sambosa75 Posted 22 September, 2015 Share Posted 22 September, 2015 Anyone been? My girlfriend and I looking to go next July for our honeymoon. Originally had planned to only spend a week there before flying to the Seychelles for a week on the beach but now we are considering doing a whole two weeks in South Africa. Thinking along the lines of flying in to Cape Town, 2, 3 or 4 nights there before driving the garden route to Kruger over a few days, stay in Kruger for 3 or 4 days safari, perhaps Victoria falls after then back to Cape Town to fly back to UK. Any advice on places to stay/things to do/see whilst we are there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohio Saint Posted 22 September, 2015 Share Posted 22 September, 2015 (edited) While in Cape town, taking the cable car up Table Mountain is kinda compulsory. A trip to Cape point is also a must do. The peninsula is a nature reserve (gotta pay) and if you go to the very point, you get to say that you saw where the Atlantic meets the Indian ocean (The natural convergence, not the one on the maps) On a good day you can see turbulence where they clash. You can barbeque there, so take some meat and coals. I had an ostrich run over mine! Walk up Adderly street if you get a chance. Generally though, just drive around the high spots all around Table Mountain and you will see somewhere you want to go. It's beautiful. If you like wine, then the wine route is also compulsory and very pretty Edit: Things will have changed a LOT since I was there in the early 80's. Then, just as now, it is very important to find out from anyone you meet there which are the places to avoid totally. This is Africa. 'nuff said. Edited 22 September, 2015 by Ohio Saint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 22 September, 2015 Share Posted 22 September, 2015 wouldnt bother. very dangerous place. stay on the beaten track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goatboy Posted 22 September, 2015 Share Posted 22 September, 2015 wouldnt bother. very dangerous place. stay on the beaten track Boscombe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joneth Posted 22 September, 2015 Share Posted 22 September, 2015 Did the garden route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, via Stellenbosch for a wine tour, through the Klein Karoo to Oudtshoorn where we stayed at a really lovely place in the middle of nowhere tun by a French expat. Then went down to Mossel Bay to go swimming with the great wights, Plettenberg Bay and Knysna are nice little towns along the coast and then got to PE where they have the Addo reserve. Its a beautiful part of the world with loads to do. It's perfectly safe as long as you don't stop just because some geezer waves you down. If you end up on the east coast around Durban you can go up to Lesotho via the Sani Pass which is a pretty hectic drive although July is Winter so it might be too dangerous to go up then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 22 September, 2015 Share Posted 22 September, 2015 SA is a pretty big place. I wouldn't recommend driving between centres. Flying is fairly cheap, especially between the major cities. I would fly and hire a car at each location. Plenty of car hire and all the big operators are there. There is very little to see on the garden route, I wouldn't bother. It's nearly 800 km from CT to Port Elizabeth. There are more than enough wine tours around CT at Constantia and Stellenbosch if that's what floats your boat. Kruger park is also huge and sometimes you can go a long time without seeing much of interest. There are other alternatives and you could consider Pilanesberg reserve that is right next to Sun City. A good place to spend a few days. I prefer Pilanesberg over Kruger. There's some historical stuff around Jo'burg and Pretoria. The Apartheid museum and the cradle of mankind are interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shance Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 Been too Cape Town a couple of times and of all the places i've been Cape Town was probably the best. Cheap food and beer, beautiful place and ****loads to do. The V and A water front is gorgeous. There are loads of restaurants around there as well and the night life is great. The only downside is that the water is cold (as it's the Atlantic) and there are an incredible amount of great white sharks about. If you want somewhere quiet that is close to the hustle of Cape Town then Simons Town is ideal. It's only about 20/30 minutes from Cape Town but it.s on the other side of the cape so the currents come from the Indian Ocean which means the water is like a bath! Not a lot to do there though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Saint Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 I'm going in a month's time Fly to Cape Town, drive to Sambona game reserve for a couple of nights. Then to Franschoek (wine country) and will be getting the wine tram from estate to estate for a days tasting - apparently it is a foodie mecca as well. Then down to Simons town to see the penguins for a night - drive round cape Hope and then back to Cape Town. There - table mountain, Robben Island, Shark diving and maybe another trip back into wine country - stellenbosch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Saint Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 wouldnt bother. very dangerous place. stay on the beaten track For someone who served in the armed forces, you somewhat lack a sense of adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatch Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 Went to Cape Town for the 2010 WC, so things to do etc would have been a bit better what with the World Cup being on. Table Mountain was amazing. We had an armed guard for our trip from the airport to the hotel and vice versa. That shows how bad a place it must be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 For someone who served in the armed forces, you somewhat lack a sense of adventure. yeah, getting guns pulled on you is a great adventure for a holiday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shance Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 