Cape Town Travel Forum

I'll be traveling to Cape Town in November but I'm starting to think about what I'll want to do when I'm there. I know I want to visit Table Mountain & Robben Island & I also want to see penguins. The problem is I only have 2 full days. Can I do Robben Island & Table Mountain in the same day? Where's the best place to see penguins & how long does it take to get there from the center of the city? What else is a must-see in Cape Town? Any recommendations for moderately priced restaurants?

Hello! We spent 3 weeks in and around Cape Town in August 2006. Too bad you have only 2 days as the city has so much to offer!!

I think it's possible to do Robben Island and Table Mountain in the same day. But you need to plan well because there is sometimes a long line for the cable car for the Table Mountain... We went there twice during out stay and decided not to go up because the line was too long and for the 3rd time, we saw the line was shorter (maybe it was earlier in the morning) and finally went up! The view was fantastic. You also need to pre-book tickets to go to Roben Island as you will have to join a guided tour to go there and look around.

To see the penguins, I believe the best place is "Boulders", a bit south of Simon's Town. I don't know anywhere else to see the penguins. It took us about 2 hours to get there from Cape Town.

In addition, we highly recommend the West Coast Show Farm where you can see, touch, ride and eat ostriches (it's really tastly!), Hout Bay (outside of Cape Town, but closer to the city than Boulders, if I remember correctly), and a helicopter ride over Cape Town!

In terms of cheap restaurants, we loved Ocean Basket and went there a few times for good seafood. There are several stores in the city. We did a lot of fine dining too, including "The Showroom" and "Savoy Cabbage" and we found the pricing in this kind of top-level restaurants are not bad at all...

Hope you will have a great time there!!
Hoamai

Is possible to do the Table Mountain and Robben Island in one day but you have to get to the Table Mountain in the morning.
That's what we did when we went to Cape Town.
If possible, rent a car and drive around. You will enjoy the sceneric along the hill next to the sea. Also, you could drove the the Cape of Hope. (entrance is free):)

Last year when I was in Capetown you could not buy tickets to Robben Island until 7 daysh ahead as they were fully booked up so if you can book over the web before you go you might stand a chance.

You can do both in one day if you go early up to table mountain. A word of warning tho, this often has cloud cover on top so if you can be flexible in when you can go that may help.

The Penguins are at Boulder beach near Simonstown which is at least an hours drive out of the city.

The victoria and albert docks are a nice place to sit relax and eat, a bit touristy but nice views and restaurants.

It is also possible to do the penguins (Simonstown), Cape Peninsula National Park and Chapmans Peak Drive in a relaxed daytrip.

If you´re into aquatic wildlife, the Two Oceans Aquarium is a must, too. And Kirstenbosch Gardens.

Two full days is fine to see the major sights!!! day 1: Table mountain via the cable way can be 2-3 hours in total - go early morning. Robben Island - as everyone has said- you can pre book your trip. Unless things have changed -there is a penguin colony on Robben island-. But the day trip on day 2 to Boulders beach( stunning beach with penguins- take your bathing suit too!!! via quaint towns such as Kalk bay and the scenic Chapmans peak drive is definately worth doing on day number two.(you can even squeeze in the Cape point nature reserve!!!)

You should be able to see the sights you want to see in two days. If you want I can take you on the day you want to go to Boulders, I love showing people my lovely city. Just let me know. I would also suggest that you do Table mountain & Robben Island on the same day. Table mountain in the morning and the island in the afternoon. Once you returned from the island you can wander around the V&A waterfront or phone me and we can do something together. I would also suggest as everyone has said, that you can pre book your trip to the island. The second day you could do Boulders beach(take your bathing suit with as you can swim with the penquins, but not if on a pre-booked tour, they give you 30 minutes only at Boulders) Driving there you can see the stunning Southern suburbs and after boulders you head off to Cape Point nature reserve for a lovely lunch before returning to Cape Town via the very scenic and world renowned Chapmans peak drive. Then you can stop at Houtbay for dinner before returning to your hotel. Please contact me if you need assistance I will gladly drive you around for free.

Hi all. I am going to Cape Town on May 10th for 2 weeks. I find all your tips and recommendations very helpful. I would like to know what type of clothing I should take.? Will I need sweaters and rain jacket?
Bye.. Mary

The weather is starting to change. We still have lovely warm days, but it is rather cool in the mornings and evenings. Yes you would need to bring a rain jacket as it did rain over this past weekend. This morning Monday 21st the temp was 12 degrees

our winters are mild - jeans, t shirts a jacket sneakers, flip flops, a jumper , perhaps a thin rain coat..- you should be fine - we have great stores to buy anything that you may have forgotten/need

hello,

yes you can see both in a day,you should see mouille point,clifton beach.

www.tigresse.co.za
enjoy your stay