Reviews of trips to Cape Town
205 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Cape Town.
Ms N & Mr S
Bristol
"A holiday to remember"
I visited Namibia and 1 other country between 6 Jul 2011 and 27 Jul 2011
"The trip was excellent, the places we stayed were great and we had a marvellous time.
The drives between the accommodation were just the right length, we always arrived at or just after check in time and had the afternoon to explore, which was good.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The only thing we would do differently if we were going again is to miss out one night in Clanwilliam and add the night to Erongo instead. There wasn't much to do in Clanwilliam outside the wild flower season and Lambert's Bay was pretty much closed down for the winter." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip
The drives between the accommodation were just the right length, we always arrived at or just after check in time and had the afternoon to explore, which was good.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The only thing we would do differently if we were going again is to miss out one night in Clanwilliam and add the night to Erongo instead. There wasn't much to do in Clanwilliam outside the wild flower season and Lambert's Bay was pretty much closed down for the winter." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 12 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs L
USA
"Special Trip"
I visited Zambia and 1 other country between 3 Jul 2011 and 17 Jul 2011
"This trip met and exceeded our expectations. All the arrangements in Africa were perfect, and the selection of where to go and stay made the trip interesting.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
As this was our first trip to Africa, Claire was very helpful in planning our trip." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
As this was our first trip to Africa, Claire was very helpful in planning our trip." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 10 on a Zambia safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs J
Bayswater
"Fantastic!"
I visited South Africa between 3 Jul 2011 and 10 Jul 2011
"Fantastic!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
N/a" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
N/a" Read full review: 7 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr O
Washington DC
"FANTASTIC!!!!"
I visited Botswana and 2 other countries between 2 Jun 2011 and 13 Jun 2011
"Our trip was exceptional! We have been to Africa three times before but never to the Okovango Delta or Capetown and never with Expert Africa. We wouldn't change one day of it! Every part of it was exceptional from the Falls to the safaris to the wine tasting in Capetown.
We agreed that one of the things that made it truely exceptional was the construction of the trip. What I mean by that, is that we got to do and see exactly what we wanted, so it was a highly individualized tour, but we had Expert Africa there every step of the way to make sure that every detail was taken care of and taken care of professionally.
When we climbed on our flight from the US to fly ten thousand miles to another continent and begin a unique adventure, we did not know if everything would go as smoothly as promised or not. It went better, every step of the way, then we could have imagined. Every flight was on time, every camp was expecting us and treated us like royalty, even our side trips to Gaborone and Capetown went without a hitch. And through it all we were able to travel on our own schedule without being hampered by being part of a larger tour group. We would recommend Expert Africa to anyone!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No suggestions really. While Maruska was away, her sister helped, Saskia, us. She was as professional and helpful as Maruska. They were both great!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari
We agreed that one of the things that made it truely exceptional was the construction of the trip. What I mean by that, is that we got to do and see exactly what we wanted, so it was a highly individualized tour, but we had Expert Africa there every step of the way to make sure that every detail was taken care of and taken care of professionally.
When we climbed on our flight from the US to fly ten thousand miles to another continent and begin a unique adventure, we did not know if everything would go as smoothly as promised or not. It went better, every step of the way, then we could have imagined. Every flight was on time, every camp was expecting us and treated us like royalty, even our side trips to Gaborone and Capetown went without a hitch. And through it all we were able to travel on our own schedule without being hampered by being part of a larger tour group. We would recommend Expert Africa to anyone!
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
No suggestions really. While Maruska was away, her sister helped, Saskia, us. She was as professional and helpful as Maruska. They were both great!" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 5 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs M
Texas
"Our Africa Memoriy 2011"
I visited Botswana and 2 other countries between 19 May 2011 and 3 Jun 2011
"This ranks as one of the top vacation trips in our 49 years of marriage. We received true value in every aspect, but particularly in Botswana.
Every aspect was planned and executed by Expert Africa with its various on-site agents to give us a vacation and experience without any hiccups. My hobby is photography, and I feel I had the opportunity for some great shooting. The camps selected or suggested by Expert Africa gave us the variety to get as much "feel" for Botswana in 9 days as we could have hoped.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
You might consider having potential customers fill out a form indicating what they want or expect from a trip to Africa. many of our friends reacted to our plans with comments like "aren't you scared to be out there at night?". Many Americans are not as familiar with the potential experience as they should be." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Every aspect was planned and executed by Expert Africa with its various on-site agents to give us a vacation and experience without any hiccups. My hobby is photography, and I feel I had the opportunity for some great shooting. The camps selected or suggested by Expert Africa gave us the variety to get as much "feel" for Botswana in 9 days as we could have hoped.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
You might consider having potential customers fill out a form indicating what they want or expect from a trip to Africa. many of our friends reacted to our plans with comments like "aren't you scared to be out there at night?". Many Americans are not as familiar with the potential experience as they should be." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 9 on a Botswana safari
Overall trip
Excellent
6
Whangarei
"Amazing itinerary, brilliant organisation"
I visited Namibia and 3 other countries between 1 Apr 2011 and 4 May 2011
"We had an amazing adventure through SA, Namibia and Botswana. Being independent Kiwis, we were keen on arranging our own itinerary and travelling under our own steam, preferably off the beaten tourist track. Namibia appealed, and once I found your amazing website I was hooked. In a former life I was a travel agent here in NZ, but most trips were packaged and rigid, and that was not what we wanted. Having worked out roughly where we wanted to go, I emailed your office, who then referred me to your Namibian expert who (unbelievably!) actually lived in NZ.
