Cape Town in October

[bonhomme]

Hi, hoping to spend around 10 days in the area, 2 adults and 1 child (7). Should we base ourselves in Cape Town for the entire trip and do day trips or spend a few days in different places?

We are very keen on wildlife so a trip to Hermanus is a must and not sure if we could squeeze in a couple of safari days too???

Any help very welcome!!!

We did this trip a couple of years ago in October and went for 10 days. the weather was fab. we based ourselves in an apartment in Llandudno in Cape Town hired a car and did Table mountain, Boulders Beach , the cape , aquarium and loads of other stuff. Then we drove to Hermanus for 2 nights for a whale watching trip and stayed in a different self catering apartment there. I would have liked to go to Addo for the elephants but decided there wasn't enough time. Kids loved it they were aged 4 and 8 at the time. Would love to go back. The beaches were lovely, food fantastic and we found it very cheap I think the exchange rate is even better now.

I would base yourself somewhere although agree a night or two in hermanus would be good. Safari might be tricky as you would have to travel a little further and you don't have much time.

Cape Town in October is fantastic.

There are plenty of private game ranches fairly close to Cape Town. Try:

Aquila
Sanbona
Inverdoorn
Fairy Glen

Check out age restrictions for children though.

We went to Cape Town last March (similar weather to October I think). We stayed 2 weeks in Cape Town.

We did a day trip to the Aquila Game Reserve, had a half day jeep safari and an afternoon horseback safari (they also do quad bike safaris). We were picked up at the hotel by minibus early morning, the drive the the reserve was about 1 1/2 hours. Lovely hot cooked breakfast and champagne on arrival and hot lunch later. You could drive there yourself, there were lodges available to stay in. Not sure of any age restrictions for children, but there were several there when we were, aged maybe 5+.

Beaches were lovely , but the sea is COLD. Boulders Beach was great for penguin watching - there were hundreds of them!

The trip on the cable car up Table Mountain was awesome and the view from the top, well, you could see for miles. My tip is do the Mountain on the first clear day you get, as it closes in fog/wind etc. You can book online on the Table Mountain site for the cable car and avoid the queue - we did that and you just choose a 2 week slot to go and can go any day.

Eating out in Cape Town was good, the V&A Waterfront has lots of nice restaurants. We also ate at Mama Africa's in the city - quite an experience!

The hop on off bus tour was good, ideal for a 'get to know Cape Town' day.

We also did a Wine Tasting day tour and a tour of the townships - both really good, but probably not suitable for a 7 year old!

There is a nice public open air swimming pool area with diving boards and sun loungers on the Cape Town promenade.