I've sent a couple of e-mails to the ticket sales office at Robben Island, but they are not responding. Is there any other way to purchase tickets in advance?

mad: if you have a hotel that you are staying with you could contact the concierge now and have them obtain the tickets for you.

In my case the hotel made the reservation for us and then we picked up the tickets at will call 1/2 hour before our trip to Robben Island.

You can call them directly. Also, Hylton Ross has a combination township/Robben Island tour that can be booked through their web site.

We were in Cape Town from the 1st. to the 5th of january this year, and we could not go to Robben Island. All tickets were sold until the end of january. Nobody there seemed to know the reason for this unavalability, but I was able to contact the ticket booth, which is in the Clock Tower shopping Center in Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (they have a website). Later on we read in a paper that all but one public contracts of boats going to Robben Island had been cancelled by Government, so it was pretty impossible to get there.
Don´t know whether this has changed or not recently.

Before our trip in November, I tried e-mailing quite a few times also--to no response. We were using a SA travel agent who was able to arrange it for us--Predator's suggestion is a good one if you're not using a SA TA.

How far in advance can/should we get Robben Island tickets? We'll be in Cape Town in June. Thanks.

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I will start with the guesthouse we are staying at and see if they can help. We also do want to go on a tour of the townships, but I am hesitant to book with a travel agency as it seems so intrusive and touristy. Is there any way to do this more intimately? Selwyn is booked- he was my first choice!

Hilton Ross seems to be the biggest travel agency, but we also tried to book the townships/Robben Island tour and they told us the same: all tickets to Robben Island were sold out. They use the same boat line everybody else does, so if there is no availability at Robben Island ticket office in the Clock Tower there will be nothing on Hilton Ross. I will not do the township tour on my own. Townships are very big, and you can get lost in an dangerous place.

mad,

Firstly one must book for the Robben Island journey and I would say that 10 days in advance would normally be ok however if you want to travel on the daily 09h00 journey one month in advance bookings are more advisable.

Relative to nica's mail that the ferry boats contracts were cancelled I can now report that there are two ferry boats operating and they will be replaced by two brand new catamarans sometimne in March 2007. As matters stand right now all is back to normal according to the island authorities.

The clue to pre-booking is to dial the island booking office directly. Their telephone number is +27 21 405 4510 or +27 21 419 1300. The operator will make your booking and pass on a reference number to you that you will have to produce with your credit card when picking up your tickets at the island office on your day of travel. Using this method is much more efficient that using the website booking mechanism that most talk of in this forum.

Hope this all helps

Very proudly part of the wonderful nation of South Africa


Hope this helps

I e-mailed the guest house where we will be staying in Cape Town and they got me a contact person to order tickets from- [email protected]

"They use the same boat line everybody else does, so if there is no availability at Robben Island ticket office in the Clock Tower there will be nothing on Hilton Ross."

This is not true. I asked at the ticket office at the V&A Waterfront and was told they were sold out a week in advance. I walked over to the tourist office and they booked the Hylton Ross/Robben Island tour for the next day. My Hylton Ross township guide told me they reserve tickets.
Don't go to the townships without a guide.

What RBcal says About Hylton Ross Tours is true. However they only hold a limited amount of seats. You may either book via credit card or ask fior their banking details and book it that way. They are often booked up three weeks in advance. The earlier you book the better and always get the name of the person whom you are with and that important reference number.
The facts about the ferries is that they will have been completed by March but will only be operational by November (African time) So, when you manage to get on that ferry make sure you have enough spare time in case of delays in getting you back on time
.....and make sure you get a return ticket (lol)

I am currently staying near Cape Town, and booked very easily by phone last week. Called on a Friday and got tickets for Monday afternoon. Got the reference number, picked the tickets up just before the tour, when they were charged to my Visa.

Oher people were waiting for cancellations, which we were told do happen, but we didnt want to chance it.

We got to the V&A early, went to the Acquarium, as we had already been to the shopping area several times, had lunch looking out at Table Mountain, and then got the ferry. Very moving and well worth doing.

Thank you for all of the information. As a follow up to my last message. I sent an e-mail to the contact person I was given and got no response. I ended up calling directly and had no problem reserving tickets.