In the middle of January 2022 I found myself making my way to Cape Town which is situated above the legendary Cape of Good Hope, the second most southern tip of Africa (the first being Cape Agulhas). The Cape of Good Hope marks the point where European sailors were once sailing more east than south on their grand voyage around the African continent. For a few hundred years, Cape Town sat on what was one of the most traversed shipping lanes of the old world and it captured the minds of sailors for many generations.
These days, Cape Town is a vibrant city and is continuing to overcome the systematic racism from South Africa’s apartheid era. South Africa itself is home to eleven different languages with English and Afrikaans tying together diverse groups of people.
Cape Town is a city of over a 4.6 million people and covers an area of almost 1,000 square miles. I was extremely fortunate to get to experience this city and it’s suburban districts over the course of four weeks with three close friends. One of whom, Adriaan Lab, is a Cape Town based photographer. This portion of the website is deeply indebted to him so please check out his work at www.adriaanlab.com or on Instagram @adriaanlab.
Things to do - Food & Drink - Exploring false bay
Here are a few posts where you can get some useful intel for your stay in Cape Town. I tried to provide a variety of information for the Central Business District as well as a few popular areas located around False bay.
Cape town cbd - Where to stay:
The Kloof
This is an area roughly between Orange St, Kamp St and Kloof Nek Rd with Kloof St in the center. This area has a good atmosphere and a lot of great cafes, restaurants and bars.
sea point
Sea Point is another great area I would recommend people stay in to experience some of the best things Cape Town has to offer. Main Road and Regent Road are packed with excellent and diverse restaurants. There are plenty of hotel and Airbnb options as well as a few hostels. You also have access to the beach and can get into the Sea Point Pavilion which has some pools with diving boards.
Other Areas to consider
Some people will choose to stay in the colorful Bo Kaap part which is also considered to be a pretty safe spot. It is convenient to walk to many popular places in the Central Business District from there. The V&A Waterfront is another popular area but it is a more affluent, tourist part of the city so expect prices of hotels and restaurants to reflect that.
I did not spend much time staying in the Central Business District but when I did towards the end of my trip I stayed at Longstreet Backpackers Youth Hostel. This is a good and secure option if you want to meet people and have a good time. Longstreet will become a little sketchy at night but staff can give you good intel on where to go and there is a bar on site with regular events
. The staff were excellent and can help you find tours both through agencies or their own. They have a number of solid, open common areas and two balconies so you can have a few beers and watch Longstreet TV at night (if you know what I mean). You will have a good time and they will take care of you there.
A note on safety and crime
Unfortunately, it has to be noted that Cape Town is not a very safe city though, comparatively, it is not as bad as other cities in South Africa as South Africa as a whole is home to some of the most dangerous cities in Africa. Car jackings and muggings are most common but there are plenty of homicides and gang related crimes. The reasons for this are complicated but a lot of it has to do with poverty left over from apartheid and the still sprawling townships which make life incredibly difficult for hundreds of thousands of people all over the country.
There are several things you can do to mitigate your risk.
1. Research the areas you plan to visit and ask for local advice from your hotel. Hotel staff will have a good idea of where is safe to walk and where you might want to call an uber instead. Normally this is fine as you can call an uber from inside and wait for it to show up if the area you are in feels sketchy. In certain areas, especially at night, it is not recommended to wait for your uber with your phone in your hand out on the street.
2. Walk like you have somewhere to be. Most crimes are opportunistic meaning that potential criminals are evaluating the people around them to see if there is an opportunity to make off with something. Don’t have valuables in your hand or be walking while looking at your phone. You may want to try to avoid walking around town with headphones. Be sure to walk like you know where you are going and always take note of your surroundings. Being vigilant can help deter a lot of petty crimes. For this reason too, in general, Cape Town is not a city for wandering around. Instead, have a plan and stick to it. That being said, if you are in a situation where you are about to be robbed, don’t fight back as your chances of getting seriously hurt or killed go way up. Your watch or phone aren’t worth more than your life.
3. Don’t go out at night. Okay, I’m not saying you can’t have an evening dinner or go for a few drinks, only that you should rely on uber more to reach your destinations and if the next place you are going to isn’t around the corner or just down the street then definitely call for a car to take you.
4. Have a partner. This helps drop your chances of trouble if you are with someone or in a small group. This especially holds if you are going into the mountains around Cape Town which are typically safe but people have run into trouble (and been killed) on these trails – spectacular as they might be.
5. If you’re driving and parking your car in Cape Town be sure that everything is out of sight to limit your risk of having a window smashed and items stolen. At night it may be a good idea to keep your windows closed while driving – this is especially true in Johannesburg.