Amazing Things to do in Cape Town and Johannesburg

Cape Town is an amazing city that reminds me a lot of the San Francisco Bay Area. You have mountains, the ocean and wine country all right there! The weather can also be similar with fog rolling in on a moment’s notice. Johannesburg is great for a 2-night stay before flying home.

The first and last parts of our South Africa vacation were spent with 6-nights in Cape Town and 2-nights in Johannesburg (Joburg for short). You can read about the middle part of the trip in my post, “An Incredible Safari in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.” The full length of our trip was 12-nights. The food and most everything else in Cape Town is incredible and inexpensive. A meal that would cost $200 in the US can be had for under $100.

Arrival

We decided to fly from Atlanta through Amsterdam then on to Cape Town. It’s about a 23 hour trip, but it would have been about the same to go direct from ATL to Joburg then connect to Cape Town. The cool thing about going through Amsterdam if you’re a look outside the plane person is the view. You fly over the alps, the Mediterranean sea, the Sahara and the Sub-Saharan Africa rain forests…incredible views! To help with this long trip, you should read “10 Tips for a Great Overseas Travel Experience.”

We arrive late in the evening, checked into the Hilton Cape Town City Centre. Unfortunately, we just found out that it didn’t survive Covid. There are plenty of hotels in Cape Town from City Centre to the waterfront area. Use Trip Advisor to pick a great one. The waterfront is touristy and overpriced for not the best food but is cool to see and good to use as a jumping off point.

Day 1

We were very tired after our flights, so we decided to sleep in a bit and do the City Sightseeing Hop On/Hop Off bus to get a feel for the city. It was perfect for getting our bearings for future days and only costs $16 per adult. The District 6 Museum is well worth hopping of to see. Also be sure to spend some time at the Boat Bay beaches.

Home to South African Rugby Team, the Springboks

We also asked our concierge to book us a private tour to see the south coast. The cost was very affordable at around $170 for the day.

Day 2

We embarked on our south coast private tour which took us to The Cape of Good Hope, False Bay, Kalk Bay Beach and the town of Franschhoek. Taking your picture at the Cape of Good Hope is a must. It’s where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean waters mix. The town of Franschhoek on False Bay was a great stop to visit Seal Island. The Boulders Beach Penguin Colony was simply amazing.

Day 3

No visit to Cape Town is complete without a visit to the wine country of Stellenbosch. We used our same private driver who booked us at 4 different wineries. Pinotage is the new wine that we were introduced to during our visit, but they also make all the usual suspects in South Africa.

Not much South African wine is shipped to the US, so we loaded up on as much as we could fit into suitcases. If you have a wine suitcase, I recommend taking it. We visited Boschendal, Elgin, Waterford Estate and Fairview (the goats tower is very cool at Fairview).

Day 4

It was an early wake-up to be picked up for our drive to allow me to do the Great White Shark cage dive. The cost is about $250 and included transport from our hotel in Cape Town. It’s about a two-hour drive to the town of Gansbaai (Great White Capital of the World).

Unfortunately, we did not get to see Great Whites as they were still scarce due to the killing by two orcas named Port and Starboard that had been hunting them. Yes, the orca is the ocean’s top predator. It was still great getting to see all the other feeding sharks up close. Be prepared though. The water is freezing even with a 7mm wetsuit.

Day 5

This was our day to go visit Table Mountain that overlooks the entire city of Cape Town. I’ll let the views speak for themselves. The cost to take the cable car up is around $50. If you want the exercise, you can hike up for free.

Unfortunately, our tour to Robben Island, where Mandela was held prisoner, was cancelled due to heavy wind, so we missed out. Guess we have to go back! Book Robben Island early in your trip to give yourself some wiggle room for bad weather.

For the evening sunset, we took a taxi to Signal Hill. If you’ve ever visited our house, the twin bedroom has these pictures of the sunset as well as the view from Table Mountain.

Day 6

We spent more time walking around Cape Town in the morning before catching out flight to the eastern side of the country for our safari.

Joburg (the end of our 3-part trip)

Since we were told not to spend too much time in Joburg, we listened and were only there for 36 hours. So, what to do in 36 hours…you guessed it, the City Sightseeing Hop On/Hop Off bus. The route takes you to all the major things you need must see like Soweto and Mandela’s childhood home. If you’re flying home to or through ATL, the flight from Joburg is 16-hours direct but not too bad.