Cape Town Accommodation

Cape Town accommodation is plentiful and there’s something to suit every budget but it is highly advisable to book ahead, especially over the Christmas season (December to mid-February) and during the Argus Cycle Tour (usually mid-March). The greatest density of Cape Town hotels, boutique hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, guest houses and self catering apartments and holiday villas are situated in the City Bowl area and immediate South Atlantic Seaboard belt, all within a 10 minute drive from Cape Town City Centre and the V&A Waterfront. Highly desirable suburbs like Tamboerskloof and Oranjezicht spill down the slopes of Table Mountain towards Gardens, Cape Town City Centre, De Waterkant and the exclusive Waterfront. From the Waterfront the dazzling Atlantic coastline curves south, fringed by the seaside suburbs of Green Point, Sea Point, Bantry Bay the ultra glamorous suburbs of Clifton and Camps Bay. If you are looking for Cape Town accommodation, SafariNow has a selection of 2581 accommodation listings in Cape Town and surrounds.

Extreme Scene | Adventure Tours

Cape Town based adventure tour specialists, Extreme Scene was founded after the high demand for outdoor and adventure holidays in South Africa was identified. These Cape Town adventure tours specialists now offer a range of tour packages, tours and individual activities to appeal to those adrenalin junkies and thrill seekers looking for the ultimate heart stopping excitement. Whether you prefer cruising through the sun drenched African safari or leaping out of airplanes with nothing but a parachute strapped to your chest, Extreme Scene has something for everyone.

Parker Cottage | Guest House

Parker Cottage, a charming bed & breakfast in the Cape Town City Bowl offers all the grace and elegance of contemporary Victorian style while maintaining the comfort and luxury found in modern world class accommodation. With a wide range of services and facilities including three, four and five star bedrooms, all you can eat breakfasts, unlimited breakfast hours, in house laundry and ironing, airport transfers, free printing, parking, cellphone hire and Wi-Fi, as well as 24 hour check in, Parker Cottage is undoubtedly the most luxurious guest house accommodation in Cape Town. Find out more about this graceful bed & breakfast on the Parker Cottage website.

Scuba Mozambique | Dive Tours

Dive with giant whale sharks and graceful manta rays along the reefs of Mozambique and explore the exquisite sun drenched African plains of the Kruger National Park with Scuba Mozambique. These dive travel specialists have carefully moulded a combination package to ensure visitors leave with unforgettable memories of their authentic African adventure. To discover more about the Mozambique and Kruger National Park Delight tour package and other Mozambique dive tours visit the Scuba Mozambique website.

Mudlark River Front Lodge

Located on a stunning 22 hectare property, on the lower part of the Breede River Conservancy, overlooking the tranquil Breede River, is Mudlark River Front Lodge. This Witsand accommodation boasts 5 individually decorated en suite rooms, outstanding panoramic views of the surrounding Overberg Mountains and estuary and unparalleled hospitality, ensuring guests leave with unforgettable memories. Visit the Mudlark River Front Lodge website to discover more about this Breede River accommodation.

Escape to the Drakensberg

Escape the hustle and bustle of the city with The Cavern resort & spa. Located in a stunning private Drakensberg reserve, The Cavern boasts incomparable peace and tranquillity, not to mention a breathtaking mountain valley setting. Ensure an unforgettable KwaZulu-Natal holiday experience with this Drakensberg accommodation. Visit their fabulous website to find out more.

Comfort, Relaxation & Whale Watching

The owners of delightful Hermanus guest house, Villa Blu, strive to provide their guests with exceptional service and comfortable accommodation during their stay in the world’s whale watching capital. Boasting cosy pool and garden suites and spectacular panoramic views, this Hermanus accommodation is sure to leave you with unforgettable memories.

Charm, Comfort & Elegance

In the heart of trendy Green Point, and on the doorstep of V&A waterfront and Cape Town city centre, is David’s Guest House. Chic and modern, this Green Point accommodation offers the ultimate comfort. With a bed & breakfast and self-catering apartments it offers accommodation to suite any traveller’s needs. Find out more about this wonderful establishment on their website.

Location, Location

Helderberg Manor Retirement Village is ideally located in the secure and peaceful Somerset West suburb, Heritage Park. Surrounding this splendid retirement village are facilities such as a private hospital, nature reserve, shopping mall, golf courses, wine routes and bowling greens. Check out their website for a more detailed overview of its excellent location.

