Stellenbosch to CPT airport question
 

Hello! Would it be reasonable to spend the night in Stellenbosch or Franshoek before a 8:30am flight out of CPT airport the next morning? Any idea how long the drive might take? Thanks!

Peep -

Selwyn is probably the person to answer this, he can likely do it with his eyes closed.

But the Winelands are anywhere from 20-50-miles from CPT midway between the N1 and N2, and the N2 is what gets you to the airport most directly, though I'm sure you can find another route. From CPT (V&A waterfront) the trip only took us about 20-minutes.

Considering you have to be at airport at least 1 to 1-1/2 hrs before departure domestically, and 2-hrs Intl, aren't you lucky you don't have a 6:30 am flight as we did. We had to be at the airport by between 5-5:30am and thankfully there was no one on the road. I can't answer whether there is a "rush-hour" in CPT, and it might also be different for workdays versus weekends.

Selwyn will have the answer.

Good to know Sandi -- we have a 6:30am flight from CPT to JNB where we connect to Maun.

uhoh_busted -

It was one of those "00-dark-30" mornings - we were headed via JNB to VFA - you gotta do what you gotta, sometimes. There's plenty of time to catch up on sleep once you get to your destination.

Peep,

Firstly there is a huge difference between travelling to the airport from Stellenbosch as opposed to Franschhoek. When I say huge I am considering the fact that it will be early in the morning and every minute counts relative to getting a good nights sleep preceding your flight. With that said you have to add at least 45 minutes (to play safe) to your Stellenbosch journey if you are travelling from Franschhoek to the airport.

Thus for the Stellenbosch to airport allocate 45 minutes of travel time and for Franschhoek allocate 90 minutes

An international flight requires a pre 2 hour arrival while a domestic flight requires a 30 minute pre arrival time. Obviously if you want to ensure that all is well I would add a quarter of an hour onto both these times.

An added problem is no matter whether you take the N1 or the N2 to the airport you will encounter traffic on weekdays from 06h30 on the road due to the normal daily worker inflow to Cape Town. If you are travelling on a weekend then I would not be perturbed about this factor. With that said if you are travelling on an international flight this wont be a problem as there wont be congested traffic that early in the morning however if you are travelling on a domestic flight I would add 30 minutes into the equation for traffic.

Thus:

For an 08h30 international departure you would need to be at the airport at 06h15 and that means leaving Franschhoek at 04h45 and Stellenbosch at 05h30

For an 08h30 weekday domestic flight you would need to be at the airport at 07h45 and that means leaving Franschhoek at 05h45 and Stellenbosch at 06h30

For an 08h30 weekend domestic departure you would need to be at the airport at 07h45 and that means leaving Franschhoek at 06h15 and Stellenbosch at 07h00

Hope this all makes sense.

Selwyn Davidowitz
Very proudly part of the wonderful ((r)) nation of South Africa

Thanks Selwyn! I've decided to reverse the trip and will spend the last days in Capetown. Could you look at my post called "How about this SA itinerary?" I'd love to hear your recommendations that would fit into my plan! BTW, thanks for recommending Avanti ages ago. It looks like the perfect place for us! :)

I could only provide a best guest as to how long it might take, and knew Selwyn would have the perfect answer to your question. Thanks Selwyn.

Sorry that should read: best guess!