My family of four will be spending five days in Cape Town in August and need to make lodging reservations (either a self-catering apartment, hotel or guesthouse). We were wondering what neighborhoods in the Cape Town area are reasonably safe for walking or driving after dark. Since we will be there in winter, we assume it will get dark before dinner time and we would like to be able to go out to eat -- ideally walking, though we will be renting a car and could drive -- without taking undue risk. We have heard the usual reports about crime -- including a report from a neighbor who attended a conference in Cape Town recently and said that 50 percent of the attendees were mugged! -- and while we will not be deterred from going and having a good time, we would like to stay in a location where we can have some peace of mind. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

(FYI, we live in a neighborhood [in the USA] where there are occasional muggings and burglaries, and we love where we live and feel comfortable dealing with the risk. We're realistic and don't demand 100 percent safety. But here, we're dealing with the unknown [to us] and would like to be in a neighborhood in Cape Town where two adults and two children can walk after dark and not feel we're putting our lives at risk.)

Thank you in advance.

Personally I like Greenpoint and Waterkant Village. They are within easy walking distance of the V&A Waterfront (where most tourists stay) and the City Bowl. There are a lot of restaurants in Greenpoint and the Waterfront that can be walked safely to at night. I wouldn't walk around the City Bowl at night but during the day its safe.

Neighborhoods such as Camps Bay are also safe but too far to walk to the Waterfront or the City Bowl.

Hi blk2sa07

Tamboerskloof
Oranjezicht
Higgovale

These areas reach up on the slopes of the mountains, so walking around can be strenuous if you're going uphill.

Greenpoint is a good choice, but can be dodgy in places (it sprawls as a neighbourhood) and as RBCal said, De Waterkant is a good area.

Driving after dark in the City Bowl area is really not a problem, including around the Atlantic Seaboard to Camps Bay and beyond. Cape Town doesn't have the hijacking/carjacking phenomenon like Joburg does, and where it does happen in CT is generally in the Cape Flats.

I suggest you plan to drive to dinners, given that the mountains make for tough walking, and the winter weather is likely to treat you to a rainy welcome on at least one night! Alternatively, taxis are reasonably priced.

HTH

Kurt

--
afrikatourism.blogspot.com

Kurt - you also mentioned Tamboerskloof, we have booked a beautiful house on Leeukloof drive for our 7 day 2008 Cape town stay. Can you provide a little more about the Tamboerskloof area - distances to the city, any reccomendations for restaraunts, shopping, local colour in this area. We too will have a car. The views from the deck on the house look
f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c! We tried to book for Waterkant and there was nothing available with 2 bedrooms and we are still 14 months out!

Well...Leeuwkloof Drive is at the very top of Tamboerskloof, where even driving up is a challenging exercise due to the grade of the road. You won't be walking to much of anything from there! The views, however, will leave you wanting to order from Mr Delivery every night as you stay home to just watch the city, the mountains, the sea...gorgeous.

However, if you can pry yourself away, it is very convenient to town, and a walk in Tamboerskloof down below you is safe, fun and charming. Head for the Daily Deli and enjoy the locals as well as a coffee/lunch. A local neighbourhood secret.

Otherwise, the City Bowl is your oyster. Kloof Street is the closest shopping and restaurant concentration, but once you're in your car other places are just a few minutes away: Long Street, De Waterkant and the V&A. Heading the other direction, you have direct and easy access to Kloofnek Road, taking you into Camps Bay and Victoria Road along the sea en route to Hout Bay. Very convenient location - you'll love it!

HTH

Kurt

BLK2SA07,

In August I would not be worrying abut safety when walking around Cape Town, I would be more worried about whether I can walk at all as you probably will be faced with cold nights (6C) (44F) and more than likely rain. It is for this reason that I (just like Kurt) suggest you base all your planning on using taxis in Cape Town. This form of transport is safe, efficient and relatively cheap. If you like the first taxi driver who collects you take his cell phone number and use him continuously thereafter. I think you will find this to be a great experience. On the other hand you could opt to use different taxi drivers for all your rides and thus broaden your experience with different locals in town.