Head South Lodge Boutique Hotel

Green Point accommodation has gained phenomenal success in recent years as a result of their lavish decor and exceptional service. One such establishment, Head South Lodge Boutique Hotel, provides excellent service and facilities to all their guests.
Standard features in the en suite bedrooms include, telephone, air conditioning, safes, televisions (with satellite), iPod speakers and combo adapters. Discover more about this splendid boutique hotel on their webpage.

Daedalia Dining Room

Wild Mushroom Boutique Hotel is the first Stellenbosch accommodation to offer a rare mushroom inspired culinary experience to their guests. Their mycological influence shines through in most of their dishes, creating a wonderfully delicious and exciting menu. Their website contains a fascinating article about this.

Buying Private Cars in South Africa

Purchase, payment, registration, insurance, more information and summary are important points to remember when purchasing a private car in South Africa.
Since there are many risks involved when purchasing a private car, some companies like Drive Africa offer buy back services. Visitors can opt to buy instead of hire a car, and sell it back to the company at the end of their stay. This article offers more information about this option.

Gansbaai accommodation, a lone fisherman and a colony of Geese.

Gansbaai accommodation is today rather luxurious compared to its humble beginnings. Although archaeologists suggest that early accommodation in Gansbaai started long before the arrival of the young man in this story, with cave dwelling hunter gatherers many thousands of years ago, it is the story of Johannes Cornelis Wessels that truly lends Gansbaai much of its present day character and indeed much its current lineage.

Young Cornelis, just 18 at the time, walked from Stanford over the dunes to what was to become Gansbaai. This is a mere twenty minute car trip today but in 1881 when the journey was undertaken this was no doubt a more difficult by foot over the hot sand dunes with the relentless winds that savage the area. Now Corenlis was a keen fisherman, in fact it was all he did. He belonged to a group of nomadic fishermen that were common along that coast in the late 19th century. Young Cornelis arrived at this lonely bay with the clothes on his back and a fishing rod, so legend has it. There was no sign of any other inhabitants and certainly no inkling of the accommodation in Gansbaai that we see today. Despite this he did what any good fisherman would do when arriving at a new undiscovered spot and cast a line. Now I don't know much about fishing but what happened next is a clear indication in my mind that the fishing was good. Johannes Cornelis Wessels built himself a house and never left.

The fishing was so good in Gansbaai, accommodation was needed immediately. So it was all due to a good days fishing that the community this community was formed. A fisherman desperate for a private fishing spot and fishing so good it required instant accommodation. Gansbaai might not have been what it is today if young Cornelis had had a bad day of fishing back in 1882. Thankfully today the choice of accommodation consists of slightly more than the stone, daub and reed house he made for himself. In fact today for the modern traveller hoping to find that secret fishing spot that attracted Cornelis over a century ago there is no shortage of accommodation. The coastal waters around Gansbaai are still considered some the best fishing in the country.

Unwittingly Cornelis was also starting what was to become a fierce local fishing scene, which is understandable as the fishing is good and the town was built on a tradition of protecting your fishing spot.

At the time of Cornelis' discovery that costal region was part of a farm known as Strandfontein, meaning beach fountain, named for the fresh water fountain by the harbour which provided fresh drinking water to the community. A family of geese had taken up residents in this fountain and it wasn't long before the area became known as Gansgat which means "goose hole," -Only a fisherman- It didn't take long before it was changed to the more respectable Gansbaai, goose bay.

Holiday accommodation in Cape Town

Choosing holiday accommodation in Cape Town should not be done solely based on budget. The attractions of Cape Town are not all focused in the city centre in fact many are to be found outside the city limits. As public transport cannot be relied upon it is imperative that you know in advance what you would like to see and then choose your holiday accommodation in Cape Town accordingly. Like all cities that are popular with tourists there are several major attractions that can distract potential visitors from the real beauty to be found not far from the busy centre.

Cape Town is often seen in terms of, Table Mountain, the V&A Waterfront, Cape Point and Camps Bay, and rightly so, they should be high on the list of things to see when visiting Cape Town they are not however the be all and end all of the tourist trail. There are many gems to be found not two hours outside of the city limits and when booking holiday accommodation in Cape Town it is important that you remember that getting to these places can be tricky and expensive, especially if it is just for a day trip. It’s worth considering your options for staying in these places for a couple of nights to give you the opportunity to explore them properly.