Maruska's in depth knowledge of Namibia and her recommendations really made the trip work. Travelling distances were good, and although we travelled over 7,500 km in 5 weeks, it was very do-able. Maruska listened to our preferences and we were delighted with her choice of accom. We enjoyed having the freedom of travelling in the 4WDs to suit ourselves. I fully expected the odd hiccup when we finished with the vehicles and then were reliant on a complicated series of transfers, boats, small planes with no set schedule, more transfers etc, but it all went according to plan and worked like clockwork.
Full marks to Maruska and your agents in Namibia and Botswana for attention to detail and for putting it all together.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Just keep doing what you do so well. Your website is just fantastic, great to read other peoples reviews, which is why I've spent all day putting up all this feedback (Sorry it took so long!).
The Brandt guides to Namibia and Botswana are actually in our local library, and it was from there I picked up the website in the first place. Our copies are well worn from the trip, and there was a bit of a bun fight over who kept them. Maybe one per couple would be good, or at least one per vehicle? The Namibia maps were great and Maruska had highlighted each of our stops which was also great attention to detail. We were very happy with the service we received from Maruska - she's a gem - look after her!" Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip
Maruska's in depth knowledge of Namibia and her recommendations really made the trip work. Travelling distances were good, and although we travelled over 7,500 km in 5 weeks, it was very do-able. Maruska listened to our preferences and we were delighted with her choice of accom. We enjoyed having the freedom of travelling in the 4WDs to suit ourselves. I fully expected the odd hiccup when we finished with the vehicles and then were reliant on a complicated series of transfers, boats, small planes with no set schedule, more transfers etc, but it all went according to plan and worked like clockwork.
Full marks to Maruska and your agents in Namibia and Botswana for attention to detail and for putting it all together.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Just keep doing what you do so well. Your website is just fantastic, great to read other peoples reviews, which is why I've spent all day putting up all this feedback (Sorry it took so long!).
The Brandt guides to Namibia and Botswana are actually in our local library, and it was from there I picked up the website in the first place. Our copies are well worn from the trip, and there was a bit of a bun fight over who kept them. Maybe one per couple would be good, or at least one per vehicle? The Namibia maps were great and Maruska had highlighted each of our stops which was also great attention to detail. We were very happy with the service we received from Maruska - she's a gem - look after her!" Read full review: 33 nights in Africa; 19 on a Namibia trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs O
Dorset
"Kgalagadi and Cape Town - A Fantastic Trip!"
I visited South Africa between 14 Nov 2010 and 26 Nov 2010
"We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Kgalagadi and Cape Town - and would happily, and enthusiastically, recommend it to others! The trip isn't for the faint hearted - or for anyone who is looking for a holiday on a plate - but if you love exploring, don't mind driving around (a lot!) and have been on safari before so you know that you won't see animals at every turn - then this trip is for you. The order you do things is important - so we would recommend Augrabies Falls, followed by the Kgalagadi, followed by Cape Town.
The wildlife we saw in the Kgalagadi was fabulous - and included the Black Maned Kalahari Lions (including a pair mating, as well as a couple of family groups and individuals), Cheetahs (including a pair lying in the shade right next to the road) and an amazing selection of antelopes, deer and other smaller mammals (including Bat Eared Foxes - and Meerkats!). As the tourist numbers in the the Kgalagadi are very low compared to other destinations in Africa, you have the chance to sit, watch and enjoy without interruption - which is a real privilege.
Cape Town is fantastic - and our only regret is not getting out to Robben Island (if you're going - make sure you pre-book ferry tickets to Robben Island in advance, as getting them when you're there is not easy).
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We think you should recommend to travellers who plan to visit the Kgalagadi that they should consider upgrading to a 4*4 vehicle. Although the roads are very good in the dry, it's a different story in the wet. But also - and perhaps more importantly - a number of the roads are below the vegetation height of the scrub/bush either side - so unless you have a high vehicle, you struggle to see the wildlife (we bumped into several people who were disappointed by the lack of wildlife - and all of them were travelling in saloon cars. Either we were lucky - or the height really did make a difference!)" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip
The wildlife we saw in the Kgalagadi was fabulous - and included the Black Maned Kalahari Lions (including a pair mating, as well as a couple of family groups and individuals), Cheetahs (including a pair lying in the shade right next to the road) and an amazing selection of antelopes, deer and other smaller mammals (including Bat Eared Foxes - and Meerkats!). As the tourist numbers in the the Kgalagadi are very low compared to other destinations in Africa, you have the chance to sit, watch and enjoy without interruption - which is a real privilege.