If you ask me I would suggest that you stay in De Waterkant area where a great place to stay would be The apartments at The Village Lodge. These self catering apartments suit families of 4 perfectly. http://www.thevillagelodge.com/content/cottages.asp

The cottage are fantastic self catering venues that are priced at excellent rates. Very quaint, fabulously furnished with huge, huge, huge amounts of space. The cottages are also extremely well maintained. The cottages are right in the middle of where it is all happening near the city centre (10 minute walk away) as well the Waterfront. (20 minute walk away). Safety is not an issue in De Waterkant. Furthermore the cottages are also close to many great little coffee houses and a wonderful deli called Andiamo ( http://www.eatout.co.za/EatOut/Eat_R...8,1686,00.html ).

The cottages are also close to interesting local restaurants like

Africa Cafe, ( http://www.africacafe.co.za )

Biesmielah
http://www.frommers.com/destinations...wn/D34068.html

If you want to go more upmarket you are also close to

Tank ( http://www.eatout.co.za/EatOut/Eat_R...8,1562,00.html )

Pigale ( http://www.eatout.co.za/restaurants/...taurantID=2899)

Ginja.( http://www.eatout.co.za/EatOut/Eat_R...8,1327,00.html )

Savoy cabbage ( http://www.dining-out.co.za/member_d...sp?MemberID=37

At the nearby coffee houses like Dutch and The Village Cafe you can have your morning breakfast seeing that these venues are self catering places of stay and do not include breakfast.

Btw even though I read between the lines that you recognize the following I just want to add that your neighbor who spoke of 50% of the attendees at a conference in Cape Town being mugged is talking the biggest lot of nonsense that is unless there were 2 people at the event when this could have been possible.

Heres hoping that the above helps and that you enjoy Cape Town to the full

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Sorry I can't contribute to this post other than asking another question. I'm staying at the Twelve Apostels at the end of Aug/early Sept this year. I have the same question about where to eat around there, safety in walking around, anything to see and do within walking distance and how far is it to V&A from there, etc. Thanks in advance especially to Kurt and Selwyn on location

Yeh, that 50% of conference attendees being mugged caught my eye. Most difficult to believe.

ttt

safarimama,

As far as staying at the 12 Apostles is concerned I hate to tell you this but there is <b> absolutely nothing </b> you can do anywhere near to the hotel other than the activities that the hotel offers. You could probably go hiking in the mountain behind the hotel although I dont think this would be safe from a hiking point of view if you did this on your own especially in the Winter. The hotel is far (4+ Km) from Camps Bay as well as Hout Bay. These are the two commercial villages that are closest to the hotel barring Llandudno and Bakoven which are strictly speaking only residential areas. Without transport you are virtually trapped in the hotel. I think the hotel runs a shuttle back to Camps Bay and the Waterfront however I dont know how regular this ride is and whether there is a charge involved. To my knowledge there generally is a taxi service permanently available at the hotel. The problem is that a ride to lets say Camps Bay will take a minimum of 40 minutes (20 minutes x 2) out of your day every time that you leave the hotel. Furthermore what really worries me personally is that the long distance of roads to the hotel are unlit at night. There is no other way to drive to the hotel other than on this long, pitch dark road. As a local Capetonian this does not appeal to me at all so I cant see how it will be enjoyed by you as a visitor.

Another comment is that the road that passes in front of the hotel is one of the very busy throughfares to and from the city and Hout Bay or Llandudno. Thus on a daily basis between 07h00 and 09h00 as well as in the early evenings there will be lots of car noise coming from the aforesaid road. The windows in the hotel are all double glazed which will keep out the sound but then the whole idea of staying at the Apostles is to be able to enjoy the sea and with closed windows in your rooms this wont be that easy to do. Quite surprisingly in the Winter this probably wont be an issue with you as you more than likely wont be wanting to open your windows due the wet and cold weather that does come up every now and then during this season.

Safarimama make no error the 12 Apostles is a pretty plush establishment that offers fantastic sea-views and great value for money <b>but</b> there is a penalty to be paid and I have outlined this all in the above sector of this mail.

The choice at the end of the day is for you to make but if you are looking to be doing activities like sightseing, restaurants, walking etc my suggestion would be that,if possible, cancel your booking at the Apostles and go somewhere else.

