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.
The Cape coast is notorious for washing ships ashore and the Seli 1 is yet another casualty. She went aground on 18th September 2009. You can see in the photo she lies just off Blouberg beach. What tends to happen with wrecks is the crew and insurers abandon them and they become our problem. The coal cargo, which was bound for Europe was, thankfully, safely removed. As was the crude oil fuel. The ship is slowly being broken up as, I’m sure you will agree, it is a bit of an eyesore on our beautiful beach.
The causes of wrecks off our coastline are combination of weather, mechanical problems and insufficient knowledge of our local coastline. If you are into mysteries of the deep, you might be interested in the killer, superimposed or rogue wave phenomenon that exists off the east coast of South Africa. Ships vanish, sometimes never to be seen again. Google – Death Waves – and – Rogue Waves – to find out more.
We have a lovely chart which was purchased at the Bredasdorp Maritime Museum, which shows the locations of 379 marine casualties in Southern African waters that occurred between 1914 and 1945. Make a point of visiting the museum if you are in the area. See the link for Bredasdorp shipwreck museum for more. And for wiki’s more recent list of wrecks click Wiki list of shipwrecks in Southern Africa. I wrote about how the wreck of the HMS Athens ended up in Mouille Point in this post – RMS Athens wreck. If you are driving our coastlines and keep an eye open, you are highly likely to spot a wreck or three.
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.
The My CiTi bus service is now well under way. The first route to get going was from the the airport to the city centre. At R50 for the trip, it’s a bargain. We’ve used the bus a few times now, and I can see no reason to spend, what in comparison is a fortune, on one of the shuttle bus services or taxis. A shuttle bus or taxi costs around R250 to R300 for the same trip. The embarking process is designed so that you can roll a wheelie suitcase right into the bus. Perfect!
More good news is that the next route which is from Table View to central Cape Town is about to open. Interim fares are also excellent value at R10 per trip.
The My CiTi bus is based on a similar concept that has been in effect in Brazil for a while. The buses will ultimately run in and around the city and to Hout Bay. Can’t wait.
For more on what the Cape Town City Council have planned and plenty of useful information for visitors or potential investors, visit their website Cape Town City Council. Train timetables, news, a map of all green services such as public parks, farmers markets and more can be found on their website. Very handy!
Golden Arrow bus
Lastly you could also take one of the Golden Arrow buses to get around. Visit the – Golden Arrow Bus – website for timetables. I don’t find the website particularly user friendly but maybe it’s just me.
Find the link at the top of this page for travel tips relating to Cape Town in particular and travel in general.
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.
Photo of My CiTi bus c/o City of Cape Town website
