I was hoping for some advice on the Cape Town portion of my Africa trip. We have from August 17-22 in Cape Town, but I'm wondering if that's enough time -- I do have the option of pushing my departure flight to the US back to the 23rd. Right now my tentative itinerary for this portion of my trip is as follows:

Aug 17 - Arrive around 11 pm. Overnight Cape Cadogan.

Aug 18 - Great White Shark dive. (Is this only in the morning? Will we be able to do something else in the afternoon? Or is it all day?) Cape Cadogan. This is also our one-year anniversary so we'd like to go somewhere special for dinner.

Aug 19 - Cape Point/Boulder Beach drive. Cape Cadogan

Aug 20 - Robbins Island, Table Mt., explore Cape Town. Cape Cadogan.

Aug 21 - Drive to Franschoek, spend the day wine tasting. Stay at Le Quartier Francais. Eat dinner there?

Aug 22 - 3 pm flight to NYC.

My concern is that (a) we don't have enough time to see Cape Town and (b) if the weather's bad one day, it could really screw us up. The question is - is my concern well founded? Is it worth the extra money it'll cost me to move my return flight back a day?

Also, what are thoughts on Cape Cadogan and Le Quartier Francais? They seem to have received pretty good reviews. Is there somewhere else I should be looking into? This is really a very belated honeymoon so we're looking for someplace special but, given that it's a 3 week trip in all, not somewhere super expensive.

Thanks!

On your shark trip...It usually goes until early afternoon, leaving in the morning. You should be free by late afternoon, earlier if you do not have a long drive from the dock where your shark boat comes in to your hotel.

You are right about the weather. It is especially crucial for the shark viewing. You also have the seas to contend with. I would not book only one attempt. I have several for this July.

Hopefully others will answer your additional questions.

Happy one year anniversary! Cape Town is much better than (what do the etiquette books say?) paper.

Thanks! Any particular shark dive operators to recommend?

I would say it depends how hard it would be to push your flight back and how disappointed you would be if you had to miss out on any of your planned activities due to weather. I was in Cape Town at just about the same time as you are going last year, and we built in an extra day due to weather unpredictability. It turned out we didn't need it, but we were glad we did it anyway. We went up on Table Mountain our first morning, and met people who had been trying to go for three days but had been unable to until then because the weather had been bad. The Robben Island boats also won't run if the weather is bad - we had a perfect day and even then it was very choppy for my taste. Our last day was our free day, and it was the only bad weather we had in our four days there, rainy and with Table Mountain totally obscured. If we'd had weather-dependent activities planned that day they would have been canceled.

I just returned from three months in Africa with the last 14 days in the Cape.

My advice? Take as much time as you can. We spent three nights in Stellenbosch, four nights in the Gardens (city) three nights in Simon's Town and two nights in Steenberg. There is currently a four day wait for Robben Island. Weather cancelled our appointment so we were out of luck.

Nigel

You are going such a long way, why rush it? If you have the option of extending your stay a day or two, do so, as your trip to Robben Island could be cancelled due to bad weather/rough conditions (ours was, and I wish we had had an extra day to try to go out to Robben Island again). Also, the trip up to Table Mountain would be best when the weather is clear, so that you can enjoy the amazing panorama below.
If you end up with a bonus day you can always use it to shop in Cape Town; or to check out a another Cape Town restaurant; or to visit Cape Town museums (like the wonderful Gold Museum); or to visit Groot Constancia; or to visit Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden; or to extend your stay in Franschhoek/Stellenbosch (the wines are fantastic, the wineries are beautiful and the surrounding landscape is absolutely breathtaking).
You might also consider visiting Hermanus so that you might view the rare Southern Right Whale, which from June to November is easily spotted in this area. You can also do your white shark dive out of Hermanus. There are also also a few wonderful wineries outside of Hermanus, in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley (translation: "Heaven and earth Valley&quot. Two worth trying are Bouchard Finlayson and Hamilton Russell.
The Chapman Peak Drive to Cape Point is one of the most scenic, dramatic coastal drives in the world--it ranks right up there with California's' Highway One and the Haute Corniche on the French Riviera. You're going to love it.

