On our two week trip to South Africa we spent five Nights in Cape Town. I though five Nights in Cape Town were the perfect amount of days to spend in this stunning city, you will need at least four days to explore this stunning, diverse city and its surroundings.
Below you can find our day to day itinerary:
Day 1: We arrived late at night the evening before so we kind of had a sleep in this day, before we went to the Table Mountain. We bought the tickets for the cable car online during breakfast and we were good to go. We installed the über app as we did not have a car in Cape Town. Über worked perfectly and was super cheap (sometimes the rides did not even cost € 1). We had a super clear day when we visited the Table Mountain so we really lucked out with the views. I loved strolling around for a few hours, enjoying the views and nature of Table Mountain!
In the afternoon we did a street art tour of the Woodstock neighborhood. I think it is good to add this tour to your itinerary because it really shows you the other side of the glamour of Cape Town. I would not recommend going unguided, we had some locals hassling us and our guide was able to sent them away.
In the evening we had dinner at The Silo Hotel in the V&A Waterfront. The Silo Hotel is a super expensive design hotel, but the food is super affordable. I think we paid about € 80 for a dinner for four including wine, so that should not stop you from experiencing this amazing restaurant. You will be treated royally and with humor!
Day 2: On our second day we did a cycling tour with City Cycle Tours. Cycling was a fun way to get to know Cape Town and we had a great guide. Our guide Pedro explained so much about the history, religion and culture of Cape Town and South Africa, that I would recommend taking this tour on one of your first days as it really helps you understand African culture. We also cycled through Bo Kaap with its pastel colored houses. To be honest I liked visiting Bo Kaap with a guide as well, as it felt a little more rough on the edges than I expected.
In the afternoon we visited the Camps Bay area for a walk on the beach. We were visiting Cape Town during the water crisis (so no water in the pool) so we thought it would be a good idea to visit the rock pool of Cape Town. However this water is definitely for dare devils as the Atlantic Ocean is cold year-round. Camps Bay has a lot of rooftop restaurants, so this is a good opportunity to watch the sunset during dinner time.
Day 3: In the morning we went paragliding from Signall Hill, with great views over Cape Town, the Atlantic Ocean and the Camps Bay area. We were originally set to do paragliding on day 2 in the afternoon but we couldn’t because of strong winds. If you want to undertake this activity I would factor in some time, just in case your tour gets canceled. The paragliding was not scary at all and even my mother participated!
In the afternoon we went on our Robben Island tour and I was really disappointed by this tour. The tour through the prison was really rushed and you hardly received time for questions. In the end we were thrown in the bus and were driving on Robben Island for over an hour and I felt like I learned nothing new about Nelson Mandela. Given the super inspiring story of Nelson Mandela the tour was a wasted opportunity. I wish I had listened to the bad reviews. In the evening we went to the V&A foodmarket for dinner. As some areas of Cape Town are unsafe at night I liked being able to walk around “free” at the V&A waterfront.
Day 4: On day 4 we rented a car to explore the surroundings of Cape Town. We visited the Cape of Good Hope national park, Simon’s town with the penguin colonies and Muizenberg with the colorful beach houses. We had Bobotie for lunch at the Cape Farmhouse Restaurant in a beautiful garden. To be able to visit all the place we had done, you definitely need a car for a full day. It is also an option to do this tour with an Über driver that you like (which is probably cheaper).
In the evening we had dinner at Mama Africa in the city center of Cape Town. This restaurant is somewhat of an institution and is decorated in a traditional African style. It was fun to visit this touristy restaurant, we arrived around opening time to secure a table, but it definitely was not the best food we had in South Africa. The steaks were a little plain and not of good price-value.
Day 5: On our fifth day in South Africa we traveled to the other side of the country, to Hoedspruit to experience a different part of South Africa. Before we traveled back to the Netherlands we also visited the Stellenbosch area and its wineries. You can read more about that here.
Depending on the season that you are visiting you can combine Cape Town with the Garden Route. We visited in South African autumn where there were no flowers and there would be no whales, so we decided to skip the Garden Route.