Introduction
Before my trip, I had asked some coworkers who were from South Africa, and they had recommended I rent a car to drive down to the Cape of Good Hope. Even at the safari, an American family told me they also rented a car to drive down there. Thus, I rented a car for my entire 4 day stay in Cape Town. As soon as I stepped in the car, I realized it was a mistake. It had been a while since I had driven a stick, and sure enough, since South Africa drives on the left side of the road, the stick shift was on the left. I had never driven on the left before, and so the combination of the two seriously stressed me out. To add insult to injury, I found out shortly after that the turn signal was on the right side as well, and sure enough, I turned on my windshield wipers a couple of times when I was trying to signal a turn. All of that compounded with the fact that my wife is directionally challenged and horrible with maps, it made the 30 minute drive from the airport to the hotel way too stressful.
Day 1
Our original itinerary for day 1 was to go on the Robben Island Tour in the morning and Table Mountain in the afternoon (or vice versa). However, we had asked the hotel concierge the night before to book us Robben Island the following morning, but it was sold out. The only available time was 1pm. We asked about Table Mountain, and he said to return at 8AM the next day [to check the weather.] We showed up the next morning and found out Table Mountain was currently closed. Dough! So we decided to make the drive down to the Cape of Good Hope as well as see the penguins on Boulder Beach. We went down the west side and came up the east side. Luckily, the mountain pass was open (so you should check on that as well if you want to make the same drive.) We passed by Camp’s Bay, which was gorgeous. We got to the Cape in about 2 hours since we stopped to take photos along the way. We ate at the Two Oceans restaurant (it was either that or the snack bar.) The food was delicious, so don’t hesitate to eat there.
After lunch, we went up the eastern side of the peninsula and stopped by Boulder’s Bay to see the penguins. Then we drove back to the Radisson Blu, took the shuttle to the Waterfront, and then ate at the highly rated Pot Luck Club. This was the sister restaurant to Test Kitchen, which was closed for the holiday break. Even if they weren’t closed, reservations were fully booked 6 months out. YOWZAS!
Day 2
We had booked the Robben Island Tour in the morning at 9AM. We shared a cab with another couple who was also going. Did the tour and got back by 1PM. By the way, the boat ride takes nearly an hour. There is a small snack bar on Robben Island, so if you get easily hungry, bring some snacks with you.
When we got back, we hopped on the red hop-on-hop-off bus to make it to Table Mountain. We took the gondola up to Table Mountain, took some photos, and then came back down. Then we rode that bus to Camp’s Bay, had some drinks and watched the sunset at the Mynt Cafe.
We got back to the waterfront at around 6pm or so. We then looked on Tripadvisor and found a highly rated restaurant called Dash that was in the Queen Victoria hotel. The meal did not disappoint; it was better than Pot Luck Club in my opinion. After that, we rode the free shuttle back to the Radisson.
Day 3
We originally were going to drive ourselves to the wine country. However, with all the driving stress, we decided to just book a shuttle tour instead. We booked it through Luhambo Tours. It cost 800 Rand or about $65 per person. It was well worth it to book the tour guide since I didn’t have to worry about drinking and driving, and the tour guide gave us information about the area.
As for the wineries, they were gorgeous. Much prettier than Napa since you have a mountain backdrop to go with the vines. One winery had their tasting room in a middle of a lake. Just gorgeous.
As for the wine, the first winery we went to had some great reds. The other 3 wineries had not so good wine. We’re not sure if the first one actually had better wine, or if it was because it was our first stop and we were drinking at 10AM. We stopped at another winery to eat lunch, but didn’t actually taste wine there. By the last winery, everyone was tired and just wanted to go home.
Conclusion
I think 3 days was the perfect amount of time. I actually don’t know what else we could have done in Cape Town more than that. I would have liked to hike up Table Mountain, but we weren’t up to doing that. Don’t get me wrong. I love the city. I think it’s my favorite city in the world. There’s something about a mountain and beaches within 30 minutes from each other. We also got lucky that it didn’t rain at all the 4 days we were there. People were warning us that we probably would have rain 2 out of the 4 days. Remember, we went in the middle of winter (late June.) All in all, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Cape Town to anyone.
Do you have any pics of the penguins?
Not the best picture, but here is one. They weren’t as abundant as we were expecting (prob wrong time of year,) but we did see a handful climb up to the road and one poor guy couldn’t figure out a way to climb back down and was screeching. I thought it was hilarious.
Thanks!