Anyone got any recommendations of things to do in Cape Town?

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TracyMichele

Cape Town is so beautiful, a great city to visit. There's a lot to see so make sure you plan your time wisely. It's almost not the best vacation spot because there is so much to do, that when my friend and I took a holiday there from Joburg, we were so overwhelmed! But here's some things you should do, that I love:

Table Mountain: you have to get to the top. Either take the cable car or hike up it. Even if you take the cable car, make sure you walk around on the top so you can see the views from all the different sides. It's absolutely gorgeous, and the views are stunning.

Cape Point: This is where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. You can hike out near the point, though you aren't actually allowed in the water. The views once again are beautiful, and there is so much wildlife and vegetation that it is beautiful. You can also drive down one of the paths to see the Cape of Good Hope, the most southwestern point of Africa. However, if you go to Cape Point make sure that any time you leave your car you ROLL UP the windows. My friend and I got out of our rental car to take pictures of the view, and she smacked me as we looked back at the car to see this massive baboon on top! The baboons can be pretty agressive, so don't eat around them if you can, because they will take anything. The birds on Table Mountain are pretty feisty as well; while we were eating a black bird just divebombed my plate to steal a fry. Very interesting!

Robben Island: a prison off the coast of Cape Town that also used to be a leper colony. The first democratically elected President, Nelson Mandela of the ANC was held here for over ten years. A place full of history and significance for South Africa, and a very interesting tour as all the tour guides are former prisoners themselves.

Simonstown: There are all these little penguins that play along the beach and you can go up and see them. It's not worth going out of your way, but if you are driving up the coast along the Indian Ocean, definitely stop and see them.

Bloubergstrand: the views of Cape Town and Table Mountain are gorgeous from this spot. My friends live on the beach here, and I woke up each morning staring out over the ocean.

Greenmarket Square: the best place to buy African crafts and all sorts of other things. This is where I bought most of the presents for my family back home.

Long Street: a very cool street in Cape Town that has all sorts of great little shops and places to eat. There are also clothing stores that have lots of handmade clothes that you cannot get anywhere else. Something worth checking out.

V&A Waterfront: tourist place extraordinaire. A mall with a huge Woolworths and other stores (including Mugg and Bean, the best coffee shop in SA!), and all sorts of places to look at. This is also the launching point for the tours to Robben Island, and you can find out some information about shark diving and whale watching, and the like.

If you have the time, drive down the Garden Route to Port Elizabeth. It's beyond gorgeous, and there are lots of little places to stay along the route, especially very cute Bed & Breakfast spots. There's also all kinds of stuff along the way, like a Primate Village with, obviously, monkeys, and lots and lots of ocean!

Also there are some great vineyards north of Cape Town worth checking out. They are wonderful places to spend an afternoon, just sitting outside and drinking some wine!

Well, this should be enough. Have fun because it is a wonderful place!!!

zilber

you will have a car? go out of town!
go to hermanous to See the whales. go to the wine route and get drunk.
go to see the penguins in simonstown. go to the cape of good hope!

andy

go and drive around by the cape flats!!!!

abrockhurst2000

Go for "High Tea" at the Mount Nelson Hotel.

They fill the HUGE dinning room table with all sorts of cakes, and it's eat as much as you like (or can in my case)

Malan

It's an AMAZING city! I'm fortunate enough to live here ;) It's diverse, vibrant and very beautiful!.. It's also one of the friendliest cities in the world... Table Mountain, Robben Island, Clifton Beach, V&A Waterfront are some of the must-see places!

ecampbell007

There are so many things to do in Cape Town!

Go on a roadtrip to Cape of Good Hope. If you have already been there, do it again and stop by and some of the towns on the way. Simonstown is a nice town to check out, go see the penguins on the beach. Also very good for whale spotting. If open, take Chapmeans peak, very nice drive with stunning views.

Another place that is perfect for whale spotting is Hermanus, where they hold the whale festival. They have whale spotters and there is a whole cult around watching the whales, good fun this time of year.

Go out in Cape Town, if you like nightlife, go out! Get some beers on Long Street in Jo'burg or Zula. Then head off to a club, like Opium or Ignite. Or go for a game of pool in Stones and go to Puna Nana for a late night drink.

Go to the beach! Summer is coming and the beach is the place to be. Clifton, Camps Bay, Muizenberg all good beaches close to Cape Town, so enjoy the sun and go for a dip in the cold water! Also perfect for water-sports such as surfing, body boarding.

Go to the winelands and enjoy some of the best wines and restaurants in the country. The whole back country is filled with estates so plenty of options, but Constantia estate is just stunning. Food and wine, sublime!

Go do some adventure activities, such as kloofing, hiking, quad-biking, kayaking, shark-diving.

Visit Stellenbosch, nice town especially at night. Some great restaurants as well.

Have a braai, if you are coming soon you are hereby invited.

cara

go on a tour of the wineroute in the stellenbosch/franschhoek area...i know you have a car, but maybe get someone else to drive you :)

PAUL E

There is loads to do, and its much safer than many American cities....
I suggest you take a tour on one of the open top tour buses, they take you all around the city, and you can then work out what else you'd like to do. You'll be shown a fortress, the hotel mentioned by another answer, the beaches, the diamond and tanzanite shops.. and much much more. You'll also get the full history lesson. It cost 90 Rand, which is about Â£9 sterling or about $18US.
There is the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, which is beautiful, and has many many shops, restaurants and bars, as well as entertainment and is a working port, from there you can get the fast ferry to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner, which is now a nature reserve, where ex guards and ex prisoners work together to remind us all about where South Africa has come from.
The country is beautiful, the people are genuinely friendly, well worth a visit.

Inquisitive

i just got back from cape town last week, so here are a couple thoughts (good idea to avoid the waterfront btw):

grab lunch in camps bay - this is a great beach community on the other side of lions head. walk along the water and stop in to blues or paranga for a long lunch with a great view.

visit the wine country - since you have a car, take advantage of it. stellenbosch is only about 40 minutes away, and the more charming franschhoek about 1 hour. there are amazing restaurants and places to stay in franschoek. do not miss lunch at le petite ferme, it's an experience, and try ruebens for dinner. a lot of wineries actually close early on saturday (~1pm) and are closed on sunday, so try to make it during the week if you can.

go whale watching - hermanus is the capital of southern right whale sightings in south africa, and just a 2hr drive from cape town. whale season starts in september so it's a good time to go. check out auberge burgundy for a place to stay.

have a great trip!

Athene1710

Take a trip to Hermanus - it's the best land-based whale watching in the world.
Chill on The Strand with the penguins.

tay_jen1

go jolling! (partying)...

lie on the beautiful beaches! Or kiteboard in blouwberg...

man there's tons, just look around

saywot?

if you like wine, visit one of the wineries and do some tasting.try out different restaurants to get an idea of how different the choices of food are.travel along the eastern side coast, as there are many beautiful beaches.tour busses to other parts of the country are probably worth it, if you don't mind spending time actually travelling. luckily most of the scenery is beautiful.

visit art galleries and some of the museums are wonderful. try see something at theatres as it will teach you about the sa humour or thoughts.

Twigs

Go Whale watching in False Bay on the road to Simonstown. Go for a wee drink or two at The Blue Peter Hotel in Blaubergstrand.

Kim

Hello!

I found a link for you of some of Cape Towns tourist attractions. Take a look at it. You should really consider going to Robbin Island!! Have a look at this link:

http://www.sa-venues.com/wcattrac.htm#Attractions

Have fun!
Kim

Todd

Keep your head down

Lock your car door

Carry a gun

Canute

Get out before you are mugged at the traffic lights.

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