Location description from owner

The Western Cape region

Cape Town has everything you need for a fantastic holiday. It has majestic scenery including Table Mountain and amazing scenery as you drive south through along many beaches, breathtaking views, the Twelve Apostle mountains and the Cape of Good hope. To the north you can find many more beaches and drive inland and you can visit the wine towns. Drive to the east and enjoy the breathtaking views along Gordon Bay or go to Hermanus and see southern whales from August to December.
Table Mountain was voted one of the New7Wonders of Nature by thousands of people in 2011. A short bus or taxi ride will take you to the base where you can get to the top in five minutes with the cable car or spend the day hiking up.
Western Cape Wineries have many excellent wineries that rank among the best in the world and famous wine towns of Stellenbosh, and Franschhoek are well worth the visit.

Cape Town outdoors give you plenty of opportunity to enjoy the excellent climate. There are an endless number of walks and hiking routes right in Cape Town. Signal Hill rices right in the middle of the City Bowl and Sea point and picnic sites give you stunning vies over the city center and amazing sunsets over the Atlantic sky. Kirstenbosh National Botanical Garden's is definitely worth the visit and we always spend a day there when we visit Cape Town.

If you are interested in wildlife experiences there is the penguin colony at Boulders Beach, seal island near Hout Bay, Land Based Whale Watching from the cliffs at Hermanus, De Hoop and False Bay. The more adventurous can go for caged shark dives. Even the harbor cruise offers near certainty of sighting Cape fur seals and gulls and on a good day you may see dolphins. We were surrounded by dolphins on our return boat trip from Robben Island.

We took advantage of the two day red bus tour on and off option as a way to get a first glimpse of all the sites and then returned the spend more time at the ones that sparked our interest.

Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

The V&A Waterfront is cited as South Africa's most visited destination. It has excellent shopping, many top restaurants, many of Cape town's top tourist destinations including day tours to Robben Island, the Two Oceans Aquarium, easy access to local nightspots and much, much more.

The Waterfront area has hundreds of shops including both local craft market and wellness center to one of South Africa's largest malls with larger department stores selling designer labels to boutique jewelry and curio shops and and Art Nouveau or Nu Metro cinemas. Mall includes groceries at Pick n Pay or Woolworth's so you can take advantage of the apartment's self-catering or relax in one of the many excellent restaurants.

The Waterfront is the centre of many of Cape Town's top activities for the entire family. Two Ocean's Aquarium has more than 3000 marine creatures on view – including sharks, turtles and penguins – and is one of the finest aquariums in the world. With young kids even for a two-week visit we took advantage of a year pass and the kids wanted to go back again and again. For a fee you can even dive into the shark tank!

If a visit to Robben Island is on your list, the Nelson Mandela Gateway is right here. Make sure you book your ticket to Robben Island in advance during the busy seasons. The Gateway itself has an excellent display showing the history Robben Island.
The waterfront itself has a wide range of activities. From here you can get helicopter rides, boat charters and relaxed harbor cruises. The Amphitheatre is a good spot for life entertainment including concerts, creative workshops and puppet shows. The large wheel gives you a nice view of the surrounding area. The little kids may enjoy a visit to the Scratch Patch to fill up a bag of polished gemstones and older kids may enjoy the brand new Sprinbok experience Rugby museum.