Cape Town

Holiday Destinations / Africa / South Africa / Travel Guide / Cape Town

Increasingly, Cape Town is the most popular destination for visitors to South Africa. As the country’s oldest city   and boasting  one of the world’s most iconic landscapes at the foot of Table Mountain and the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, this multicultural, cosmopolitan “Mother City” is at  the centre of the nation’s rich, multi-stranded history and heritage, offering a wealth of culinary experiences, unique shopping and – not least – a palette of activities and adventures second to none.

It is renowned for its vast tracts of nature parks and reserves, where its Mediterranean climate nurtures the Cape Floral kingdom – the smallest but richest, most diverse of all the earth’s botanical biomes –  as well as one of the world’s most beautiful (and some say one of the best) wine producing areas anywhere. There are over 200 different vineyards and cellars centered around Stellenbosch, Franschoek and Paarl – literally within a stone’s-throw of the city.

The city’s suburbs include many unique, often stunning attractions; Groot and Klein Constantia, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens (undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in the world) Hout Bay and Chapman’s Peak Drive. The suburbs line both the cold Atlantic and warm Indian Ocean coasts which terminate at the end of the African Continent at the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point – the merging point of the two mighty oceans.

For extreme sport fans there are few cities that offer such a variety and mix of attractions within the city limits, and so close to each other; from mountain hiking, climbing and abseiling to surfing the wild Atlantic rollers, or swimming with the sharks.

The city prides itself as being the fashion and culinary leader of the country, with a wealth of restaurants catering to all budgets and tastes, and a hectic nightlife – from the somewhat ‘touristy’ Waterfront, to  Green Point, Long and Kloof Streets in the city centre,  student-life enclaves like Rondebosch, or the bohemian tinged Waterkant Village. Further afield Camps Bay offers a more laid-back approach to wine tasting and dining. For further reading, the Cape Town Magazine publishes almost everything the city and region has to offer.

Savannah and Karoo semi-deserts further inland offer natural reserves with all the African Game and animals one could ever wish to see, including the “Big Five”, and all within easy reach of the city

We know South Africa from personal experience and have done ourselves most of the activities we recommend here. If you’d like more information, tips and advice, and help planning and booking your holiday in South Africa, feel free to get in touch by chat, phone, videoconference, or email. We are always here to help.

Abe.
Travel Designer and Founder at Travelisto