Cape Town Travel Forum

I'll be going to Cape Town next month and have absolutely no idea on what to do when I get there.

* What is the weather like around Mid-March? Shall I bring summer clothes or do I need light jackets? Does it get chilly at night?

* Any recommendations on a good hotel, preferably near where the nightlife is, and hopefully has free WIFI?

* Aside from diamonds, what would be a unique and truly South African souvenir that I can bring home that won't take so much space/weight on my luggage?

* I've heard about seal watching and whale watching. Is it easy to spot them at this time of the year?

* I'm a city-girl and very clueless about going out in the wild. I once fainted when I saw a tiger attack its prey, and would not like that embarrassment to happen again, ha ha. Anyway, I would be interested in going to a safari, if there's one that isn't so hard core. Any recommendations?

* Is there a wine tour in Cape Town? If not, where's the nearest one?

I know these questions are a lot, but answering just one or two would help me get started. Would appreciate any information and local insights as well. Thanks in advance. :-)

For a start maybe you should check out the Cape Town websites. They might get you
pointed in the right direction.

Cape Town is famously windy (the "Cape Doctor"). if you stand on the beach near Simonstown you may get your face sand-blasted away.

You need to go up Table Mountain.

A good souvenir might be an ostrich egg - they don't break falling out of ostriches so should be OK in your luggage. Or some sort of animal skin, such as springbok.

One place I went to (a long long time ago) was the Ambassadors Hotel, for dinner. I don't even know if it's still there. It was built on rocks out over the sea, and parts of the floor were see-through. Good food too.

For wines, try Stellenbosch or Worcester. But one I visited was next door to a tobacco farm, so they had very smokey tasting brandy!

I just came back and you will need a light jacket or sweater. If I had to do it again I would stay at the Cullinam hotel or Granger Bay Apartment Suites. There are a lot of small sculptures that you can take as souveniers and you will find them anywhere or you can buy pillow cases with an african motif over at the waterfront. I saw seals but I did not see any whales. I heard whales come out around September though. There are many wine tours that leave Capetown and go to the surrounding areas. Your hotel should have them if not visit the waterfront tourist office to see which company they recommend.