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Best Way to Book Excursions in Cape Town / Travel Agent Recommendation

Best Way to Book Excursions in Cape Town / Travel Agent Recommendation

Old Mar 21, 2014, 4:50 pm
  #1  
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Best Way to Book Excursions in Cape Town / Travel Agent Recommendation

Hello All,

My Fiance and I are spending nine nights in Cape Town in September as part of our honeymoon. Flights and hotels are all booked. The only thing we need help with are excursions. We want to do more activities than normal through tour groups as we are going out of our way to be more cautious than normal in Cape Town. We have a long list of things to do - from a trip up table mountain and a tour of the wine lands to shark cage diving and horseback riding. Typically if I want to take any type of excursion I just book things directly with the company as I find most travel agents are more expensive, but will want suggestions for most reputable companies in SA. Does anyone have any suggestions of a travel agent, either local in the US or in CPT, that they would recommend for booking all of these excursions? If it matters, we're staying at the Hilton Cape Town (not sure on their concierge for things like this.)

TIA!
CFFrost is offline  
Old Mar 22, 2014, 4:06 am
  #2  
 
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I can't answer your question but I was there in September last year and would recommend having back up plans for your activities.

Most days the boats for whale watching and cage diving were not operating due to weather. Similarly Table Mountain was fog bound on many days.

Depending on your preferences, there's plenty of other stuff to do but just be prepared to change your plans when you wake up and look out the window.
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Old Mar 22, 2014, 3:20 pm
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I was there a few weeks ago. If you do book excursions, that's cool I met one couple who did so. But I don't think you need to for all of the things you mention.

1. Many people rented cars, you might consider getting one as it was very common.

2. Table mountain: Close to the city, easily reachable by taxi or bus. If you look into other posts here, the MyCiti bus is very usable and runs to the airport and seems pretty safe. The mountain ride closes if it is windy. Check the reports for weather, and usually the mornings have the best visibility from what I understand. On my trip it was closed in the afternoons on the first two days I was in CPT. Our shark boat captain said they sometimes close it with people up on top and they have to stay the night at the lookout. I don't know if that is verifiable, but when you get to the top keep an eye out for weather too I guess and head down if it looks bad. Buying your ticket online for this should save you time in the queue for tickets, but there is still a queue for the ride itself.

3. Shark diving: For booking, the company you choose can provide a pickup either one way or round trip for an additional fee. I used the one way pickup, since it is an early morning start. It was around $35 I think one way, and $50 RT. Going back to the city, I took the train. It allowed me to walk about a mile to the Penguin beach, then about 1.5 miles back to the train station, and the train is about an hour ride and less than $3. I did all my booking for the trip and the ride through email, and found the train info online. Some people on my boat had cars, and others had arranged for their driver or their hostel to pick them up after, so I don't think this should be hard to arrange. I think you can combine the Shark Dive with a wine tour as they are both outside the city.

For choosing your dive, there are two areas for shark dives. I went to Simon's Town. It seems more famous, but it was a big mistake. The websites said it was open earlier than usual this year. Unfortunately earlier than usual did not mean that it was near normal. My boat didn't even let anyone in the water, and right away after leaving the dock the captain said he didn't think we would dive he just hoped we would see some sharks. I was not pleased, as I had no desire to just go on a boat ride. It was extremely windy, the day before and after me they did not even go out. We did see one shark for about 30 seconds. They gave vouchers for a free trip another day in a year, or offered people around 40% off. Your time of year it might only be one or the other available, but my advice for this is email and ask lots of questions about what is going on and if they are diving or just viewing etc. and choose between Simon's Town and Gansbaai after lots of info and communication. The company was friendly and easy to talk with, and was honest about the weather. I was not able to go a different time of year, but I should have gone to Gansbaai instead.
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Old Mar 22, 2014, 4:41 pm
  #4  
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Thanks for both of your insights.

We are planning on being flexible in our plans, as I know some things will be weather dependent. We will also have a car for part of the trip as we are driving the Garden Route, but we were planning on spending the first few days without a car and just doing pre-arranged activities that include transfer on those days.

Maverick - the issues you identify (re: diving that actually wasn't) are part of the reason why I want to find a reputable agent to assist with some of these bookings. In many places I can be a good gauge for what is and is not reputable - but I would not be a good judge of that in CPT and I would not always know the questions to ask (i.e., "does the cage diving include cage diving?" is not a question I would think to ask).