Cape Town is fantastic - and our only regret is not getting out to Robben Island (if you're going - make sure you pre-book ferry tickets to Robben Island in advance, as getting them when you're there is not easy).
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
We think you should recommend to travellers who plan to visit the Kgalagadi that they should consider upgrading to a 4*4 vehicle. Although the roads are very good in the dry, it's a different story in the wet. But also - and perhaps more importantly - a number of the roads are below the vegetation height of the scrub/bush either side - so unless you have a high vehicle, you struggle to see the wildlife (we bumped into several people who were disappointed by the lack of wildlife - and all of them were travelling in saloon cars. Either we were lucky - or the height really did make a difference!)" Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 11 on a South Africa trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs W
Aberdeen
"Another excellent trip by Expert Africa"
I visited South Africa between 28 Oct 2010 and 10 Nov 2010
"Tracy Lederer again put together an excellent trip for us. The service we have received from Expert Africa whilst planning both this trip and our previous trip to Namibia was excellent. The knowledge of the area and hotels really helps when discussing routes and accomodation.
We will definately be using Expert Africa for our next African trip.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The maps for South Africa, especially Cape town were not as clear as Namibia. We used our Sat Nav and that got us around without any problems." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip
We will definately be using Expert Africa for our next African trip.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
The maps for South Africa, especially Cape town were not as clear as Namibia. We used our Sat Nav and that got us around without any problems." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs W
Chipstead
"Cape Visit"
I visited South Africa between 5 Sep 2010 and 26 Sep 2010
"Overall, we enjoyed it. However, the main reason for our visit - earlier in the year than we would otherwise have chosen - was our long-standing desire to view the vivid 'carpets' of spring flowers for which Namaqualand is so famous. This year there were none - according to local experts, the worst year for a decade. So this was a disappointment and meant that we drove a huge distance - to Springbok and back - for very little purpose. Of course, no-one can be blamed for that.
Our second disappointment was Constantia Uitsig and I have tried to explain why in my comments above. I'd be interested to know what your other clients think about this place." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a South Africa trip
Our second disappointment was Constantia Uitsig and I have tried to explain why in my comments above. I'd be interested to know what your other clients think about this place." Read full review: 21 nights in Africa; 13 on a South Africa trip
Overall trip
Good
Mr C
York
""
I visited South Africa between 29 Jan 2010 and 10 Feb 2010
"We are likely to return, which is something we don't often do.
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Claire was excellent - she had an informed answer to every question we asked." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip
Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:
Claire was excellent - she had an informed answer to every question we asked." Read full review: 12 nights in Africa; 9 on a South Africa trip
Overall trip
Excellent
205
reviews of Cape Town by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
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Inspire meWhere to stay in Cape Town
Our suggestions for places to stay in Cape Town
Vineyard Hotel
In the quiet, leafy suburb of Newlands, the sophisticated Vineyard Hotel has close access to smart shops, sports facilities and the main sights of Cape Town.
Acorn House
Against the awe-inspiring backdrop of Table Mountain, Acorn House offers a traditional guesthouse welcome in a historic setting.
Victoria & Alfred Hotel
The Victoria & Alfred Hotel is a pleasant place to stay whilst visiting Cape Town. It's located at one of the Cape's most visited destinations, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.
The Constantia
The five-star Constantia is an elegant, country-style boutique hotel with well-appointed rooms, situated close to Cape Town’s attractions, five world-class wine estates and many superb restaurants.
Four Rosmead
Four Rosmead is a comfortable, very friendly guest house located very close to the city centre and all its nearby attractions.
Camps Bay Retreat
Camps Bay Retreat is a peaceful sanctuary set in a lush green private reserve overlooking the sea, close to one of Cape Town's most desirable beachfront areas.
Cape Grace
The Cape Grace is set in the centre of Cape Town's Victoria and Alfred Waterfront. It's a perfect base for those wanting to be close to restaurants and shops.
Long Beach
Located on one of Cape Town's best beaches, the Long Beach is a great place to relax and explore, although it is further from the city than many other hotels and guesthouses.
Radisson Blu Waterfront
The Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront is located beside the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront and has great views of the Atlantic Ocean
Hotel Verde
The contemporary and comfortable Hotel Verde, within a stone’s throw of Cape Town International Airport, has a strong focus on sustainability and the environment.
Cellars-Hohenort
Cellars Hohenort is a luxury hotel set in stunning gardens. Situated in the wine-growing Constantia Valley it is not far from many of Cape Town's attractions.
Bay Hotel
On the beachfront at Camps Bay, the Bay Hotel has luxury 5-star amenities, plus close access to one of Cape Towns best beaches as well as lots of restaurants, bars and nightlife.
Mount Nelson Hotel
Mount Nelson Hotel is Cape Town's oldest and most famous hotel. It's a place to be seen and the best address for a delicious afternoon tea.
Twelve Apostles
The welcoming Twelve Apostles Hotel has a great location overlooking the ocean, just a short drive to the beach and restaurants of Camps Bay.
