Must do's in Jo,burg and Cape Town?

[scott555]

Before travelling up from SA to Kenya I have only 2 days in Jo'burg and 3 days in Cape Town.

I really want to see as much as I can in this short time and would love to know what you think are the must do things in these areas.

Joburg - Soweto tour? Pretoria trip? Rhino and Lion Park?

Cape Town - Robben Island? Hermanus whale trip? table mtn? boulder? winelands?

Also flights between the two cities - how reliable are the budget airlines?

[travel4eva]

The budget airlines are pretty reliable, I personally havent had any problems. The prices are pretty cheap too, I got an email from Kulula today advertising one way rates of around R400 between cpt and jhb.

In Cape Town, I would suggest trying to see some of the following:

Table Mountain - worth the view, experience and its not expensive. Its pretty cool watching the sunset from on top of the mountain with a bottle of wine which can be bought from the restaurant at the top.
Boulders Beach in Simon's Town to see the penquin colony. Its beautiful there, the penquins are also very cute to see. On the way there you can stop off in Simon's Town for some shopping. After Boulders you could also go on to the Cape Point national park, which is also very nice indeed
Visit Robben Island, this is worth the visit, but check first that the ferry is actually running, there has been complications recently. The place to board the ferry is in the V&A Waterfront, which is a great place to shop too, so while you are there you can pickup some gifts.
Kirstenbosch Gardens is a great place to spend a few hours, have a picnic and relax, you might not have time for this one on your trip though.
Watch out for the whale watching in Hermanus, its around an hour and a half drive from Cape Town, but wont be worth it if the whales are not around. Check first, they start appearing around July / August, but can be seen just as easily in Fish Hoek if you are strapped for time.
The winelands is great if you can go on an organised wine tour. Ferdinands Tours is really great, lots of fun and excellent value for money. Be prepared to visit around 4-5 farms, have a few cellar tours, learn about wine, and get slightly intoxicated (full day tour)

Enjoy the trip!
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[apoint]

In addition, for a real experience of South African Cultural Richness, I highly would recommend you visit at least one cultural village. Just to name a Few :

Kleinplasie Living Open Air Museum in the Western Cape
DumaZulu Traditional Village & Lodge in KwaZulu Natal
Isinamva Cultural Village in the Eastern Cape
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[robertb]

I'd say travel4eva has Cape Town pretty much wrapped up; I did all the trips mentioned and they were all really good, although I did it all self-drive, no tour, so I have no idea what the tours are like.
If you do go to Boulders Beach watch a bit of the video in the visitor centre, it's pretty funny.
I also did a cage dive with the sharks which was great, but you may not agree with the ethics of that.
I drove through Soweto in Jo'burg, visiting all the sites. Despite our precautions we still got slightly lost! However, with a bit of care you should be ok.
Went to the Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto which is fascinating and very moving.
In the evenings the thing to do there appears to be to go to the big Mall-type places, like MonteCasino and surround, or to Sandton City with all the restaurants in Nelson Mandela Square.
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[davidbe]

You guys already covered all the tourist attractions. I see apoint mentioned Klienplasie - that's actually in the town that I come from called Worcester and it's about an hour outside of Cape Town. I's say that if you only have 3 days then it won't be worth while visiting Klein plasie. It will take to much of your time and there's a lot of attractions in Cape Town that you can rather go and visit.

The airlines is fine and I have never had a problem. I'd say you should o to a comparison website if you want to fine the best deal. One of them is Travel Start. You can just Google it.

But I prefer going on Kulula. Always had a good experience with them. Not really very fond of 1Time as I've had a lot of delays with them. Mango's airplanes are really small. So it's up to you!
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David Bester
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[Kodak64]

Hi David please get your facts right.

Mango operate Boeing 737-800's and they always have, these aircraft are quite a bit bigger than Kulula's Boeing 737-300 and 737-400's. Kulula recently got their first 2 Boeing 737-800's. 1Time operate Douglas MD-80's. In saying that I do agree that Kulula is the best low cost airline in Souh Africa but that is my personal opinion.
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Ian

[davidbe]

Ian, no reason to get all attacking on the forum. Like I say that was my personal opinion. The only time I was on a Mango plane, I didn't have a lot of leg space so that's when I said that I prefer going on Kulula where I had good experiences.
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David Bester
http://besttravelinsurancequote.co.uk

[pierrejacques]

[Judi]

If you have three full days in Cape Town I would suggest a day exploring the town itself taking in the markets and harbour area and then spend the afternoon ascending Table Mountain. The next day your could head out to Boulders bay to see the penguins and stunning views out to sea. Finish off with a full day in the winelands and enjoy cellar tours and mountain biking in the fresh air. There are also cheetah sanctuaries nearby if you have the time. Whale watching is dependant on season of travelling.

I hope this helps.
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[African Sands]

Hi there,

There is so much to see and do in SA – you will certainly want to stay longer!

For your 2 days in Jo'burg I would suggest

Day 1 – do a Soweto township tour and include the Museum Africa. Perhaps enjoy a unique lunch at one of the Shabeen’s in Soweto! Make sure you go with a reputable guiding firm on the tour to Soweto. I often use Jimmy’s Face to Face tours as they are the original Soweto tour guides.

Day 2 – Visit Pretoria as it will give you a unique insight into the Afrikaaner history of the country. The Voortrekker monument is worth a visit!

And for your 3 days in Cape Town I would suggest

Day 1: Cape Town city tour and Table Mountain. Try and do Table Mountain as soon as you can when the weather is good as this will give you a great perspective of how the city lies. It has great views from the top!

Day 2: Cape Point tour including Boulders Beach. Boulders Beach is the best place to see the resident Jackass penguins. They really are funny little creatures. Cape Point will give you the opportunity to see the “traditional” meeting place of the two oceans (although they really meet in Cape Agulhas, but because the 2 ocean currents often meet at Cape Point people often think they meet here), and will allow you to see the dramatically rocky peninsula. Take a walk to the old light house. It is worth it. Watch out for baboons.

Day 3: Winelands tour. Try and include Spier Wine Estate in Stellenbosch in your tour as they have the Cheetah Research Centre on their wine estate and you can get up close and personal with Cheetahs. You are able to have your photo taken with them which makes a nice memento.

Hermanus is great to do, but it depends on when you are travelling – June to November is whale Season. It is also about 1 ½ hour drive from Cape Town so it does take a full day to do.

Enjoy SA!
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[escapeww]

Hi,

When I was in Cape Town year before last I got the open top bus and it was FAB, went all around Cape Town and the V&A Waterfront and also down to Camps Bay!
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Darren
Escape Worldwide
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[Kieran_M]

Joburg - Soweto tour is a must! A lot of these tours include a visit to the Apartheid Museum which is quite an experience.

Cape Town - Table mountain (only on a clear day of course). Climb it one way for a rewarding experience (its about 2-3hours).
Boulders beach definitely worth a visit if the weathers nice just to swim with the penguins.
Robben island trips are dependent on weather conditions and very popular.
I'd also recommend a visit to Llandudno beach and Cape Point nature reserve.
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Kieran
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