The wine routes around Cape Town offer a magical way to spend the day, if not two or three days.  Whether it’s sampling the local plonk, exploring the countryside and indulging in some of the many award winning restaurants that litter the region your days will be full. The small towns in the region offer spectacular options for holiday accommodation. Cape Town will soon seem like a secondary thought on your itinerary after a few days spent in Stellenbosch or Franschhoek. The region a couple of hours North of Cape Town also provides you with an opportunity to explore an area and culture that many tourists don’t know exist. During spring the fields around the town of Darling are transformed into an impressionist’s canvas as flowers, many of which are unique to the region bloom, covering the ground in a carpet of colour. This once a year explosion of nature is not to be missed if you’re in Cape Town at the time and by carefully planning your holiday accommodation in Cape Town you can ensure that you are nearby when it happens.

Public transport through most of South Africa is unreliable at best, so reaching the hidden gems outside of Cape Town may require a rental car. One doesn’t however want to waste days of their holiday driving from place to place. Planning your holiday accommodation in Cape Town properly can ensure that you are close to the places you want to see. Even if the attractions seem close to your holiday accommodation, a place like the Cape Point could take the best part of a day to see if you’re staying in the CBD. While the drive is lovely and well worth it, if one has evening plans or small kids it would be worth finding holiday accommodation on the southern end of the peninsula for a few day.      

When planning your trip to Cape Town, holiday accommodation is obviously your primary concern with a little foresight and planning you can choose a place that will allow you to see the best of Cape Town.

Cape Dutch cooking, from Stellenbosch hotel to Khayelitsha shebeen

What is commonly referred to as Cape Dutch cooking is as much Dutch as it is Malaysian, Indian and ethnic South African and nowhere is the amalgamation more visible than Stellenbosch. Hotels and restaurants in this area are famous for providing an authentic South African dining experience. The small town of Stellenbosch started out as a purpose built Cape Dutch settlement in 1679 It was established by the then governor Simon van der Stel, who wanted to establish an oak tree forest. The mixture of European settlers, slaves brought from the East and the Khoisan people that inhabited the area originally helped create the unique culture and cuisine that can be found today in almost any Stellenbosch hotel or restaurant.
Necessity was a key factor in the development of South African cuisine. Delicacies such as biltong, rusks and fig preserves were created as a way for settlers and trekkers to keep their food edible in a warm climate at a time when there were no fridges. These necessities have now worked their way onto the menus of many fine Stellenbosch hotels and restaurants. Biltong is very simply cured meat, traditionally venison, which is dried out and spiced to help preserve it. Rusks are a dry biscuit made traditionally with buttermilk they are best served dunked in coffee on a cold morning. They can be found on the breakfast table at any good Stellenbosch hotel or served at any Stellenbosch koffiehuis. The origin of the fig preserve is anything but Afrikaans or Malaysian but only a generation ago every Afrikaans and Cape Malay kitchen would have a few jars tucked away. Today many fine Stellenbosch hotels and restaurants will include a fig preserve on their cheese board.
The use of curries and spices in a wide variety of Cape dishes come directly from the influence of the slaves, who were shipped here by the early settlers, and brought with them the Eastern Asian cooking traditions. These cooking styles would’ve in turn been heavily influenced by the Dutch households that many of them no doubt would’ve cooked for. The Melktert, Koeksister and Malva pudding, which any good Stellenbosch hotel will serve at tea time, are traditional South African snacks that have their roots in both Dutch and Malaysian traditions. None of these though illustrates the amalgamation that is Cape cooking more than the Koeksister. Its origins are unknown but what is most interesting is that Afrikaans version and Cape Malay version differentiate slightly. Both should be available at any good Stellenbosch hotel or Koffiehuis. The Cape Malay version is slightly softer with a more cake like texture and is rolled in coconut while the Afrikaans version has a crispier outside with a soft sticky centre, with a syrup that has penetrated right through the dough, so that when you bight into it your mouth is filled with an explosion of flavoured sugar syrup. The syrup is flavoured with Malaysian ingredients like ginger, citrus zest and a mix of Asian spices.
Cape Dutch cooking is anything but purely Dutch. Its influence on South African cooking has been massive if not singular. This fact is demonstrated on Stellenbosch hotels and restaurant menus every day. Born from necessity, and a blend of cultures forced together by circumstance it’s a style cuisine that while unique to South Africa element of which are found all over the world.

Wild Mushroom Boutique Hotel