I will be taking my family with two children (ages 7 and 10) to Cape Town next month for five days. We have never been there before. I have a few questions.
1. Hotels. In order of price, the Radisson is about $140, Sheraton $220, Mt. Nelson $260, and Cape Grace or Table Bay $325 and up. In terms of location, safety and family friendliness, what would you recommend?
2. Can we do without a rental car? Is walking and or taxi availability OK?
3. Safety. Any specific precautions?
4. Day trips/tours. Recommendations?

Thanks for your help.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GB:
1. Hotels. In order of price, the Radisson is about $140, Sheraton $220, Mt. Nelson $260, and Cape Grace or Table Bay $325 and up. In terms of location, safety and family friendliness, what would you recommend?</font>

Personally, if I were traveling with a family, I'd go with a guesthouse (local equivalent of B&B). You'll save $$$ - expect low season prices (and right now is middle of the winter there) to be about 400 - 500 Rand per night ($50-60). Several areas have a good selection of such guesthouses (e.g., Sea Point, Constantia, etc). Prices include sumptuous breakfast and you can order dinner (either served in your room or downstairs with the owner's family) for almost nothing (50-80 Rand per person). Do a google search and you'll find many suitable options.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GB:
2. Can we do without a rental car? Is walking and or taxi availability OK? </font>

You can do without a rental car, but do not count on being able to walk much outside of touristy areas like V&A Waterfront. Taxis are plentiful, and reasonably priced. Many hotels only allow particular taxi companies to serve their guests (safety reasons are usually cited). If you choose to rent a car, keep in mind that traffic in Cape Town is heavy and you'll have to drive on the left side of the road.


<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GB:
4. Day trips/tours. Recommendations?</font>

Wine Country is a must-see, as is the Garden Route. Cape of Good Hope is a great place to spend a day. Taking a train from Muizenberg to Simon's Town is an unforgettable experience (the train goes right along the ocean, within a few yards in some places). Visit Boulders Beach in Simon's Town to watch a colony of penguins.

If you need recommendation on a good local tour operator, e-mail me.

DISCLAIMER: I've never stayed at this place, I just read about it at frommers.com (which recommended them).

De Waterkant (http://www.dewaterkant.com/) has three different areas of villa-style furnished apartments to rent. I think with a family the space might be nice. Some even have pools, or washers and dryers.

De Wanterkant Village has prices that range from 1060 ZAR to 2300 ZAR. The 1060 ZAR rate is about equal to $140/night. The Waterfront Village has prices that range from 2300 to 4600 ZAR. This is for four people in a 2-bedroom place. I'm not sure if there's a discount for children.

There's also some villas in Camp Bay.

I can recommend the Cullinan hotel. 4* hotel with a nice location. www.southernsun.co.za (http://www.southernsun.co.za)

One additional "must see" is the cable car to the top of Table Mountain.

You must check this search engine for B&B and other accomodation in South Africa.

http://www.portfoliocollection.com/

It is absolutely necessary to rent a car if you want to see Cape Town and the environs the best way. Why take a tour when you can take yourself and have more fun too.Taxi companies are all overpriced. Avoid like the plague.

Traffic is very light compared to other major cities in the world and yes you drive on the left.Just remember to move over to the Left shoulder (inside the yellow line) when someone comes up behind you. It is a common courtesy.

I would recommend a guesthouse over a hotel for family. check out www.capeinfo.com (http://www.capeinfo.com)

Enjoy your Stay!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by catch22:
It is absolutely necessary to rent a car if you want to see Cape Town and the environs the best way. Why take a tour when you can take yourself and have more fun too.</font>

I wouldn't quite agree with that. It's necessary to have a car available to you (especially to see the environs), but it's not necessary to rent one. Several local tour operators offer private tours, which can be completely custom-tailored. You will be driven around in a car, and not need to adjust to driving on the other side of the road. Not to mention, that there are many places where you would not want to go by yourself, without a knowledgeable local guide (e.g., townships). Well worth the expense, IMHO.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by catch22:
Taxi companies are all overpriced. </font>

Not to someone accustomed to cab prices in the US... http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif

Eugene, cab prices in Cape Town are really a ripoff any way you look at it.For the price of an airport transfer by cab one can rent a car.
Sure, Tour operators can get people around -but IMHO it is wasted money. For less than the price of a half day group tour one can rent a brand new car and have complete freedom to go when and where one pleases. Maps are provided and Cape Town is an extremely easy and pleasant place to get around. I would disagree that there are many places that one doesn't want to go as these are normally completely off the normal visitor routes (Townships)- and anyway you won't find very many of the tour operators who actually go into them. There are specialist operators who do. Most hotels and guesthouses will tell you where and where not to go-like any big city in the world.
Driving on the left is no big deal. I learned to drive on the right http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

catch22 -- Perhaps, different strokes for different folks. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

Having a car with a driver in an unknown city, with the traffic on the opposite side of the road is well worth an additional (not that high, either) expense IMHO, especially for someone coming for just a week with two children. And yes, no matter how you slice it, there are numerous areas in Cape Town where you do not want to find yourself without a local, and townships is just one of them. I don't know how many operators do township tours, but the one I was using did an excellent job, and it was an eye-opening experience. From what he told me, unfortunately, very few white South Africans ever go there.

And I agree with you on the price of an airport transfer by cab being out of proportion compared to other costs in Cape Town, but it is not that high either compared to what we are accustomed to paying in many cities in the US and Europe. Again, arranging for an airport pickup with a local tour guide would be a cheaper option.

Also, I have not used such services myself, but I was told that some guesthouses arrange for both airport pickups/drop-offs, and private car tours of your choosing.

catch22 -
Since you're from Cape Town, can you provide me some indications of driving times and recommendations for wineries?

We'll be staying in Sea Point for a week and will have a rental car. We're planning on driving the Cape of Good Hope loop, as well as heading out to the wineries - each on separate "day trips". There was also a possibility of going out to Hermanus to watch whales as a day trip, but is this advisable? Is it too far to do as a "day trip"?

And, again, any wineries in Stellenbosh you would recommend or suggest we avoid completely? Initially, we were thinking of Lanzerac, but any others we should not miss?

Finally, we'll actually be picking our car up in George and staying a couple of nights in Knysna before heading to Cape Town. How long should that take us (driving time), assuming we didn't stop along the way (although, we intend to if we see interesting stuff)?

Thanks in advance for any tips! Cheers -

pdxasFlyer

Knysna to Cape Town by car takes no more than 6 hours at posted speeds.(Posted=slowest) After Mossel Bay you pull in from the coast and do not see it for 5 hours until you get to Cape Town. Rolling boring dry farmland is all there is.
You may want to take a detour to Cape Agulas -The real point where 2 oceans meet or stop and check out Arniston- a real must.

Hermanus is just over an hours drive from Cape Town on the N2 so it is just fine for a day trip. You can carry on to Gansbaii and swim with Great White Sharks... if you are fearless of the cold water. If you don't see the whales there,off Hermanus, catch them on the coastal route back to Town via Bettys Bay and Kleinmond-this adds an extra hour drive but well worth the stunning scenery.You can see the Penguin Colony at Bettys Bay.

The winelands of Stellenbosch, Franschoek, Wellington and Paarl are all just over an hour drive from Seapoint-which by the way, is an excellent base for a week. Just don't wander around at night there because of possible petty crime. Other than that- it's perfectly safe.

I will email you some suggestions of places to hit and others to miss.

Have a ball!

Thanks for the info, catch22.

Since this is getting somewhat off-topic from the original poster's info, I'm starting a new topic. Please go there for additional q's.

Thanks again!