Cape Town overview

Cape Town is South Africa’s most visited and most beautiful city. Set on the Cape Peninsula, the surrounding scenery is a contrast of lush valleys and soaring rocky heights. The most prominent of all Cape Town landmarks is the majestic Table Mountain – a 1000 metre high edifice offering stunning views across Cape Town.

Cape Town offers tourists a full range of activities. Outdoor pursuits are plentiful with excellent hiking trails and mountain biking routes. Some of the best windsurfing in South Africa - if not the world - can be found in Table Bay. Scuba diving, surfing and, for the more daring, sky-diving are all popular activities in Cape Town along with rock climbing and horse riding. For those of you wanting a more relaxing time, Cape Town has almost 100 miles of beaches along its coastline. Keep to the eastern side around the popular False Bay for the best sunbathing and the warmest waters.

Accommodation in Cape Town is abundant and every taste and budget is catered for. It is advisable to book your accommodation in Cape Town well in advance to get the best choice if you are planning to travel during the peak periods. Peak periods are generally the ten days before Christmas through until the end of March. Things pick up again towards the end of July until October.

Cape Town nightlife, largely concentrated around Long Street, caters well to the hip and trendy set with its abundance of cool bars and a variety of clubs that attract the best international DJs. Eating out in Cape Town is inexpensive even in a high end restaurant and you can expect to find a high standard of fresh seafood and local wines. More adventurous diners can sample the Asian and Madagascan influenced Cape cuisine.

Cape Town has its own International Airport and carriers from all over the world fly here. Cape Town International is around 14 miles from the city centre. Transfers to Cape Town and the greater Western Cape can be found at the airport via taxis or unscheduled shuttle buses. The airport also offers domestic flights within South Africa and handles over 4 million passengers a year.

A great way to see Cape Town and the Western Cape is by car. Major car rental companies have desks in the airport terminal but it is essential to book a rental car in advance. Not only is there demand from tourists travelling to Cape Town but domestic business people also put a strain on the car hire companies.