In any event, thanks for your thoughts. If anyone has any recommendations of companies they have used that would be appreciated. If not, I'll probably just book individually with various companies and rely on the concierge.
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Old Mar 22, 2014, 6:56 pm
  #5  
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Look at Tripadvisor under activities for Cape Town. You will find reviews of numerous activities/excursions.
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Old Mar 24, 2014, 1:38 am
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Originally Posted by CFFrost
Thanks for both of your insights.
Maverick - the issues you identify (re: diving that actually wasn't) are part of the reason why I want to find a reputable agent to assist with some of these bookings. In many places I can be a good gauge for what is and is not reputable - but I would not be a good judge of that in CPT and I would not always know the questions to ask (i.e., "does the cage diving include cage diving?" is not a question I would think to ask).
My long post was possibly a bit of rambling. Sorry about that.

To clarify for you or future readers, I did not mean to suggest that my crew was not legit. They are featured on several of the shark week videos with air jaws and so forth. In Simon's Town from what I learned chatting up my captain there are two operations that were partners in the 90's when it all started there, then they split into their own boats but remain friendly. Also there is a newer boat operation, for a total of 3 in Simon's Town. They all seem to be legit, it was just info that was not as readily available on the web from what I found that the "off day" would be not even getting in the water. No matter who you book with, if you go to Simon's Town you would likely end up with one of those two more experienced crews, or maybe less likely the new outfit.

So what I was trying to get at is communicate often with several operators before booking to see what the conditions are like normally that time of year, then when it is closer I'd pick a day early in your trip so if it is a bad day, you can use the voucher a few days later or something.
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Old Mar 24, 2014, 9:21 pm
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Originally Posted by CFFrost
Hello All,

My Fiance and I are spending nine nights in Cape Town in September as part of our honeymoon. Flights and hotels are all booked. The only thing we need help with are excursions. We want to do more activities than normal through tour groups as we are going out of our way to be more cautious than normal in Cape Town. We have a long list of things to do - from a trip up table mountain and a tour of the wine lands to shark cage diving and horseback riding. Typically if I want to take any type of excursion I just book things directly with the company as I find most travel agents are more expensive, but will want suggestions for most reputable companies in SA. Does anyone have any suggestions of a travel agent, either local in the US or in CPT, that they would recommend for booking all of these excursions? If it matters, we're staying at the Hilton Cape Town (not sure on their concierge for things like this.)

TIA!

We were in Capetown about 18 months ago at the Hilton and used their concierge service. They were very accommodating. We emailed many many times prior to our visit and they were responsive and fair. They even advised when it was cheaper for us to buy a ticket on the Internet vs them booking for us. They did transfers to and from the airport and we're willing to customize whatever we wanted. I wouldn't want to do tours with groups they will eat up too much time. We did Stellenbosch cape of good hope boulders beach Chapman peak drive in a day. Wine Country is very nice. Robben island takes a lot of time and table mountain can be iffy due to weather.
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Old Mar 26, 2014, 10:39 am
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I stayed at the Hilton, the staff was very helpful and great! As for you excursions, I would suggest if you would like see Robbens Island, you should pre-book that one, as it tends to sell out fast.
I arranged all my excursions before I left with Rhino Africa. But I was traveling by myself and I wanted to research the company before I booked anything. But on my trips, several others mentioned they booked theirs the day before.
I agree with worldiswide, you can do a lot of stuff on your own, especially if you are renting a car.
Happy travels.
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Old Mar 26, 2014, 6:23 pm
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Originally Posted by worldiswide
We were in Capetown about 18 months ago at the Hilton and used their concierge service. They were very accommodating. We emailed many many times prior to our visit and they were responsive and fair. They even advised when it was cheaper for us to buy a ticket on the Internet vs them booking for us. They did transfers to and from the airport and we're willing to customize whatever we wanted. I wouldn't want to do tours with groups they will eat up too much time. We did Stellenbosch cape of good hope boulders beach Chapman peak drive in a day. Wine Country is very nice. Robben island takes a lot of time and table mountain can be iffy due to weather.
Originally Posted by windycityf
I stayed at the Hilton, the staff was very helpful and great! As for you excursions, I would suggest if you would like see Robbens Island, you should pre-book that one, as it tends to sell out fast.
I arranged all my excursions before I left with Rhino Africa. But I was traveling by myself and I wanted to research the company before I booked anything. But on my trips, several others mentioned they booked theirs the day before.
I agree with worldiswide, you can do a lot of stuff on your own, especially if you are renting a car.
Happy travels.
Thanks for both of your thoughts and recommendations.

I think the reason we're planning on doing more things with groups than we would normally is for safety considerations i.e. fear of wandering/driving into the wrong area. Sticking with a guide would minimize that possibility. My travel partner is anxious about safety on this trip, so I'm agreeing to her terms and conditions.

