South Africa (Western Cape) with young children

[WritingThroughTheNight]

We've just booked to go to South Africa next February/March. We'll be flying in to and out of Cape Town. DC1 will be almost 5 and DC2 will have just turned 3.

We will be spending part of the time visiting family and part of the time exploring on our own with a hire car.

Where would you go and what would you do in Cape Towns and around the Western Cape with little ones? We don't mind driving within about a 5-6 hour radius of Cape Town (but no more than about 2-3 hours' driving on any one day).

Thank you!

Plettenberg Bay is very scenic. Lots of big sandy beaches and various things to do with dc: Tenikwa Wildlife Centre, Monkeyland, The Crags elephant sanctuary, Birds of Eden, whale and dolphin watching, Adventureland, Robberg nature reserve…

World of Birds in Hout Bay - not far from CT centre. Kids (and adults!) can get to spend time with the monkeys and it's a really amazing experience.

https://worldofbirds.co.za/our-animals/#monkeys

I’m very familiar with your trip. I would be cautious about doing the Table Mountain Cable Car with your 2. We were there recently and there is a chaotic system of different queues, all long. We paid for priority entry and even that queue was well over 40 mins long (they sell it like you just walk up and board- you don’t). Thank goodness we didn’t have kids as young as yours as it’s a hot, no shade queue, in the main. Far, far better is to go to Kirstenbosch and enjoy the table mountain national park there as it is a stunning botanical garden and extremely child friendly. Enjoy!

Stop spamming all the threads.

We went to SA when DS was almost 3. We drove to Kynsa from Cape Town and did a family friendly safari reserve and visited Kynsa elephant sanctuary. We stayed in Stellenbosch too and there was a vineyard that did a duck parade which amused DS for hours. Some of the vineyards have playgrounds etc.

Enjoy- it was a fab holiday.

You have to do the Scratch Patch, either at Simonstown or at the V&A.

For kids that age I'd definitely recommend the penguin colony at Boulders Beach in Simon's Town, combined with going to the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point (lighthouse and funicular rail) it makes a good half day trip.

In CT itself, the Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A docks is good for kids.

Our family enjoyed the Cheetah Outreach place and we had a picnic there.

Is it just finding gems on the floor? What is so great about it? I've seen this recommended a few times and can't work out what it is.

I’d recommend:

Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens - simply stunning and unique

Zeitz MOCAA if you like art and or architecture

Waterfront is nice but gets busy, the ferris wheel is good

Noordhoek is fun

amazing beaches Llandudno probably the best

Giraffe House and Winelands Light Railway are surprisingly brilliant and we have spent many days at WLR with a picnic