Having called SF home for many recent years, and Cape Town as my go-to city, living two hours away by flight, I see many similarities between the two cities. But not everything.

There is much more of an openness to Cape Town (not as dense as SF, certainly nor as dense as it's planned to be...) with an abundance of outdoor activities. SF has that - if you leave the city. The Waterfront is impressive and rather mixed in its offerings. Agree with others - locals and tourists alike go there. There is the gay area, but I would be hesitant to call it a scene (for better or worse) than say SF. Cape Town is still part of South Africa and very much has its share of theft, robberies and such, yes the load shedding "blackouts" - but no where to the magnitude the media portrays it to be. And though gay life is abundant in CT, probably moreso than anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa, you would be wise to limit affections and such in many places, UNlike San Francisco.

It would be a shame to not visit Cape Town on your visit to southern Africa