Anyway this mail will probably awaken Roccco from his long sleep on this board. (Private joke that the oldies on this forum will probably appreciate)

Just my twopence worth.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Thanks Selwyn, my fears are realized. I'm on a tour this time so I can't stay anywhere else and I'm excited to see this hotel also. I've heard that it's very nice and has a great spa (no I'm not spa-girl!). I will search for Rocco's comments. Where is he anyway?
I guess we're &quot;stuck&quot; there for 3 dinners on our own. I would of course prefer to be at the V&amp;A Waterfront with all the wonderful restaurants and great shopping. Tours are included every day, so that should be OK.
28 August – arrive from Singita
29 August - a full day Cape Peninsula tour
30 August - tour of Grootbos Private Nature Reserve
31 August - half day Winelands tour, dinner included
01 September - morning Robben Island tour. Return to US in the evening

Apologies to BLK2SA07 for having a thread within a thread

Kurt - Thank you so much for your detailed and positive reply - Tamboerskloof is just sounding better and better! Appreciate the &quot;local tip&quot; re: Daily Deli. We did have suspicions about the magnetic quality of the views... You don't have Mr Delivery's phone number do you?

Ditto: Apologies to BLK2SA07 for highjacking his thread. Hopefully, you found the information interesting about the 12 Apostles. Maybe you will or won't consider staying there?

We will be staying in Greenpoint at Romney Park at the corner of Hill and Romney roads in early July. Please give me some idea of the neighborhood, restaurants, distance to the waterfront and safety walking around. We will have a car. Thanks very much.

safarimama,

Looking at your itinerary I suspect that you are on an agents recognizance tour and it does not seem as if you will be having the time available to use the Apostles for much other than a place to sleep at. Your Peninsula tour will take you the whole day. Your journey to Grootbos will also take a full day and a physically tiring one at that. (Because of the distance you will cover) Both these events are stunning experiences. Your winelands tour will only be a half day event and my suggestion is that you ask the driver of your vehicle to drop you off at the Waterfront on your return to Cape Town where you can walk around and shop till you drop. After this I would suggest that you visit a local restaurant whereafter you can have a taxi take you back to the Apostles. May I also add that depending on what time your Robben Island journey is you should also be able to find some time to yourself in the Waterfront are before or after the experience.

The beauty of all of the above is that you have tours organized whereby you will be fetched and collected on a daily basis. This in its own defeats most of what the problem is at the Apostles. I must also add that the Azure restaurant at the Apostles is a pretty good place to dine so dinner in this venue will be a good experience, its just a case of not wanting to eat there every night. To overcome this I would suggest that on the day of your Peninsula tour evening you take a taxi into and back from town so as to have dinner at one of the many restaurants available to you whole you dine at Azure on the day of your Grootbos experience. Once again I say you should stay in this night because I believe you will be tired due to the long distances you will cover by car on the day.

Overall your stay should be a good one and funnily enough by me looking at your itinerary I suppose that this would be the perfect way to utilize the Apostles as a place of stay when visiting Cape Town.


AKR1,

Romney Park.
http://www.romneypark.co.za/index_02.htm

is an excellent venue at excellent prices especially out of season. It is well located and you could walk to the Green point area where there are quite a number of restaurants and a great deli called Giovannis. Even though the distances are relatively short I would for safety sake use your car if you are doing anything after sunset.

Romney is a mini boutique hotel which is exquisitely laid out. The rooms at this venue are wonderfully spacious and there is a luxury type feel to the hotel which I must be honest borders on feeling a bit coldish in atmosphere sometimes. It certainly will be to your advantage to have a car when staying at Romney so as to get around because even though walking to Green Point is feasible going to other places like The Waterfront or city are not out of walking range but rather far.

My only problem with the venue is that when I last was there they still did not have a non smoking room policy and on one occasion have had visitors who had to fend with a smoke smelling room. (Which I might add was quickly and efficiently cleared by management by having the room re-cleaned) I want to add that this is NOT the norm for this venue as on all other occasions of usage the rooms have smelt wonderful.

Safarimama and AKR1 heres hoping that the above helps you in your planning and that you both enjoy your stays in our great city when you visit us.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions -- this has been extremely helpful! And no worries about thread hijacking -- all information is welcome.