The guide
Getting Ready for Our Wedding
A Cape Town travel and accommodation guide, prepared for our guests by Travel House Africa.
Staying in Cape Town
Accommodation
Many of you are travelling to be with us, and we would love your trip to be an easy one. We have put together a guide with Travel House Africa covering where to stay and how to make the most of Cape Town while you are here.
Who to speak to
Travel House Africa
Travel House Africa are helping our guests with accommodation and travel arrangements. Do get in touch with them directly — they know exactly what we are planning.
- Telephone
- 082 924 5949
Where to stay
Finding somewhere
Travel House Africa can arrange everything for you. If you would rather sort it out yourself, Airbnb is very widely used in Cape Town and is usually the easiest way to find somewhere — particularly if you are staying a week or two and would like a kitchen and some space. These are the areas we would point you towards.
Green Point
Walking distance to the V&A Waterfront, and plenty of restaurants on your doorstep.
Sea Point
The promenade along the sea is lovely, and it is the best value of the coastal suburbs.
Camps Bay
Beach and mountain on either side of you. Busy in February, and worth it for the sunsets.
Bantry Bay
Quieter than Camps Bay, with the same sea views. A short drive from everything.
Clifton
Four sheltered beaches below the road, and the calmest swimming in the city.
Getting around
Getting around
Uber works very well in Cape Town — it is reliable, inexpensive by most standards, and what almost everyone uses to get around the city. Download the app before you arrive and you will not need a hire car for the city itself.
You may still want a car for a day or two if you plan to drive the coast or go out to the winelands.
Cape Town
While you are here
Many of you are making a trip of it, so here is what we would tell any friend coming to Cape Town for the first time.
February is our high summer and the busiest month of the year. The restaurants below, the Table Mountain cableway and the Robben Island ferry are all worth booking before you fly.
The classics
Things you should not miss
Table Mountain
Cableway to the top, or walk up Platteklip Gorge. It closes in high wind, so go on the first clear, still morning you get rather than saving it for later in the week. Book online and skip the queue.
Robben Island
The ferry leaves from the V&A Waterfront and the tours are led by former political prisoners. Half a day, weather dependent, and it sells out — book well ahead.
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
Gardens running up the back of Table Mountain, with a canopy walkway through the treetops. There are open-air concerts on summer Sunday evenings — bring a picnic and a blanket.
Zeitz MOCAA
Contemporary African art inside a converted grain silo at the Waterfront. The building alone is worth the visit.
Bo-Kaap
The brightly painted streets on the slope above the city, and the small museum that tells the community's story. Best on foot.
V&A Waterfront
The working harbour turned into shops and restaurants. Where the Robben Island ferry leaves from, and an easy first afternoon.
Coast and mountain
Out of the city
Lion's Head
About two hours up and back, with the whole city and both coastlines beneath you. Sunset and full-moon walks are a Cape Town ritual — take a torch.
Boulders Beach
The African penguin colony at Simon's Town, roughly an hour out along the False Bay coast. Boardwalks over the dunes, and you get very close.
Cape Point
The old lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula, with cliffs on three sides. Combine it with Boulders and Chapman's Peak and you have a full, glorious day.
Chapman's Peak Drive
The coast road carved between Hout Bay and Noordhoek. A toll road, occasionally closed after heavy rain, and one of the great drives anywhere.
Clifton and Camps Bay
Clifton's Fourth is the sheltered one and the calmest swimming. Camps Bay for a drink as the sun goes down behind the Atlantic.
Muizenberg
The row of painted bathing huts, and the gentlest waves in the Cape — where most people in this city learned to surf.
The winelands
An hour from town
Vergelegen
Where we are getting married, and open to visitors the rest of the time. If you arrive early, go and walk the gardens and sit under the camphor trees before the wedding day.
Babylonstoren
A working farm with extraordinary gardens near Simondium. Book the garden tour and lunch well ahead — it is no secret.
Boschendal
One of the oldest farms in the country. Picnics under the trees in summer, and a proper farm shop.
Franschhoek Wine Tram
Hop-on hop-off between estates on an open tram. The civilised way to taste wine all day without anyone having to drive.
Delaire Graff
Perched above the Helshoogte pass outside Stellenbosch. Go for lunch and sit outside — the view across the valley is the whole point.
Where to eat
A few we love
La Colombe
Constantia. The one people plan a trip around. Book weeks ahead, and go hungry.
FYN
City centre. Cape ingredients through a Japanese lens, and regularly named among the best restaurants in Africa.
Salsify at the Roundhouse
An old hunting lodge on the slope above Camps Bay. Worth it for the setting before you even eat.
The Pot Luck Club
Woodstock. Small plates at the top of a converted silo, with the city laid out below.
Chef's Warehouse
Tapas for two, no menu to choose from and no fuss. Several locations, including one out at Beau Constantia with a view.
Kloof Street House
A rambling Victorian house with a candlelit garden. Romantic, and easy to get into.
Harbour House
Kalk Bay. Seafood with the waves breaking against the window. Pair it with a drive along the False Bay coast.
The Codfather
Camps Bay. No menu — you walk to the counter, pick your fish, and they cook it.
Grand Africa Café & Beach
A beach club on imported sand at the old harbour. Long lunches, feet in the sand.