I forgot to add that we ate at the Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais. We each ordered the eight course dinner, and the food was hit and miss. Half of the courses were superb and half were not up to par, but the price was less than half of what a comparable dinner would cost at The French Laundry in Napa Valley, so we were pleased overall. The service was fantastic and the atmosphere was serene and romantic. My husband and I have different tastes in wine, so we decided to order wines by the the glass and I found this disappointing as they only offered Franschhoek wines by the glass. We did not stay at Le Quartier Francais but at a nearby self catering cottage in the middle of a vineyard with a view of grapevines and mountains. This was last June and the cottage costs $65 a night!

Hi, I am a tour guide based in Cape Town and would like to offer some advice on touring here.

Do your research before coming. Try and get as much info as possible before planning your trip. Don’t just rely on one source, read guide books, visit forums like this and try to get as broad a picture as possible. You will get a lot of conflicting opinions but in this way you will be able to filter them and see which opinions seem most objective and informed.

If you can afford it, make use of a tour guide. I am biased of course but you really will get more out of your tour this way particularly if you hire a private guide and let them know what your specific interests are (if you find a guide on the internet check out their references or testimonials). It will give you an insight that just would not be possible if you were travelling on your own and it will allow you to just relax and enjoy the magnificent scenery (and wine if you indulge) that we have. One word of warning though. If you do get a guide, find out what kind of vehicle you will be touring in. If it is a Quantum don’t go! They are not suited to the job as they are cramped and have very small windows so it is hard to see anything.

Things you should see.

Well this of course depends on your interests but this is what I would recommend:

A city sightseeing trip on the open top bus. This is probably the best value tour in Cape Town. It is a hop-on-hop-off service which gives you a good introduction to the city. The tour goes through the city with stops at The castle of Good Hope, Greenmarket square, quite a few museums, Table Mountain, Camps Bay Beach and the V & A waterfront (more too but these are the highlights).

Table Mountain. The weather in Cape Town is VERY unpredictable. Someone once told me that if you don’t like the weather here just wait 10 minutes! The first chance you get when the mountain is clear, phone them to find out if they are open AND GO! This is something you do not want to miss.

The Cape Peninsula. Make sure you do a full day for this. The trip will take you right to the tip of the peninsula and normally includes an optional boat trip from Hout Bay to visit an island covered with seals (45minutes), Cape Point which is the tip of the peninsula, the Cape of Good Hope, the Penguin Colony at Boulders Beach and Kistsenbosch Botanical Gardens. This is a very long day but well worth it.

Robben Island. Try to book this trip as early as possible. There have been times when it has been booked for weeks in advance. This is a three and a half hour trip (including the ferry rides) to the island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. Once you get to the island, you will be taken on a guided coach tour of the island and learn about its history. Then you will do a tour of the prison itself with a former political prisoner and see the cell in which Nelson Mandela stayed.

Wine Tour. This tour is not just for wine lovers. The areas visited are VERY beautiful and offer a dramatic contrast to the scenery you will see on a Peninsula tour. This region is also steeped in history and for lovers of architecture, will give the chance to see some of the best preserved Cape Dutch buildings in the country. For food lovers, this area has some of the best restaurants in the country and as part of your tour; I would highly recommend having a large, leisurely lunch.

A Township tour! Many people who visit Cape Town see only the things that I mentioned above but one of the things that most characterises our country is its contrasts! South Africa is a land of incredible scenic beauty and (for a few) great wealth. Unfortunately, due to our past, it is also a land where many people live in poverty and I believe that visitors should see the whole picture. This tour will give you the chance to interact with the people that constitute the majority in this country. It can be hard but it can also be surprisingly uplifting to see the spirit and humanity of the people that have suffered most from the Apartheid system. It is also one of the few ways in which the money from tourism can filter down to the people that need it the most. Many visitors are reluctant to do this tour as they feel it may be seen as voyeuristic but the people in the townships welcome visitors (sometimes literally with open arms) and realise that people are there because they care. I would advise though that you choose your guide very carefully as it is important for your guide to have an intimate knowledge of the areas and people you visit. Do not do this without such a guide.

