Esteemed forum advisors,
I will be spending a week in Cape Town with my DD in May. After that week, she will be continuing to a work assignment and I will spend more time (maybe another week-ish) on my own.
I am looking for suggestions - should I stay in Cape Town and do a local safari from there, head to Johannesburg and join a group in Kruger, favorite sights, restaurants, can’t misses in both cities, etc.
TIA
Do a vineyard tour. There are some that will pick you up at your lodging and drive you around. Or if you have a car…head out to the Stellenbosch
My kid and friends did a wine and cheese tour. Picked up at where they were staying, and went to several different places. Said it was fabulous.
We all drove to Stellenbosch and it is beyond gorgeous. Think Napa on steroids.
Go to the Cape of Good Hope.
Go to the southernmost point in Africa where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.
Weather permitting, ride the tram to the top of whatever it is…right in Cape Town.
There is a beautiful park in downtown Cape Town…it might be a botanical garden. Regardless…gorgeous plantings and a great place to walk around.
I would not go to Johannesburg. There is plenty to occupy your time in Cape Town.
I’ve been to South Africa five times. My number one suggestion would be to go on a guided safari in Kruger or an adjacent game park. There is just no comparison to other game preserves in the country. Kruger National Park is larger than Rhode Island, and there are no fences between it and the adjacent preserves. Kruger is the more economical option, but if you can afford it (or have a generous dad like I do), the game preserves are just incredible.
I agree to skip Johannesburg.
If you decide to stay in the Cape Town area, @thumper has given you good suggestions. Make sure to take the Chapman’s Peak Drive. It’s a toll road with some of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. https://www.chapmanspeakdrive.co.za/
The garden @thumper mentioned is the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. For some reason, I never went there until my last visit - what a mistake, I should have gone multiple times! You could spend quite a bit of time there. I recommend taking a guided tour and then wandering around. The gift store is quite nice. 
Kirstenbosch - SANBI
The Victoria and Albert Waterfront is another nice area if you have time. There is a shore path that starts there. One year, I had a taxi driver drop me off and I ran five miles out and then back. Everyone said it was safe and it was one of the best runs of my life. There is also a cool museum where they have excavated a lot of ruins that you can see. https://www.chavonnesbattery.co.za/
You probably know this, but South Africa has a lot of crime. Be careful, all the time. Keep your car doors locked and your windows down. One time, we were driving through Johannesburg and my mom rolled down the window to take a photo - our host had a fit - “CLOSE THE WINDOW NOW!!!” Yikes. Every house has fencing and a security system - required to get insurance. Having said that, if you’re smart, you’ll be fine. We never had any issues on our trips.
Another tour I would highly recommend is in the township in Cape Town. It’s hard to see, but wow, the people are incredible. We visited a school there one year, and my kids couldn’t believe how happy the students were.
I am envious you’re going - have a wonderful trip.
Agree with @MaineLonghorn about the Victoria and Albert Waterfront. Oh…and there is one of those wonderful Ferris wheels there. Since riding all of those is on my bucket list…we did that.
The hop on hop off bus tour is really a good one, and takes you around the whole area. There are two routes and I don’t remember which one(s) we did, but they were great. The narrative provided was excellent. I know the one we took included driving on the road where all the very wealthy celebrities build their gorgeous homes that abut the beach…many having lifts taking them from the home DOWN the cliffs.
We had been told to have a steak dinner in Capetown…and I will say…that was the best steak I’ve ever eaten.
Thanks, @MaineLonghorn and @thumper1 !
Either of you stay overnight anywhere in wine country?
I’m beginning to think that staying mostly in Cape Town with a night or two in wine country and a Garden Route safari for a few days would be perfect.
I typically vacillate between the whirlwind, as many places as can fit, sightseeing vs. the deeper exploration of a smaller locale.
Agree Kruger is amazing. We self-drove but if you’re alone agree joining a group makes sense. Much as I loved cape town I wouldn’t miss the animals. I also did a group tour in the kalahari but we saw a lot more animals in Kruger. That may have just been luck of the draw though. Also cape point to see the penguins.