I'm going in a month's time Fly to Cape Town, drive to Sambona game reserve for a couple of nights. Then to Franschoek (wine country) and will be getting the wine tram from estate to estate for a days tasting - apparently it is a foodie mecca as well. Then down to Simons town to see the penguins for a night - drive round cape Hope and then back to Cape Town. There - table mountain, Robben Island, Shark diving and maybe another trip back into wine country - stellenbosch. It's so surreal in Simons Town, being on a boiling hot beach with flat calm blue waters and seeing penguins waddling around everywhere I also did the shark diving in Capetown. Make sure you take an underwater video camera. It's well worth it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Biscuits Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 Please see below for an informative video on South Africa [video=youtube_share;AIXUgtNC4Kc] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shance Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 yeah, getting guns pulled on you is a great adventure for a holiday Did you have a bad experience? I was there with the Royal Navy (served for 13 years) and the only bad thing we saw was a local woman drugging a friend to try and eventually steal his money. We cottoned onto it though and nipped it in the bud. The outskirts can be a bit dodgy but there's nothing out there anyway so just stay in the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 Did you have a bad experience? I was there with the Royal Navy (served for 13 years) and the only bad thing we saw was a local woman drugging a friend to try and eventually steal his money. We cottoned onto it though and nipped it in the bud. The outskirts can be a bit dodgy but there's nothing out there anyway so just stay in the city. which is my point. stay on the beaten track. Simonstown was better than cape town (IMO) getting guns pulled on you as you walk from your hotel, over the road to the maccy d's is pretty shyte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shance Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 Didn't see anything like that in Cape Town personally. Depends what you're looking for in a holiday. Simons Town is ok for a day or two but it's way to quiet. Cape town is amazing though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cynicalsaint Posted 23 September, 2015 Share Posted 23 September, 2015 Lived in Constantia for a year - great place. If you're sensible then its no riskier than any other big city. Top stuff to do? The townships just to get a sense of the place - we drove through a few (by mistake) and it was a little uncomfortable but you can get legit guided tours from the big hotels which are well worth doing. Waterfront for the nightlife. Bolders beach for the penguins. Franshoek / wine route is great for a couple of days. Paarl if you like golf (maybe not for a honeymoon though) and top red wine. Table mountain, obviously. Rhodes memorial - nice afternoon stroll. Lions Head for a great view back across the bay. Surfing at Muisenburg Garden route is great. Knysna and Plett both very nice and if its the right time of year the whales at mossel / false bay. Titsikama (sp) national park on the way up to PE and the wilderness both stunning - plenty of bungee opportunities along the way if you get the urge. Didnt like PE - would be tempted to fly up from there to mpumalanga then spend 4 or 5 days self drive around kruger staying the the national park axxomodation rather than one of the lodges outside. If thats your last stop you can either fly or drive back to joburg for the flight home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloydie Posted 24 September, 2015 Share Posted 24 September, 2015 (edited) Loved SA Cape Town and Simon's Town where we stayed for a couple of weeks were excellent. Go to: Boulders Beach, really one of the best beaches in the world for various factors. Table Mountain (We walked up - I was 19 at the time so a lot fitter than I am now - and got a cable car down). Green Market in Cape Town, great practice for haggling. also, Canal Walk shopping centre. Unlikely to be able to haggle there but still good shopping. The port area has a nice atmosphere, can see some 'ted bates statue-esqe' renditions of Mandela and Desmond tutu. If you can set time aside for it, see if you can get some shark cage diving booked in, a bit of a drive as the place we went was past Gordon's Bay but well worth it, cost about £1-200ish quid in 2009 so no idea what its like now. Food wise, try a stears(or steers) restaurant, a chain only in SA that's really decent. And as others said, get a rental car sorted and make sure it has air-con. Contrary to what Batman has said I actually found Cape Town really safe. But I suppose what he is saying about the beaten track is wise, depends on who you're with. I got a guided tour of the townships with a local vicar from there so was relatively safe but if you're white they really dont get alot of people that colour down there, you will definitely get looks no matter who you're with. Edited 24 September, 2015 by lloydie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Boy Saint Posted 24 September, 2015 Share Posted 24 September, 2015 Went a family wedding in SA 2 years ago, obviously helped having family who have been there for 25years, after the wedding we went the Kruger for a few days most enjoyable. It's a pretty big country so plan your driving and stops, although Batman paints a dark picture, I would say its best to plan to make your stop in daylight.......... Also plan your arrival into Kruger as they shut the gates to the camps before dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaffaSaint Posted 25 September, 2015 Share Posted 25 September, 2015 Lived in sa for 12 years and if you stay in the main areas and out of the townships its perfectly safe. Stunning country. Come to topiary wines in franschoek i will show you the cellars etc Sent from my GT-S5301 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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