Any suggestions on safe and affordable hotels to stay at for a few days in Cape Town? We are a family of 4, including my husband and 2 boys who will be 11 and 13 at the time of travel. It would be great to find a hotel that has a double bed and a pull out couch or some configuration like that. Also, we are open to Airbnb but feel that perhaps a hotel is safest. Is this true? Thanks for any advice.
Best, Suzanne
I had a month touring South Africa from Kruger to St Lucia then we drove the coast road to Cape Town. We stayed in B&Bs all the way, which were great. All the accommodation had electrified fences and gates, which is just the way of life there. We felt safe.
We stayed in Hout Bay and drove into Cape Town during the day.
Whenever you park anywhere such as a supermarket, people will approach you and ask for a few coins to look after your car - this took a bit of getting used to, so keep some small coins. They may put a piece of paper under your windscreen wipers to identify “their” car.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for all of the information. It sounds like you have traveled extensively in SA. Do you have any recommendations for places to visit or see that are within an hour or two of Cape Town? Thanks again!
Best,
Suzanne
Be sure and visit the Cape of Good Hope (Cape Point) and the penguin colony at Boulder. Rather than a fixed tour, we hired a taxi from in front of our hotel so we could go where we wanted and stay as long as we wanted. You should get on the Cape Town forum on tripadvisor.com for great tips and input from Cape Town residents. We left our hotel very early to beat the crowds. You might Google Cape Point or Cape of Good Hope for some research before you go. Good luck
The One&Only Resort near the waterfront was great. There are a variety of other hotel options in the area that should be safe. The wine country is about an hour east of downtown Cape Town and is worth a day trip or several nights. The wine country is beautiful and the wine estates are fabulous. We were in the Stellenbosch and Franschhoek areas and stayed in the latter. A trip down to the Cape of Good Hope is enjoyable. We based in Simon's Town for a few days.
The One& Only on the V&A waterfront is expensive, although top rated. We stayed at the Pepper Mill near Company gardens, and we enjoyed it. We had our 9 and 11 yr old girls with us at the time. We had a large two bedroom suite with a fabulous view of Table Mountain (17th floor) We loved S. Africa and never felt unsafe, even when we were the only white people we could see ( in our stroll around the company gardens).
My cousin ( Kirk Demeter) owns the travel company Africa Answers if you need further help, he arranged our whole spectacular trip!
If you are a foodie like us, The Test Kitchen is a top rated restaurant and highly, highly recommend, reservations months in advance a must.
Hello Suzanne, my husband and I were in Cape Town at the end of last September. Fantastic! When will you be traveling as it would help to suggest things to do. We stayed in B and Bs while there. The were absolutely stunning and very reasonable too. As someone has posted, they are well secured and safe. Will you have a car? We stayed in a wonderful B&B in Kalk Bay, on the Cape Peninsula (30 minutes from Cape Town). Kalk Bay is very quiet, nice and safe. The B&B had a great pool which your boys might like, and there are tidal pools along the beach they might like too. It is also not far from Simon's Town (penguins) and Cape Point/Cape of Good Hope. We used a tour company who arranged a private guide/driver for us for 5 days. If you would like any more information, please feel free to message. Happy travels!
Heather
