Cape Town and beyond...

[FeltCarrot]

Thinking of going to Cape Town next April, just me and DH. Would love some advice from anyone who has been. How long would be long enough in CT, where to stay etc. We have come up with an idea of driving from CT to Port Elizabeth, staying for a couple of days then flying to Johannesburg, possibly doing a 2 day safari somewhere before flying home from there.
Is it doable in under 2 weeks?

It is very doable and we have done this route.

We have been to SA 4 times now as it is country we love.

I would recommend 4+ nights in Cape Town. I stayed in Derwent house and O en aloof. Both were lovely and had good restaurants nearby. Camps Bay is also nice. We tended to then do 4-7 nights in Angola Boutique hotel (between Franschhoek and Stellanbosch) for some r&r and the food and wine is one of the reasons we love SA.

We have then driven to Knysna/ Plett and then onto Addo elephant park (good for cheap self-drive safari), Amakhala for safari and then on to PE. We haven't done Jo'berg in recent years. Kruger is said to be the best safari, but the nee for anti-malarial has always put us off. Have also done Umhlanga and Kwazulu-Natal region, which is very different to the Cape and then flown back to London direct from Durban.

Driving is very easy and roads are good. Very affordable with weak rand. Never felt unsafe as long as you keep your wits about you.

Probably my favourite holiday destination, particularly given the lack of jet lag!

I’m going next week

I love South Africa! We stayed in Kommetjie which is 30mins out of Cape Town. It was perfect for us as we could be lazy by the sea but it wasn’t far to drove in Cape Town.

For the safari, you tend to do 2 game drives a day, so if you stay 2 nights you could do 4, would that be enough for you?

Yes, we thought a “mini” safari would be good as a taster!
bubbles how exciting! What sort of things are you planning to do?
Is Port Elizabeth worth the drive? My brother went to Knysna this year and loved it, just wondering if we did CT to Knysna would we have to drive back to CT?

We went for the second time in January and loved it even more than the first time! We flew into CT and spent 3 days there and then flew to Port Elizabeth. We had 3 great days at Laibela Reserve on safari and then drove back to Franschhoek via the Garden route, taking a week to do the drive. We finished up with a week in an Airbnb in Franschhoek. Most fabulous time. Feel free to DM me for more info as we booked everything via a South African travel agent and couldn't fault the service or price

There isn’t much to see or do in PE and we flew back to Cape Town from there. I probably wouldn’t use up too much time stopping there.

Knysna is beautiful and it and plett are very close to one another.

Thank you MissFritton I might take you up on that offer! DH has sort of planned for 4 days in CT, then 2 days to drive to Knysna stopping at Franschhoek en route, then on to PE for a few days, include a mini safari then fly to Jo’burg for a day before flying home.

PE isn’t really an ideal holiday area. It’s a final destination. You are whizzing along the Garden Route without bothering to savour it. We have driven up to the Swartberg pass, visited Tsitsikamma and spent a week doing this route with stays in amazing bed and breakfasts such as Kanonkop in Knysna. Cape View Clifton is highly recommended if you want seaside near Cape Town. We have also stayed in central Cape Town but you need at least 3 clear days here. You will
want to drive down to the Cape, visit Chapmans Peak and see all that is to see in Cape Town, including The Silo.

The Winelands are definitely worth 2 days and I think 6 along the Garden Route. Fly to Nelspruit (Mbombela) for Kruger. 2 days is hardly worth the effort. Quite honestly. If you are short of time, do a soft safari in Addo. Malaria pills are ok! If you want to have the real safari experience, and not a fenced rewilded farm, you need either Kruger or Hluhluwe Imfolizi. This park is 3 hours drive North of Durban. You should be able to get to either of these airports from PE.

You can just about fit all of this in. Your DH needs to use PE as an airport. There’s so much to enjoy without staying there.

Joburg for a day is a waste of time too.

You can fly from George back to Cape Town or Joburg. George is just under an hour to Knysna.

We went to Kruger without anti malaria’s except for my daughter as she has a heart condition. Kruger is AMAZING. We spent 4 days and drove ourselves rather than do guided tours.

