Guide needed in Cape Town?
 

We'll be visiting Cape Town for the first time and spending 3 nights, so we'll have 2 full days for siteseeing. One day we definitely want to visit Boulders Beach, Cape of Good Hope, etc., and plan to hire a private guide. What I'm wondering is whether we need a guide for the other day, or if going to Table Mountain and exploring the city is easy (and safe) done on our own. Or if there are other not-to-be-missed sites outside of Cape Town we should plan on visiting? We'll be heading to the Winelands for a couple of days after Cape Town, so don't need to do that as a day trip, but are open to other ideas. Thanks!

Don't miss Robben Island or Table Mtn. Both are weather dependent, so go when you can. We returned from Robben Island at sunset - the view from the water was stunning. Just take a cab, if needed, to both places - no guide necessary. Kirstenbosch Garden was pretty great. Visit if you have time and enjoy a fantastic dinner somewhere. Safety is the same as any big city. Be aware of your surroundings. Have fun! Say hi to the penguins for me!

Agree that no guide necessary for Table Mountain. Plan plenty of time...gorgeous place.

will you be hiring a car, pigiletta?

you really won't need a guide for any of the sights in and around Cape Town - you just follow the signs and the map. Certainly no need for guides for Boulder's beach or the cape.

I agree that the highlights were Table Mountain [watch out for when you can't see the "table cloth" cloud over the top and go then], Kirstenbosch gardens, and the Cape. They do free walks round the top of the mountain starting at 10am and 12 noon- very interesting and a good way of seeing it. it looks as if these are still going on:

http://www.ihcapetown.com/index.php/...table-mountain

if you are only there for 3 nights you probably won't have time to see much else, which is a shame - there are some good museums and interesting things to see there.

We'll be renting a car when we leave Cape Town - whether or not we have one in Cape Town depends on whether we use a guide the whole time.

We'll be arriving in Cape Town in the early afternoon, and then we'll also have another night in Cape Town later in our trip where we'll be arriving in the early afternoon as well, so I'm hoping that we'll be able to fit in some additional sightseeing on our own then.

We're fairly seasoned travelers and are generally comfortable finding our way around on our own, but I want to make sure that we make the most of our time and am trying to decide if a guide would be helpful to that end.

(And ekscrunchy, the guide that I plan to use for at least 1, if not 2, days, is Charles Ratcliffe - primarily based on your glowing recommendation, so thank you!)

I do not have his card with me and I am traveling at the time but he was arranged for us by the Victoria and Albert Hotel, i believe his name was Jocquin....He took us to Stellenbosch and to the Good Hope, we had a nice lunch and toured a great winery....I hope this help....

I spent 7 days in CT and only used a guide for an extended climb and hike of Table Mountain. With only limited time I would take the cable-car at the first opportunity with clear weather.

The trip around the Cape is easy to drive yourself with many spots to stop and explore at your own pace, but if you're jet-lagged and not used to driving on the left a guide/driver may be worth it.

If you want to visit Robben Island it may be necessary to pre-book depending on the time of year. Other sights and museums in central Cape Town are easy to reach - its up to you how much you can fit into 2 days.
The winelands should be more relaxing.