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SA an Elegant Adventure
Leaving for SA on 4/20/24 for the Tauck trip beginning on 4/26/24. Recommendations on “not to miss” ideas for our extra days…tours and tour companies and restaurant recommendations.
Thanks for your help!
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Leaving for SA on 4/20/24 for the Tauck trip beginning on 4/26/24. Recommendations on “not to miss” ideas for our extra days…tours and tour companies and restaurant recommendations.
Thanks for your help!
Comments
Robert_Guth of Tucson?
The Cape Grace in Capetown does a wonderful afternoon tea in their library - very reasonably priced. Makes a good lunch if you do it early in the afternoon..
We did the hop on hop off bus. Enjoyed it. They have several different routes. The tour no longer does the Robben Island Tour. It was fascinating. I would look into that. If we had had an extra day, I would have done a tour of the wine country.
Hop on Hop off bus is a good way to gain an overview. Kirstenbosch Gardens are well-worth a visit as is the South African Jewish Museum.
I thought Kirstenbosch Gardens was part of the tour these days? It wasn’t when we took the tour years ago but we arrived early and went there spending a long time. It has a good gift shop too. The Cape Grace complimentary limo took us there and back. I think it replaced the Robben Island trip.
I really enjoyed my experience of Robben Island after reading Mandela’s “Long Walk Home”. The Zeitz Museum is located in a fascinating old silo and houses the most contemporary African art on the continent. The Elegant Adventure does not take you to Bo Kaap or the District Six Museum, and both were terrific. The New York Times just published an article titled “36 Hours in Capetown” which you might find helpful. I liked the Cape Grace much better than the One and Only, but the latter does have a spectacular bar with grand views of Table Mountain. If you are a shopper, then you need to get to Tribal Trends on Long Street. The Cape Grace provided a car to take me there, and I enjoyed it more than the shops at The Shed located on the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. You will love Capetown.
If you plan on taking the Zambia Botswana South Africa tour, in the future, that takes you to the District Six museum, we enjoyed the guide and experiences there.
And finally someone else who prefers the Cape Grace over the One and Only!
I loved the Cape Grace and the hotel provided a car ride to the District 6 Museum which is very moving, took me there I also went to St. George church and then took me back to the hotel at no cost.
We did a Stellenbosch wine tour and had a fun time and enjoyed seeing that area. You won't see it on the Tauck tour.
Hi, Robert Guth! I agree - Robben Island is well worth the trip, and so are the Winelands. We used Cape Fusion (highly recommended!) and went with the wonderful owner, Pam, for a full day private tour to the Winelands (Stellenbosch and Paarl) and a food tour of Cape Town called “Cape Town Eats” another day. In Stellenbosch, we had a lovely lunch at Delaire Graff. What a view!! We really enjoyed our meals at Black Sheep (take a taxi or Uber there) and Den Anker, located right on the Victoria & Albert Waterfront. We had a table by the window at Den Anker and loved the atmosphere there. Baia on the V & A Waterfront was very good, too, but my husband didn’t care for it as much as I did. If you like to hike, you could hike up Table Mountain, or take the gondola up if you have a clear day. You will go to Table Mountain with Tauck (via gondola) but it is weather dependent, so if you happen to have a clear day before the tour starts, you may want to take advantage of that. It isn’t uncommon to have winds or inclement weather that interfere with accessing and/or viewing the mountain. This is a terrific tour!
All of the above comments are spot on. I visited Capetown twice now with Tauck. Five years ago I went on the Botswana, Zambia, and Soutth Africa trip. My husband got ill the morning of the trip and could not join me, so I went solo. I loved that trip. We stayed at the One and Only, which was lovely. As a foodie, I thought the breakfast buffet and Nobu (goodbye dinner) were exceptional. The hotel also had a gadget in the room that you could program for phone/directions/etc. The city tour of Capetown was much better than the city tour on the Elegant South Africa trip. The District 6 museum visit was amazing and the tour is directed by former residents from there. Highly recommend you some time to visit there. I also visited the Holocaust museum and Orthodox synagogue with some friends I made on the Botswana trip.
I loved the Botswana trip so much that I convinced my husband to join me on the Elegant Adventure trip- something that we could do with a little overlap for me. As others have said, the Cape Grace Hotel is above and beyond. The staff is amazing. We went 3 days early and did go to Robben Island (the staff obtained tickets for us in advance). We also went back to the Jewish museums and went to Table Mountain (even though it was included in the Tauck Elegant itinerary). The driver from the hotel (Eddie) took us around at no cost (tipped of course) in a hotel BMW)- waited for us, came back- just wonderful. We had the afternoon tea, but be warned that it is big and one order would suffice for two. As it happened, the trip to Table Mountain was scrapped due to high winds, so my husband would have not seen it had we not gone before the start of the official tour. We missed going to the wineries, but most suggest a day or two there.
So watch the weather before you go. We were blessed with 3 beautiful days and were able to do a lot. Contact the concierge for help with a city/good tour with District 6 included. Go to the wineries. Visit Robben Island and perhaps Table Mt.
Other tips- bring water shoes for Victoria Falls and a British plug for the hotel at Victoria Falls (fabulous). Don't miss the native performance at the Victoria Falls Hotel and think about the helicopter tour above the falls. (some in our tour did it and loved it- expensive). Afternoon tea was included in our Tauck tour, but our guide didn't tell us. So, be sure to ask about that. Enjoy