We did the animal thing in Rwanda which was also amazing! But it’s not something you would plan if visiting Capetown.
We did not spend the night in the wine country. We had so many other day trips to make during our 9 days in Capetown that we just didn’t do that.
Some wine pics…
The penguins are well worth seeing!
And this!
Oh yes, penguins in Simonstown!!
I can’t remember the name if the place we stayed. There are a lot of nice B&Bs. I would just look online.
Knysa is a nice turn on the Garden Route. We took a boat to an island from there. Very pretty.
I do think guided safaris are worth the price. It’s amazing what guides could see that we missed totally. They also know where the animals tend to hang out. When we talked to tourists who were driving themselves, they didn’t see as much as we had during the day.
I would recommend highly the Andros Boutique Hotel in Cape Town. I plan on going back there some day. https://andros.co.za/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhrGqv-C9_QIV6MmUCR0gJwFMEAAYASAAEgIaXPD_BwE
And of course go up on the gondola to Table Mountain. My advice is if it’s a nice day, go!! It’s she get socked in for long stretches and it can happen suddenly.
That’s the tram I mentioned upstream. This can be a challenge…because it doesn’t run when it’s windy…and it’s windy a lot up there. DH and DD took the tram UP…but they suspended operations and they hiked down. I went to a nice coffee shop and waited for them!
That is true about missing stuff on your own. I was sad I hadn’t seen a cape buffalo. Got home, looking through my pix, front and center beautiful buffalo lying there in front of the tree I thought I was photographing. Felt like an idiot. But love the picture (and the story). It’s not like Cape buffalo are exactly small!
I like this photo. 
If its your first time I recommend staying at the V&A Waterfront
There are many hotels in various price ranges.
An affordable one we like
https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-red-cape-town-va-waterfront#
One of our favorite wineries
Don’t forget to go to top of Table Top Mountain, Boulder Beach, Cape of Good Hope so much to see and do
Yes do a Safari if you can There are many, at different price points depending on budget
We like the area North of Durban , KwaZulu-Natal
We’ve been to these three
https://zulunyala.co.za This would be the most affordable budget. No Lions at preserve
I’m glad there is no longer a drought in Cape Town. We stayed in a nice hotel on the V&A Waterfront. There was a sign in the room that they would recycle water if we had any left in plastic bottles! But the ironic thing was that the showers were ice cold and took awhile to warm up. I jumped in as soon as I could stand it, but I felt bad, seeing the water run down the drain. I did tell the front desk they might want to work on that.
You will have great meals in South Africa. They are very affordable since the exchange rate is so favorable. When we were there, a typical entrée cost about $10. We chuckled, though, when we saw “Maine lobster” on the menu for $80!!
Such a great coincidence. H and I just booked tickets for about two weeks in Cape Town. Had most of the stuff above on our list. We do want to head out to Kruger or another park to get a safari in. I’d love to stay at one of the lodges, but we might be looking at this really late. Will look at some of the options suggested here this weekend.
H is always amazed when I say I found this thread on CC - just as we start looking at something
As much as others are saying go to Kruger, that’s not so easy on your own. It’s a flight away, and it’s self drive park. My husband is South African and I’ve been many times and wouldn’t have gone on my own. Try to hit the wine country, Franshoek is the most amazing little town, the wines, the view, the French culture is just all amazing. There’s a cheetah park in Stellenbosch, if you can’t do a park, that is fabulous. It’s part of a big winery. Don’t miss sunset on Table Mountain, CapeHope /Boulders Penguins & the best beaches, Clifton beach & Camps Bay.
Thanks to all who posted their suggestions/impressions. I will be doing a deeper dive with these in hand. It might be hard to narrow things down!
For sure! I tell people the only problem with going to South Africa is that once you go, you have to go again…
Keep in mind that if you rent a car, request an automatic unless you’re comfortable shifting with your left hand! We got a stick shift one time and my brain couldn’t figure it out. Thank goodness my dad could do it.
