Cape Town is one of the premier travel destinations in the world and offers a wide array of choice as far as travel highlights are concerned. If, however, you really want to embrace the city and her people, it is best to do it slowly and independently.
No public transport to talk of
Although the city is in the process of beefing up the negligible public transport options in time for the FIFA World Cup in 2010, there aren’t really any feasible alternatives for travellers at the moment. Public trains and buses do run, but are generally dedicated links between the suburbs and the central business districts.
It is far more sensible to opt for car rental and indulge the senses with a slow and slumberous self drive sojourn – not only does car hire allow you to reveal some of the more distant gems of the city and its surrounds, but it effectively permits you to enjoy all the sights and sounds without the constraints of time or irritating travelling companions you have recently met.
Incorporate Cape Town’s pace into the travel itinerary
Cape Town is one South African city renowned for its relaxed atmosphere and the ‘chill’ factor not only emanates from the people themselves but is very much a part of the overall lifestyle. Don’t expect harassed waitrons rushing around at restaurants - the cuisine will be fabulous but you may have to wait a tad longer for it than in most other cities in the world. This is the pace of Cape Town, a pace all tourists should incorporate into their travel itineraries – as the old adage advises “When in Rome, do as the Romans do...”
Many of Cape Town’s natural attractions are unique to the world and deserve to be explored at a slow and gentle pace. The hectares and hectares of mountainside encrusted with the world renowned Cape Fynbos, or tracts of indigenous flowers and plants, should, for example, be discovered on a stroll up the mountainside or an excursion to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
The Cape Winelands deserve more than a day
The Cape Winelands deserves more than a day – many of the less commercialised wine estates, offering some of the best produced tipple, are slightly farther afield and off the beaten track.
These estates may be less popular and frequented by the large tour operators - another great reason to include them into your self-drive itinerary - but they will also spend more quality time with you, the visitor. They may well take you on a guided tour of the entire estate with the cellar master himself revealing the secrets of the wine-making process, something that rarely happens today on the more commercial farms in the Paarl/Stellenbosch region.
Then there the far flung beaches, that all have their own unique appeal. The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve is where the mystical Cape Point is located and the dozens of pubs, sidewalk cafes, restaurants and night clubs are all well worth a visit. Cape Town is not a city where a fleeting visit will suffice; it is a city that demands to be exposed in a slow and graceful manner.
Source: Article Base
Cape Town Tours
