First lets deal with visas. Some nationals may require visas and others not. You will need to refer to either your local embassy. Another handy site is this SA Tourism.
You could also utilise an agent who deals with foreign visas and they do all the leg work for you. For a fee of course, but hey, they know the business.
Next vaccinations. Depending on how you enter South Africa, you may require a yellow fever vaccination. Do an Internet search for a list of possible entry countries. If you have travelled through them, then you need the jab.
The list includes most of Africa and a few South American countries.
Malaria does occur in South Africa but not in Cape Town. It’s possible to find maps showing high, medium and low risk areas as well as maleria free areas.
As a rule of thumb, the tropical bush camp areas on the east coast are where you need to be cautious. The recent high profile case of Cheryl Cole is proof that malaria does happen to visitors. That said, I will not take some of the new generation anti malarials.
I have seen too many people get very, very ill on them. The older generation anti-malarials are no longer effective against the new strains of malaria so you can’t rely on them. I prefer to practise extreme vigilance and take my chances. I do not recommend my approach. However I refuse to be struck down by medication and ruin a holiday.
Here’s how I do it.
Always cover your arms, neck and legs with light cotton clothing. Rub insect repellent gels and lotions all over exposed body parts regularly. I like Citronella oil. You won’t smell good to your travel mates but the mosquitos will be put off you as well.
Sleep under a net. Eat loads of garlic and drink gin and tonic. Apparently tonic water has quinine which is supposed to be an anti malarial. I also take a few drops of the herbal extract of Artemesia three times a day in water.
Lastly I take homeopathic China. You can use search terms such as Cinchona bark or China malaria to find out more.
You should have plenty ideas to keep safe from malaria.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
For the more adventurous amongst us, there is so much to do in Cape Town. Our perfect summer weather means action junkies can easily get their fix. In a previous post I discussed our blue skies. Find that post here – Cape Town blue skies. I mentioned our clean air in an older post, read that article here – Cape Town cleanest air.
Think activities like surfing, sky diving, rock climbing, quad biking, sandboarding, abseiling, jet skis, bungi jumping and of course the ever popular shark cage diving. Try these two links for more on packages, tours and outings. Outdoor action Cape Town and Adventure tours Cape Town.
The shark cage diving usually includes a bit of a tour of the bay. You get to see little islands and sea life. Then you are kitted out in diving gear and jump into a cage. They throw meat into the water to attract the sharks and before long you are nose to nose with a man eating shark. Except you have the big bars of your cage keeping you safe. Phew! A bit scary for me.
And if that is still not enough then head to Ratanga Junction where you can have a couple of white knuckle roller coaster rides to release more adrenalin. Have a look at what they have to offer here – roller coaster rides Cape Town. Right next door to Ratanga Junction is Canal Walk shopping mall. Those who prefer more docile pursuits can exercise their credit cards.
Photo courtesy Ed Scott
After a long hard day of sightseeing, sometimes all you want to do is rest up your feet. One of my favorite services to use is Mr Delivery. They have the local restaurant menus on-line so you can see what is out there without moving too much.
Another place who deliver if you enjoy pizza is Butlers. Their drivers arrive dressed up in suits and bow ties.
You should tip the driver. That’s how they make their money. Most waitrons rely on tips for their income. They don’t get paid much per shift and certainly don’t get health insurance or any extras. Ten percent is the accepted standard in South Africa.
There are also loads of yummy delis, bakeries, fruit and farm stalls and more all over the place. A handy guide to find those nearest to you is the Eat In guide. You can buy the latest copy at the nearest newsagent or find them on-line.
Think cooking classes to on-line maps and why Conde Nast named Cape Town the 8th best city in the world.
And to round off this post, I thought I would share this with you. Cape Town has the fifth best blue skies in the world. Yip! That’s according to the UK National Physical Laboratory.
For more travel and safety tips scroll back up to the top of this page.
A really nice day trip to make, without a hired car, is the train ride from the the city centre to Simonstown. As you can see in the picture, the train runs right next to the sea from Muizenberg all the way to Simonstown.
I would stop and wander around places like Muizenberg, St James and Kalk Bay. They have loads of craft shops, antique traders, cafes and museums.
At Simonstown the line comes to an end but you can take a walk up to Seaforth where you will find the penguins. Unfortunately they have come under serious threat in recent times. There are lots of initiatives to try and address the causes of their demise and to encourage breeding again.
Kalk Bay main road
For more on the train trip Google – Cape Metro Rail. The train timetables should be there.
I would make it a day out and take a lunch hamper and a swimming costume for a day on the beach. Just remember alcohol consumption is forbidden on public beaches in South Africa.
Or you could take in a meal enjoy our fabulous wines at one of the restaurants overlooking False Bay. The view across from False Bay to Cape Hangklip is breathtaking. And the water in False Bay is warmer than the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the peninsula. Click here for the Travel Archive page.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
We have done a fair bit of traveling and we run our own guesthouse, so I feel somewhat confidant to talk about the standard of accommodation in Cape Town.
You get pretty much the same old selection of options that one finds anywhere in the world in Cape Town. Hotels, hostels, back-packers, B and B’s and guesthouses. And South African accommodation is probably much the same.
Except, I would say, that on average, room sizes are bigger than you would find in other large cities such as London, Paris and New York. Usually the rooms are clean. You should find your South African hosts are friendly to a fault.
The feedback we get from guests is that accommodation is well priced. Sure you get high end luxury digs, if that’s what you are after, but if you want comfort at bargain prices, they’re not hard to find.
I will list the websites we use to market our B and B. The first link is for Hostel World aka Webres – Hostel World. Next try Safari Now and their link is here – Safari Now. Roger and Kay have Travel Selection and you can visit them by clicking on this link – Travel Selection. The A A are a tried and trusted group and I can assure you they do regular inspections to make sure standards are maintained. Click here – AA Accommodation South Africa. The other website we use is Rooms for Africa. And the link for them is here – Rooms for Africa.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