We’ve done it. Drove from Cape Town to PE via Knynsa. Flew to Joh’burg and onto Kruger. Joh’burg is so worth a visit. We spent three weeks but we did also fly to see Victoria Falls and Chloe.

We did this for our honeymoon in jan 2016 - flew to CT and then planned to drive the Garden a Route with various stops before a safari near PE and home via Johannesburg. We actually took the R62 in the end instead on recommendation from a local and the views were amazing.

We did 4 days in CT - the waterfront is lovely but if you want to see Robben Island make sure you book it day one (or in advance) as it books up quickly. Bo-kaap is also amazing.

We had two days in stellenbosch at Spier but I could have stayed longer - amazing food (and wine, obviously) and more to do than I expected.

We then did a day trip to Simon's town to see the penguins before onto Hermanus - too late for whale watching and I'm not sure I'd bother going there again if we went back. Same for knysna which was our next stop, albeit maybe we were just booked into the wrong place - we brought down the average age by about 30 years 🙈

We did our safari at Pumba Lodge and it was amazing. Adults only, all inclusive and we loved it. Private plunge pool on a terrace which overlooked the watering hole. Incredible sights right outside your window. Unforgettable.

I'm not one for going back to the same place twice but I wouldn't hesitate to go back to SA. Just waiting for DC to be old enough to appreciate it and the flights will be booked!

Have a lovely time :-)

Lots to think about, this is why Mumsnet is so great, real experiences and advice, will definitely rethink PE and maybe spend longer at Kruger.

Another vote for Spier in Stellenbosch - we loved it there. The wine region is full of so many different and beautiful vineyards, well worth spending a few days there. The penguins at Boulders are gorgeous. Camps Bay in CPT is really cool, great restaurants and lovely beach. Waterfront is good for browsing and people watching, and loads of great restaurants. Start at the Harbour House for sushi!

I think you are wise to go to Kruger fir longer. Try and choose a bush camp for an authentic experience. The reserves like Pumba have conference facilities but it depends what you want.

I would look at staying in guest houses. In South Africa there are many outstanding ones and you will be given excellent information, help and advice. The Greenwood guides are s great start for reading up on these.

No problem @FeltCarrot we have used him twice now and would never usually go somewhere twice but loved SA so much we broke our own rule!! We stayed in some fantastic hotels all arranged for us.

Went this time last year and loved it. There are some great recommendations above so I’ll just add Two practical points:

• they have unusual power points with big fat pins so you need specific plug adapters to the usual travel ones used elsewhere. I took 6 as we have so many things to charge up at the same time. Amazon were cheapest.
• depending on your mob provider’s international call and roaming charges it’s worth taking an old phone (check it’s unlocked by the network before you go) and buy a local SIM card in the arrivals terminal as soon as you get there - I was worried that if we broke down in a remote area it would require us (and a rescue service) to be making calls at international rates. We used MTN and we never lost service throughout the Garden Route, the Mountain route back and all around the Cape. For about £25 we had local calls and 4gb data so we navigated solely by using google maps - completely up to date with traffic info., etc. Plus great for phoning ahead to advise arrival times, book restaurants, etc.

One last thing, don’t get persuaded to book Table Mountain in advance - the weather changes so quickly and you really want a fine clear day so check the weather forecast each day and book your tickets the night before for an early cablecar - and cover up as the breeze up there made us forget the sun exposure.

Just booked our flights! Now to start planning an itinerary😀

To CT and return from Joburg?

Go to Franchhoek for the wine tram

I found Travel Butler's a really helpful organisation to talk to about safari's. We went for one in Entabeni which was just amazing. But they were really helpful in terms of budget and making suggestions.

Visiting robben island was well worth it, and as advised do book in advance. I liked hermanus - we didn't see any whales as we'd hoped to and they won't be around in April but the drive along the coast through Betty's bay to Hermanus is stunning.. ( also more penguins at Betty's bay). Airbnb have good availability along the coast..
Also did a great wine tour round Constantia - the hop on hop off sightseeing bus in Cape town stops at the top of the hill but we organised taxis to take us to the different vineyards so we could enjoy the produce. Loads of them have amazing views and delicious food too.

Enjoy