonstown it travels right along the edge of the sea with fantastic views.
I would recommend a jazz or regae safari with cofeebeans tours

Just returned from a week in Cape Town. My friend and I stayed at the Little Lemon in Green Point ...

www.little-lemon.com

Cute place, very reasonable (R350) and great breakfast each morning. Probably a 30 minute walk to downtown, but there are plenty of restaurants close by in Sea Point and Green Point.

have fun!

Hi Miu,

You didn't ask, but I think a four day trip via the garden route is going to mean a lot of hours each day in a car. Maybe someone else an comment. Since you will only be in South Africa 7 days it seems a waste to spend so much time in a car.

Actually, you may enjoy staying in Gardens/Tamboerskloof more than in the city center (which you could walk to). Cape Town Backpackers is nice, right next to Kloof St, where there are lots of restaurants, shops, bars--Kloof turns into Long St, where there is more of the same.
Cape Town Backpackers is R100 to R300, depending on if you choose dorm or private room. But if you have R300 to R450, you should look into An African Villa or Liberty Lodge in the same area--trendy, great value bed and breakfasts.