gard

Hi

My wife and I went to Cape Town for a few days in March 2008. We have been there several times before but it is a city that I enjoy returning to and I still think it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Here is my trip report with pictures and links: http://gardkarlsen.com/Cape_Town_trip_report.htm . In the trip report you will also find a link to an interactive Google map that I have made. Note that you can zoom in to see more markers on the map and you can click on the markers to get some more info. Here is a link to the map: http://gardkarlsen.com/Cape_Town_map.htm

I hope this can be of use to other Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or comments.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

LynnieD

A great, concise report as usual, Gard.

I'm especially glad to see ther Mandela Rhodes place reviewed as we hav a 2 bedroom apt. reserved there the 1st week of September. Thanks for the area restaurant info!

Lynne

gard

Thanks for the kind feedback

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Elizabeth_S

Yay Gard! I've been waiting for this- planning 2-3 weeks there in February so just sitting down to read it now- will have questions

marcvanopstal

Maybe it's nice to share your trip also on www.12visitme.com, so many more people can see it and contact you about it

Femi

Another great review of yours Gard. Keep up the good work.

atravelynn

Thanks for the great report. How timely as I leave for Cape Town and Simonstown in a week! I've had my Robben Island tickets for a few months. Good hint to get them early. Your photos look like you had good weather.

By the way, you two look great in sombreros. I checked out your homepage.

gard

Hi

Yes, we had pretty good weather when we were there apart from the first day or two when it was extremely windy. But it was still sunny and warm

Hehe...yes, the sombrero picture We got tricked into that in Mexico. Well, you live and learn

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

LynnieD

How do you get tickets for Robben Island ahead of time?

gard

Good question. I guess you can go to http://www.robben-island.org.za/tickets.asp and get some info there.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

atravelynn

I asked the company that is taking me around Cape Town to get them for me in advance and gave them my credit card #.

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Gard,

Great trip report.
__________

LynnieD,

You could try and book tickets through the Robben Island website however in my experience this has not been an efficient way to do things.

My suggestion is that you phone the Island booking office, long in advance, directly on +27 21 405 4510. You can then book your pickets per phone using your credit card. Once your tickets are booked you will be given a reference number and if you arrive at the Nelson Mandela Gateway about 30 (preferably 40 minutes) before the departure of your ferry you can collect your tickets from the ticket office quoting your reference number and showing your credit card.

The sorting system of pre-paid tickets at the Robben island ticket office is rather archaic so the earlier you arrive at the ticket office the better it will l be.

Also bear in mind that the RI journey is a solid 3 hour event so if you leave on lest say the 11h00, 12h00 or 13h00 ferry then you virtually cut your tour day into a single experience day as you wont have to much time to do anything else before or after the RI experience. If however you either select the 09h00 or the last ferry of the day (14h00 or 15h00 depending on season) then you will more than likely find that you have time to squeeze in another Cape Town experience (eg Table Mountain) either before or after your RI experience depending on what ferry you are on.

Enjoy our city when you visit us.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

africanj

Alternatively, you can contact Hylton Ross Tours. They have pre-booked tickets. That would save you all the hassle. Just enquire about their conditions of sale

gard

Hi

That's true. We used Hylton Ross for a tour of the winelands and our driver/tour guide did a great job

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Selwyn_Davidowitz

Hi,

The problem with buying RI tickets from Hilton Ross lies in exactly what AfricanJ has stated and that is the conditions of sale. The reason why I am saying this is because to my knowledge Hylton Ross are not going to sell a Robben Island ticket without linking it to another tour.

http://hyltonross.com/tour.fullday.c...ben_island.php

This effectively means a higher expense for the traveller. Furthermore it also means that more time is needed relative to the time that is actually needed to do a Robben Island visit.

The only time I would recommend buying a RI ticket through Hylton Ross is if you are desperate for the following reasons:

1.There are no more tickets available at the RI ticket office

2.You have run out of time in Cape Town to go to the Island due to non availability of tickets from the office.

3. You are prepared to take on the extra expense and time of a tour because you want to visit RI.

Put simply, buying RI tickets via Hylton Ross should in my opinion be a very last resort.

Hope this helps.

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa

gard

Hi

I agree...it can be a good option if you are desperate. Like when I went to Florence last year and we didn't have tickets for Uffizi museum. In the end we realized that it would take a long time in a line to get in and instead we paid extra to get a walking tour that allowed us to skip the lines.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures