Pre trip tour Cape Town
Hello everyone
My husband and I will be embarking on the tour that commences on June 21/2024. We will be arriving a day early and we’re interested in exploring the Cape Fusion tour with Pam. (walking, eating like locals, touring, etc.) Of course the tour cost is predicated on how many participate. The tours are private so they do not independently group “strangers.”
Also, does anyone know why the Tauck tour no longer visits Robben Island. Is it worth an independent visit. I have read mixed reviews.
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I was on this tour in May and booked a Robben Island tour. I had trouble booking online, so I contacted the concierge at Cape Grace Hotel (fabulous) and he ordered the tickets for us.I did have to supply our passport information to him. The tickets were waiting for us when we arrived. You need to watch the weather- the boat trip is a bumpy ride and depends on good weather. Tauck had a lecture by Christo Brand, a guard/friend of Mandela's, Mr. Brand wrote a book, which I bought and read. I was very happy that I had visited the island before the lecture. The Cape Grace Hotel was shut down and remodeled after our trip. The staff was amazing. The hotel had a car and driver who dropped us off and picked us up at local areas in Capetown. I can't say enough good things about that hotel.
If anyone is going to be in Cape Town on May 17 and is looking to go to Robben Island, please message me. I booked a tour for that date and cannot go but would be happy to forward you the ticket that was e-mailed to me.
My husband and I are on the Elegant Adventure tour in September. We are arriving in Cape Town a few days early (Sept. 10). We also are looking into a food tour with either Cape Town Fusion or Viator. For only 2 of us and an 8-9 hour private tour with Cape Town Fusion, the cost is nearly $500 compared to a 3.5 hour tour with Viator for about $225. Those who have been on either, please comment on pros, cons, and value as we are trying to make an informed decision for the best experience. Thanks.
Jan,
In 2019, I did an 8+ hour tour with Cape Fusion: the city tour which is essentially the foodie tour plus city tour /history. This was the recommendation of Pam at Cape Fusion to combine the Cape Town Eats City Walking with Constantia wine tour/foodie tour. It was fantastic! It was a full day - fun, delicious and informative. I highly recommend.
Thanks, Nancy. We confirmed a res with Cape Fusion for September. I’m sure it will be great.
JanP - You won’t regret going with Cape Fusion! They are fantastic and well worth the money, IMHO. I will tell you that friends of ours on their first visit to South Africa had a tour with Pam and absolutely loved it (that’s how we found out about Cape Fusion). They had previously booked a tour to the Winelands with another company on a different day - but after having Pam, they were disappointed with it. So when they went back to Capetown another year, they booked a Winelands tour with Pam and they were very pleased! 😊
I did a tour of the vinelands with Viator, only 5 people, it was great, the wine tasting and lunch at one of the places was very good, that was 12 years ago so things may have changed by now.
do you have contact info for Pam at Cape Fusion? We are arriving on 7/29 staying at a winery until 8/1 then have Gift of Time day at Cape Grace, thinking of Robbens Island but Food Tour sounds interesting
Here is the website for Cape Fusion - you can contact Pam through the website. https://capefusiontours.com/
Click on “Contact us” for contact information and to submit your request and/or questions. There is someone who handles the inquiries but you can request Pam, although all of her staff members are fabulous!
We confirmed that Pam will be our guide when we do the Cape Fusion tour in September. I appreciate all of the recommendations.
We are going on 8/2 tour heading to winery for 2 days first. Want to do Robbens Island but won’t arrive in CT until 10am 8/1 not sure we have enough time for our free day
Gary, I was very moved by Robben island after reading “Long Walk to Freedom”. I know these are multiple tours that leave the CT dock daily , but if your Welcome Dinner begins @5 that evening it might be hard to squeeze it in. The concierge at your hotel ( Cape Grace? ) could probably help. I booked my tickets on line pretty far in advance of my Elegant SA tour. Happy trails!
I booked my tickets for the Robben Island tour with the help of the concierge at the Cape Grace hotel, who was so helpful. We did a morning tour and you would have time to do this before the welcome dinner. The concierge had our tickets waiting for us upon arrival. Just depends on the weather. The Cape Grace hotel is fabulous and has just been remodeled. The dock for the Robben Island trip is near the hotel. The chauffeur (Eddie) will take you and pick you up if you want to go to other places. Just read an article about the Cape Grace and it truly was one of the best hotels I ever stayed in, even before the renovation. There was a lecture by Mr. Brand (one of Mandella's guards) that was part of our tour, so I highly recommend visiting Robben Island if you can.
When I took this tour Robben Island was part of it, I loved the Cape Grace hotel, had a beautiful room and the chauffeur took me to the District 6 museum and St. George Church as a courtesy from the hotel.
I believe Tauck stopped including Robben Island in their South African Elegant Adventure because of weather related issues with the crossing. I agree with janet and gladys that the Cape Grace is wonderful, and the concierge service there is excellent. I am old school and found the Cape Grace to be much more charming that the upscale One and Only. At the Cape Grace I felt like I was in Africa; at the One and Only I felt like I could have been in a major international city or even in my neighboring NYC. The bar at the One and Only, however, has a spectacular view of Table Mountain but without the cool charm of Gerald’s Bar at the Cape Grace. As my Italian husband likes to remind me, “Tutti gusto sono giusti” - Everyone’s taste is his own.
We are very much looking forward to our time in Cape Town in September. We already have our tix for Robben Island, and can’t wait to stay at the Cape Grace.
Ty for comments
We arrived the day before the trip began and purchased a day pass on the Hop-On Hop-Off tour. Blue bus and red bus.....you get a beautiful tour and it hits the highlights. It's a five minute walk from the Cape Grace Hotel to the bus pick up. If you get off at any stop, another bus will be by in 15 minutes. Be sure and have lunch at Codfather's Restaurant in Camp Bay.