trudy7053

We will be in Capetown for 3 days the first week in September. I would like to do the following: one day - Winelands, one day Cape Peninsula and maybe Hermanus or Botanical Gardins, the third day around Capetown. I want to rent a car to see Cape Peninsula. My question is: Is it better to go with a guide to the Winelands or to drive ourselves?

sdb2

Personally, I like to do these kinds of things on my own. It's easy enough to drive out to the wine country. You can stop in Stellenbosch, have a look around, then head off to see some of the vineyards, do some tasting, and have some lunch. No doubt, it'll be a fun and memorable day.

Have fun, Steve

canadian_robin

Hi Trudy! I agree with Steve - there is no reason why you can't do the tour to the Winelands on your own, as long as one of your group is comfortable with driving on the left and is willing to be the DD. If you look at my trip report and photos from our 2008 visit to CT (link is below - see towards the bottom of page 3) there is a description with photos of our day trip to the Winelands last August - there is enough info that, with a map, you could figure out our route. It (the Four Passes Route - an out and back from CT) is a favourite - great scenery and, of course, top wineries! Robin

Here is the link - see middle to bottom of page 3:
http://bert-and-bin.smugmug.com/gall...61053054_KcDbR

laughternlife

I got a private driver for the winelands and asked to go to smaller wineries that would not export to Canada as I dont want to try wine I could try at home. It was fantastic and I didn't need to worry about driving or staying sober. Had a fantastic time and even tried some wineries the tour guide had never been to so she had fun exploring too.

trudy7053

Did you also drive yourself to Cape Peninsula?

sdb2

Hi Trudy-

I assume you're asking anyone, so, yes, I also drove myself around the peninsula. It was a terrific trip and, again, easy to do. Had time to stop and take photos of colorful bathhouses along the way http://mappic.org/pictureInfo.php?tid=4503, get right in there with the African Penguins at Boulders Beach, move on to Cape Point and take a boat ride out to the seal colony at Hout Bay, among other things. I believe the usual recommendation is to do the ride clockwise.

Steve

canadian_robin

We have self-driven to the Cape many times. Go south along the east coast in the morning (Steve is correct - you want to go clockwise so you catch the sunset over the Atlantic at the end of the day), taking in the surfers at Muizenberg Beach (you can take lessons), the whales at Simsonstown, the penguins at Boulders Beach (take the second entrance, where you can swim amongst the penguins - you don't want the first entrance, where you are restricted to the boardwalk) and then Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. There is an excellent short hike between Cape Point (park here) and the Cape of Good Hope - it will you take about an hour return. Be certain to take the side trip to Diaz Beach - very pretty but involes a lot of stairs. If you have a picnic lunch with you, Diaz Beach, Platboom Bay or Buffels Bay (all within the Cape of Good Hope Reserve) are all great picnic sites - just be wary of baboons. Return to Cape Town along the west coast (hopefully Chapman's Peak Drive is open again) - stop along the coast and enjoy a bottle of wine while watching the sunset over the Atlantic - it is always spectacular! Robin

annhig

hi trudy,

on the day we went to the Cape, we did almost exactly what Canadian Robin says, except that we got the little train up to the top at the cape, hiked right out to the end [it takes about an hour there and back, not teh 2 hours plus that they warn you about] and then walked down to the restaurant which was excellent. driving it was very easy and pleasant.

but for the winelands, i would be inclined to take a driver, if you want to drink. we didn't [well, not much] as we were en route to Hermanus and then Grootbos and took in stellenbosch and franschoek on the way.

there are some threads about the nicest small wineries [and restaurants] on this forum if you do a search.

as for Capetown, we spent our first day [with a car] going to Table Mountain, and then driving round to Kirstenbosch. this was possibly the best day of our holiday, so far as I was concerned - the mountain and the gardens are truly wonderful. you can also walk down from the top of the mountain to the gardens and then there are taxis that will take you back to town, but when we were there, there were worries about robbers on the mountain, so we didn't do this. others who had been on the [free] guided walk with us on the top did do so, and had no problems at all.

have a great trip,

regards, ann