This is of course not a complete list but just my recommendations for the highlights. When I get the time, I will give some ideas on other areas and add to this list if I think of anything.

I will also be more than happy to answer any questions.

We stayed at Cape Cadogan in 2005 and really enjoyed it -- People and place were great. We plan to stay there again later this year.


If Selwyn chimes in I need to know the place we ate for our last night --seafood -- we went for the langoustines and it was great! Would highly recommend it and we want to go back there but we need to know where it was Selwyn???

Depending on from where you are doing the Shark Cage Diving, it can be almost a full day. We went northwest to Gaansbai, with 8:30am pick-up; drive was almost 2/hrs, then went out on the boat. Spent enough time for all participants (except me... I don't do water) 2/dives. We then returned to shore for late lunch, some shopping then return drive to CPT. You might be diving closer, so might have some late afternoon time for yourselves.

The next day we spent morning in the Winelands, afternoon a town tour, District 6 Museum, Malay area, etc.

We spent 3/days in CPT, and on first 2/mornings - tablecloth of clouds over Table Mountain; 3rd morning I looked out of our hotel room and it was clear. In fact, we hadn't even planned to visit Table Mountain, but when we saw clear, couldn't resist. We had a full day Cape Point scheduled, but quickly dressed, had breakfast, met our guide and to the mountain we went. Then drove south, Boulder's Beach, beachside lunch, Cape Point and back in CPT at dusk.

Depends on how hectic you want your time to be. V&A Waterfront and immediate surrounds you can do on your own, but otherwise I too would suggest a private guide/vehicle for your tours/sightseeing.

We spent 4+ days in Cape Town last September, and it wasn't enough. I too, had wanted to go shark diving, but nixed it due to lack of time. We spent the first day/arrival day just acclimating, spending time at V&A waterfront - 2nd day to Robbin Island and afternoon finding different places to eat,drink and soak up SA. 3rd day on the Red Bus to museums, Table Mountain and Camps Bay. 4th day with Selwyn at Kayamundi, 5th day Cape Point with stop at Simons Town and Boulders and on to Hermanus (definately too much driving for 1 day!)

I had an excellent meal at LQF and would recommend the tasting menu. In Capetown, I liked The Showroom very much and this would be appropriate for a celebration dinner.

There are details of both of these places in my report from fall, 2007:




http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35088021

Our meal at LQF was mediocre at best. If you want a great Franschhoek experience I would recommend eating at Topsi. Our best food was at Haute Cabrierre just up the road from the main street.

Definitely do a township tour- it will really open your eyes. Very safe and educational if you go with a tour- there were 2 children on our.

WRT your shark dive. Are you thinking of the cage dives where they bait the sharks? If so I would ask you to reconsider. We were going to do the same type of dive but after speaking to some local divers we learned that the baiting of the sharks is really starting to affect things when sharks come across divers not in cages. They are starting to associate people with food and attacks have been rising on surfers and divers. the only way to combat this is to stop doing baited dives.

I agree that you might want to give yourself as much time as possible in case the weather doesn't cooperate!

Thanks for everyone's responses - we pushed our flight back a day to give us some extra time.

You might want to search for reviews of LQF - both in terms of accommodations and dining. Try Tripadvisor as well. I also thought our meal at the Tasting Room was hit or miss and they actually forgot to bring one of our wine pairings. But yes, it's much cheaper than what you'd expect to pay for a multi-course tasting menu with wine pairings in the US, particularly with the current ZAR exchange rate.

Their accommodations also get mixed reviews (we didn't stay there) and I think there are better options in Franschhoek. If you want to be in the village, Akademie Street Guesthouses is wonderful.