South Africa Cape Town and Franschhock

I'm not able to help you on your question -- but I do have almost the same question.
To use your thread I'd like to extend the question with.....

Anyone now of a good tour guide/company in Capetown. I'll be there mid August and want to find a good day tour through the city.
I'll be there for 2 full day's.

sorry for not being able to answer your question.

Hi there
I have a trip planned for September 2019 in Cape Town and surrounds. I have been working with a tour company called Southern African Tours (http://www.southernafricantours.com/). While I haven't yet taken my tour, Sheilagh and Craig have been fantastic to work with. They have been extremely helpful crafting a personal tour to meet my husband and I's must-see list. I thought their all-inclusive price was reasonable too. They have all sorts of tours on their website, but as I said, they are willing to customize just for you too. Good luck and happy travels!
Heather

Hello. I am new to this forum. I have always enjoyed Rick Steves great advice by book or radio (on NPR). This said, we are lucky enough to be traveling to Cape Town in late October/November to visit a family member. From where we live, our flight will be a minimum of 21 hours -ouch!! So, our thought since we have somewhat limited time (perhaps 2 weeks) is that we would like to stay in the Cape Town area and do some day or overnight tours, using Cape Town as a base.

I have looked a bit on line and see that there are a couple of nature/animal reserves close by Aquila or Inerdoorn. Has anyone had experience at those facilities and would you recommend them? Also I hear that Hermanus would be must. Again, I see that there are tours that leave Cape Town.

We have never been to South Africa and any advice or recommendations would be so appreciated!

Thank you!
Diane

We spent 16 days in S. Africa in 2016. We were not on a tour, but we had private transport between all our locations. All done by Thompson. They were always on time and wonderful. I have a trip report I am happy to email you if interested, just pm me your email.
Our itinerary was;
2 nights in Stellenbosch
4 nights Cape Town
2 nights Grootbos
Then we flew to
3 nights Kapama Game Reserve
Then we flew to Victoria Falls
3 nights Victoria Falls

I wanted the same RS advice for our trip to South Africa.

Do not stay in the Cape Town city Center. We rented an apartment a block away from the company gardens. We we told by multiple people (travel agent on flight into Cape Town, owner of apartment, and tourist office) that the city center is not safe after dark. Stay near the VA waterfront, lots of activity, bars and great restaurants. We used Uber to get to/from CA waterfront, but missed evening walks from lodging.

We loved the wine tram tour in Frankeshoek.

There was a small cafe near the cathedral with a sandwich board sign that offerered free walking tours. We did the Apartheid tour and it was very good. The guide works for tips.

We also did the Hopon hop off bus to table mountain, then to a beach town where we stopped for lunch and a walk in the beach.

Following! I also really want to go to Thula Thula and would like to add in a few days in Cape Town and Victoria Falls. Have never been to Africa before and am cautious about doing it independently, rather than a fully planned trip. Any advice people can give would be much appreciated.

It seems Thula Thula is a popular choice at the moment - is it because of the books? I am based in South Africa and an ex tour operator (planning itineraries for travellers to South Africa) so if anyone needs any advice, you are welcome to ask!