If i was asked if Cape Town is the best South African city for a travel destination, my answer would definitely be "Yes!" And here's why.
I recently took a 5-day vacation to the "Mother City" Cape Town, South Africa and i thought i should do a review about the amazing experience i personally had. I think Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world to visit.
From being South Africa's second-largest city, I think many can agree that it has the most iconic mountain ranges that are larger-than-life, stunning natural beauties and oceans. If you've got an appetite for great adventure, then this is definitely the city to be as it has so much more to offer.
So while i was in Cape Town, i had the luxury to be hosted by a friend of mine from high school and her newly wedded husband at their stunning apartment in Parklands, Western Cape. This is such an excellent suburb as it offers vibrant lifestyle just few kilos away from some of Cape Town's major attractions.
*side note*... staying at my friend's apartment was such a cheaper option as accommodation can be very expensive during vacations. I also bought my flight tickets 3-months before and found them at affordable price. Although i stayed for 5-days, i personally think to get most out of Cape Town a minimum of a week should be enough.
A few weeks before boarding to Cape Town, my friends and i drafted a list of all tourists activities and attractions to visit and here what we got up to:
Cape Town is known for vibrant lifestyle so we took it to the famous streets to explore the fascinating nightlife and amazing cuisine at one of the restaurants called The Heritage.
Set on a steep slopping hill, Bo-Kaap definitely offers a treat for the eyes with colorful houses and the Muslim community in the area are friendly because they allowed us to take as many pictures as we wanted.
There are so many exotic and indigenous blooms, herbal gardens and beautiful greeny lawns for a great picnic with friends. To get a great views of the mountains and the garden, there is an iconic snake-like raised tree canopy walkway, which is also amazing for taking pictures.
This is the perfect location for nature enthusiast as the park encompasses of rich and varied Fauna and Flora with rugged rocks and sheer cliffs perfect for hiking. It has such rich biodiversity such as the ocean view at 200meters above sea level at the lighthouse.
For best coastal views and gorgeous farmlands, we did a 45 min road trip through Cape Town's vineyards set with beautiful mountain backdrop in the Constantia area and ended up at the Lanzerac Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, suggested by another friend of mine i haven't seen since the 8th grade in high school and lives in the area.
However due to time constraint, we decided to visit another local restaurant in the area called Brampton Wine Studio. The service was really good and they even offered wine tasting on their menu items.
Our 2nd stop after Bo-Kaap, was the busiest and oldest working harbour in South Africa, that has a beautiful backdrop of Table Mountain. This is definitely the best spot for most locals and international. We did a 1 hour boat cruise from V&A to Sea Point, headed back for dining at Mozambik restaurant and ended the night with some fun marimba street entertainment. We danced till late and made some new friends because the vibe here is just really on fire to ignore.
There are some other attractions which includes the Cape Wheel ride, the Two Oceans Aquarium and the ClockTower Playground. We wanted to do the Two Ocean Aquarium, but unfortunately it was already too late when our boat headed back.
I personally have to agree that this is indeed the most iconic landmark in South Africa. We went up the top by a cable car. The views were so breathtaking and it gets relaxing at the top. Although i started to get cold from the little wind, i really enjoyed watching the sunset. There's also amazing restaurants to enjoy a great meal as well as shops. We popped in at the café for some chia latte to keep warm.
Fun fact: There are about 2,200 species of plants found on Table Mountain and 1470 floral species.
Boulder's Beach was actually one of my favorite attraction spots here. Getting so up-close and personal with the African penguins was really fun while playing on the beach.
For an exquisite classy night out, we decided to go to one of South Africa's premier grill rooms named The Hussar Grill in Camps Bay for their specialty steaks and wine selection. However i ordered a vegetarian option from their menu items which was not bad.
This is the home to adorable hundreds penguins sunning themselves on the shore. There's not really much happening here, just looking at the penguins and taking pictures and videos.
I literally just came here to take some beautiful pictures and enjoy the 5 minutes view of the beach.
This spot definitely deserves a revisit as i would love to hike up that cliff to get the full experience.
Although the weather was pretty cold and windy, here we also had the luxury to enjoy the beautiful waves of the beach and sand with a row of brightly coloured painted fishing huts. Surfing is so popular here. Opposite the beach we had a nice coffee at a famous local restaurant called Tiger's Milk.
For a treat to cinematic delights and breath-taking scenery under a canopy of stars, we wanted to do an Open Air Cinema with The Galileo when the sunsets, but unfortunately there are currently still closed, so we opted to watch a movie at Ster-Kinekor cinema in Parklands.
This beachfront has amazing restaurants on the opposite side as well as a walkway that is so popular even the locals like to take a stroll or running route. Apparently the sunset views here are stunning, but unfortunately we couldn't experience that since our 1 hour boat cruise from V&A was time limited and we had to head back.