The diversity and beauty of our Mother City is a thing of wonder, there is so much to do and see that when visitors plan such short visits to the city, only preplanning and Swiss precision will allow our visitors to even taste her rich offerings. Some people visit for business and may only manage 2 or 3 days, others may have a trip planned up the Garden Route, or a Safari.There are some pretty special things in Cape Town that you cant afford to miss, so Ive decided to draw up a list of things for you to do - depending on how much time you have to spend in the city. Some things may seem a bit strange, but if you want to make the most of your trip, youll just have to trust me:
One day and one nightMake sure to see the city, so take a drive - or get someone to drive you. You would want to drive from the V&A Waterfront through to Camps Bay, get out and take a stroll along the beach, then drive on to Hout Bay along the beautiful coastal road. You may want to have lunch at one of the many popular eateries in the City - one of my favourites is Royale in Long Street and Dear Me, also in Cape Town CBD. Going up Table Mountain is awesome, but if you have a bee in your bonnet, walking up lions head is also stunning. Make sure to grab an artisan coffee at Truth or Bean There at some point, and try to squeeze in a dinner reservation at La Coloumbe if you are into fine dining.
Two days and one nightFabulous, so you get to spend a smidgen longer. You want to try and work an awesome breakfast into the equation - So breaky at Café Neo in Mouille Point is scrumptious really and the place has wifi, so you can catch up on your email at the same time. A glorious drive along the coast as previously mentioned will serve you well, perhaps you may even want to stop off at Snoekies in Hout Bay for some authentic fish and chips in newspaper - Its off the hook - no pun intended. If you are looking for a nice spot for drinks after dinner - You should check out Tjing Tjing bar in the CBD (its above Dear Me, that I told you about above) also an awesome whiskey bar is Bascule, at the Cape Grace. Hooray! And then you still have another day to hang out - So check out the V&A Watefront - but dont dilly dally for too long as you have some more to see.You need to have a quick walk up and down Long Street, to look at the local designers and all they have on offer... Depending on how long you spent shopping you should make a point of checking out some of our heritage sites - We have the Iziko natural museum and gallery plus the Planetarium, which is loads of fun.
Three to five daysSo in three days you would have covered the basics and no doubt you would have made friends with a couple of locals. If you have not managed to go up the mountain yet, you should now make a point of getting to the top of the table top. You would also have managed to get a taste of some yummy wines in the restaurants which should have tweaked your interest regarding the winelands - You need to make a list of about three or four farms you want to visit and plan a day trip out to Stellenbosch and/or Franschhoek - But if you plan on going to Franschhoek you are opening a whole extra can of worms. You can NOT go to Franschhoek and not have both lunch and supper there - four of South Africas top restaurants are in Franschhoek, its very romantic and heady.You should also at this stage make a point of ferrying across to Robben Island, lets not kid - its a tough trip, but you will walk away understanding South Africa a hell of a lot better and will feel inspired by the courage and strength of our Tata Madiba.
