One Week in Cape Town

recommendations + photos from a near-perfect trip

I didn’t especially want to go to South Africa. I thought it was an overindulgence, a form of hubris. How could we take a week off in the middle of January? Leave our kids? Stay in fancy places? Afford it?

We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary of marriage this year and Eric was insistent that we “deserved” a really special trip for just the two of us. Having got married with a 4-year-old (mine) already in tow, we didn’t have a honeymoon. We’ve always managed to sneak away for a few nights here and there but we have never had time just for us. He worked on me (for over a year) and eventually I gave in. I felt so conflicted about the extravagance of it all that I didn’t even tell my closest friends or have any expectations at all.

He’d always talked about wanting to go back to Cape Town after he unsuccessfully tried to move there following a semester abroad. I had my special place at the bottom of the world (I lived in Sydney for most of my twenties), this was his. I know how a place can give you heartache and I figured he was right — you only live once, what are we waiting for, and all of that. Plus, I love him. And so, last week, we went.

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To say I fell for with Cape Town would be an understatement. I was immediately struck by the natural beauty of the place — I suppose I knew in theory that the city was built around a mountain range, but I wasn’t prepared for how impactful the scenery would be. I also wasn’t prepared (how could I be when I acted like we weren’t actually going on holiday until the day we left?) for how delicious the food would be and how friendly the people. I also became obsessed with learning more about the history, the groups of people, the politics, the last 30 years of democracy, the prior forty-odd years of apartheid and the narratives surrounding it all. I started reading a few books on South African history and devouring podcasts (this one by Desmond Latham is incredibly interesting and thorough). I’ve only just begun to learn about this beautiful part of the world but want to know so, so much more.

OK, onto the recommendations. Eric asked his friends and colleagues who live there and did his research (the man loves to research) and I was lucky enough to get some excellent tried-and-true recommendations from so many followers who noticed via my Instagram stories that I was there, with special shout-outs to Capetonians Chelsea Blakemore and Megan De Jager and longtime CT lover Emily Tierney. It goes without saying that I am no expert on Cape Town and its surroundings, just a newbie wanting to share the highlights (and some low!) of a very well-researched, indulgent and near-perfect trip.

PRACTICAL STUFF + HOW TO GET AROUND

Transport - Renting a car is easy and inexpensive. Parking is, too. There are unofficial parking attendants lots of places who would love a small tip for guiding you into your spot. That said, whilst in the city, Uber was our transport of choice. Ubers are plentiful, really inexpensive, reliable and pleasant.

Data - If your mobile provider’s data can’t be used in SA, try purchasing data via the Airlo App. It worked seamlessly for us.

Safety - I’ve been asked many times if I felt safe. The answer is yes. In the areas of the city where we stayed, ate, visited and wandered (City Bowl, Gardens, Woodstock, Constantia, Camps Bay, Waterfront, Claremont, Tamboerskloof, etc.) I felt safer than I do in our Zone 2 neighbourhood in London. Like most metropolitan cities, there is poverty and there is crime; if you’re aware of your surroundings you should be fine.

Guides - You can hire a guide to drive you around. We used Danny for a one day tour through the Winelands (mostly so we could both partake in lots of wine tasting without having to worry about driving after) and he was great. I really recommend him for day trips. He answered all of my (incessant) questions about politics and history, had so many interesting things to share, brought us to all the places we wanted to go and waited for us when we lingered and stopped for our lunch booking. The cost, which included a wine tasting for each of us, was about £200 for the day.

Plan - it’s always best to book in advance. Top resorts, hotels and restaurants may be booked out weeks or months ahead of time. Plan and book early and often! Lots of place charge a deposit when you book. It seemed to us that many restaurants were closed on Sundays.

Table Mountain and city views

WHAT TO DO

Try to spend a few nights in Cape Town proper on the front and back ends of your trip and head out into the surrounding areas (or perhaps head up to the areas around Johannesburg for safari. We didn’t do safari, but one day we’ll head to Ngala in Kruger National Park) in the middle. There is so, so much to explore. It would take a lifetime to know the whole area well. Here’s just our little snippets.

A few days or at least a day trip out to the winelands (Stellenbosch, Franschhoek) is a must. It’s only about an hour from Cape Town, so very accessible. If you want to drink with abandon and explore lots of vineyards, hire a guide or use the adorable Wine Tram.

We also drove down to the Cape of Good Hope (about 1 - 2 hours) one day. There are lots and lots of sweet little resort towns (St James, Misty Cliffs just to name a few) and beaches on the way down or back, though we didn’t stop at any. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the penguins at Boulders Beach, but again, we didn’t stop. I’d say that seeing the tip of the Cape itself — and paying the high fee to enter the Cape Point Nature Reserve — isn’t really worth it. We visited the Cederberg Moutains (about 3.5 hours one way from CT) which was incredible, too. More on that later!

Ok, let’s dig in.