I haven't yet decided if I would rent a car for the entire trip or just part of it. We're driving the Garden Route after Cape Town so we have the option to either have the car for the entire time or split the time in Cape Town with and without a car. I was planning on going the first few days without a car and doing our more organized/group/planned activities first, and getting a car a few days before we plan to leave Cape Town so we can do any activities that would require a car last.

Glad to hear that concierge and other staff at the Hilton are generally reliable and helpful.
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Old Mar 26, 2014, 7:45 pm
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We had the same concerns about safety and road conditions and drivers as well and we didn't have a lot of time and wanted to see a lot. I also agree with pre booking robben island and book the first tour of the morning so that you can adjust if necessary. We had issues with the outgoing boat and then on our return they brought a boat half the size so if you didnt get on you would have been waiting several more hours. Also although it was summer in capetown early december it was windy and cold on the water. Bring a windbreaker or light jacket. Table mountain can be hit or miss in germs of being open and is less expensive after 6pm which could also mean a beautiful sunset. The botanic gardens are also worth a visit if you like that sort of thing. The concierge can provide you with a driver and vehicle by the hour or the day. The driver was more than that really a guide and very good company since we were together for three days. It gets you used to the city and oriented so you will be more comfortable when you drive yourself. It's a good tradeoff. Don't miss wine country. It's really beautiful and has history and good food.

We really didn't feel more concerned in Capetown than in other big cities but we did exercise smart traveling. Didn't bring nice watches or jewelry . Didn't carry a lot of cash or all our credit cards at once. Used ATM in shopping mall. The Hilton is in an interesting area which we liked but is not the waterfront.

Let us know how things go with you. We are returning to Capetown and on to Namibia in October so I'd benefit from recent experiences. Congratulations on your impending wedding as well.
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Old Mar 27, 2014, 1:22 am
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All very good advice from worldiswide above!

Just to stress: Do the Table Mountain trip at the first possible opportunity. When it is too windy or cloudy, the cable car does not operate and that can - in extreme cases - be for days at a time!
The remark by the shark boat captain (maverick17's post) about people getting left behind on top is urban legend. If the weather deteriorates, they sound a siren to call you back to the upper cableway station. So no stress about that. And the alternative, walk down Platteklip Gorge, is relatively steep and not easy on the knees, but very doable. Wearing relatively sturdy shoes is a good idea anyway if you want to wander around on top a bit, away from the cableway and the restaurant. Its perfectly safe there. From below, the top - a bit away from the station - looks flatter than it actually is. Worth walking around a bit and spotting the rock rabbits ("Dassies").

Book the Robben Island ferry in advance. The ferry is notoriously unreliable and is often replaced by a smaller craft, in which case they won't sell any tickets on site.
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Old Mar 28, 2014, 1:23 pm
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Thanks again for everyone's thoughts. I had not considered the idea of hiring a driver for a few days - that could be helpful, actually.

I'll be sure to report back (I'll probably do some sort of trip report) and send it on to the people that have been particularly helpful in my planning and others who have requested an update.

The FT community really has been great in helping me work through all of the details. Thanks, again!
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Old Mar 28, 2014, 8:21 pm
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You are welcome. I've gained a lot of great information so I'm glad to pay back. Another plus for hiring a driver.. you can enjoy the wine tasting without concern. The Cape of good hope the peninsula drive and Chapman peak drive are great, but I wouldn't have wanted to drive it. We had a party of four so everyone got to enjoy instead of worrying about driving.

Looking forward to your trip report.
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Old Mar 28, 2014, 8:35 pm
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Originally Posted by worldiswide
You are welcome. I've gained a lot of great information so I'm glad to pay back. Another plus for hiring a driver.. you can enjoy the wine tasting without concern. The Cape of good hope the peninsula drive and Chapman peak drive are great, but I wouldn't have wanted to drive it. We had a party of four so everyone got to enjoy instead of worrying about driving.

Looking forward to your trip report.
That's the other reason we were looking at tours. Especially for wine country - I don't drive in Napa, why would I in CPT? With two people I think we might be better off with a tour group - but I'll took at all the options.
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Old Mar 28, 2014, 9:29 pm
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Just to play devils advocate, if you do a group you are locked in to their choices. With the driver, you have more choices and don't have to worry about a crowd. You can do research or We let the concierge choose for us and had a great variety of views and a really lovely spot for lunch. Dela ire Graff is really beautiful and might be a nice splurge for a honeymoon meal. Be sure to tell them you are on your honeymoon and ask for suggestions. That's their specialty.

We had to make really good use of time so in one day we went to stellenbosch 3 wineries incl
using a leisurely lunch and a drive to the cape point going up up both sides of the peninsula and a stop to see the penguins and we really didn't feel that rushed. Otoh robben island and table mountain alone took the better part of a day.

You will have a good time whatever you choose.
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