Paternoster to Cape Town.
 

Hi.

I'm visiting Cape Town next month and I would love to do a day trip up the coast to Paternoster.

I can book an Uber from Cape Town with no issues and for a reasonable price, but coming back seems to be an issue.

There's no Uber drivers in the area any time I try and do a mock booking so see availability.

Is there a local bus service?

I don't want to be stranded. I asked for advice on the Trip Adviser forum and a few people suggested a private hire driver for the day but the quotes I got through for that were very, very expensive. That's not an option for me a solo traveller.

I am not even planning on staying very long, maybe 3 or 4 hours. The Uber driver on the way down might be interested in staying put and waiting on me instead of coming back himself empty but that would depend on a lot of factors at his end (lost money, other plans etc).

I really want to go to Paternoster but just really struggling for a solution that gets me back to Cape Town.

Any advice is appreciated.

try small towns South Africa on facebook. Lots of good info there. Renting a car is a good option.

Sorry for taking a while in replying (only allowed 5 comments a day due to being new).

Renting a car is out of the question for me as I don't have a driving licence and I like to have a few drinks.

I'll try that Facebook page though.

Ask your accommodation in Cape Town if they have anyone. Chances are very high they will be able to recommend.

I would not recommend a taxi (which is the name for a shared minibus) unless you are highly experience and have good local knowledge. Organised bus or coach travel is pretty limited in SA - main routes and cities only.

What is it about Paternoster in particular that makes you want to visit? If it is a pain to get to, maybe we can suggest an alternative nearer Cape Town.

I’ve spent a couple of nights there and it was nice watching the sun set over the sea, but it was just a little seaside town on a nice beach and there are lots of those on the Cape Peninsula. I think some might even be accessible with the Hop On Hop Off Bus, or at least an Uber might be more reliable. Maybe look at Kommetjie, or even Bloubergstrand with its view back to Table Mountain is a nice shorter trip.

I’m sure others would have some good ideas.

+1 to both above.

Another thing I've found with Uber drives in CPT is that they often want to work with you on providing a return trip outside of the Uber-driver-passenger-app-ecosystem and just have you pay them cash for the return trip. On many an occasion, I or my SA hosts have taken the driver up on such an offer w/o issue. This has generally been intra-CPT say from close in suburbs to a restaurant and return. YMMV.

It's just somewhere I really, really like the look of. It's a gut thing for me, once I get a feeling for a place then I want to go.

I do have other nice places looked out too. I'm there for 4-5 days. Camps Bay and Hout Bay are on my list. I'll spend a day each there.

I'm staying in an Apartment in the city centre. If there's a concierge service or similar I will be sure to ask for advice - thanks.

If you do make it, have lunch at Gaaitjie Restaurant. It’s right on the beach and has beautiful views. Enjoy your trip!

Thanks mate. I've seen that restaurant actually doing my research. Looks good :D