Sarah van der Merwe moved from Johannesburg to Cape Town in 2011 and works as a documentary filmmaker. She lives in Woodstock, surfs at Muizenberg, and has hosted over 40 visiting friends and family members — making her the unofficial Cape Town tourism expert of her social circle. Here's what a decade and a half on the ground actually teaches you.
Rent a car. Everyone says it, and here it's genuinely essential. Cape Point, Chapman's Peak Drive, the wine region, Boulders Beach — none of them are easy to reach without one. Rentals start at about R350/day (~$20 USD). You'll drive on the left. And leave nothing visible in the car — break-ins at trailheads and beach parking are the number one tourist crime.
The other move: check the Table Mountain webcam before you head up. The cable car closes when the "tablecloth" cloud descends, which happens fast and without warning. Plenty of people burn a whole day driving out only to find it shut. The webcam lives on tablemountain.net. Clear morning? Go immediately, and drop everything else.
Table Mountain — cable car or hike?
Both, if your legs are up for it. The cable car runs about R430 (~$24 USD) round trip, and the rotating floor hands you 360-degree views on the way up. Book online to skip the queue — it can stretch to 90 minutes in peak season.
But Platteklip Gorge — the main hiking route — takes 2-3 hours up, and it earns its reputation as one of the most rewarding hikes in the world. Not because it's pretty (it's steep and relentless), but because the moment you crest the top and see the city, the ocean, and Robben Island spread out below, the effort makes the view land differently.
The local move: hike up Platteklip, cable car down.
The most overrated tourist spot
Camps Bay Beach. It's gorgeous — the Twelve Apostles rising behind you, the white sand, the palm-lined promenade. But the water sits at 8-14°C. The Atlantic side of Cape Town is fed by the Benguela Current, cold enough to bring on hypothermia. Watch tourists sprint in expecting the Mediterranean and stagger out gasping thirty seconds later.
If you actually want to swim, head to Muizenberg or Fish Hoek on the False Bay side, where the water runs 16-22°C — still cool, but swimmable. Muizenberg also has the best beginner surfing in the city. Lessons go for about R500 for 2 hours.
Where locals eat when nobody's trying to impress
Kalky's in Kalk Bay for fish and chips — right on the harbor, boats hauling in the day's catch. About R80-120 for a portion. The Neighbourgoods Market in Woodstock on Saturday mornings covers everything from Ethiopian injera to Korean bibimbap to local biltong. The Silo Rooftop delivers sundowners with Table Mountain views (cocktails R100-150).
For a proper braai (South African BBQ), it helps to know someone local. Failing that, Mzansi Restaurant in Khayelitsha runs guided township dining experiences that are authentic, affordable (~R250-400 per person), and channel money straight back into the community.
What about the wine region?
The Franschhoek Wine Tram is the most fun way in — R300, hopping between 8 estates. Tastings run R80-200 per estate (~$5-11 USD). You roll in and out of a little open-air tram car, drinking world-class wine in one of the most scenic valleys on earth.
Want the insider pick? Skip the big-name estates on your first visit. Go to Beau Constantia in Constantia (20 minutes from the city center). Small, boutique, with sweeping views of False Bay — and its Viognier ranks among the finest white wine in South Africa. Tasting runs about R150.
For lunch in the winelands: Delaire Graff in Stellenbosch for the splurge (a stunning contemporary art collection between courses), or Tokara for the view (the terrace overlooks the entire valley).
If you love wine regions, Buenos Aires is the gateway to Argentina's Malbec country, and Nice opens the door to Provence's rosé vineyards.
What people get wrong about safety
Two things. Travelers land either too scared (holed up in the hotel, going nowhere) or too relaxed (strolling down Long Street at 2AM, phone in hand). The reality sits in between.
The tourist areas — V&A Waterfront, Camps Bay, Constantia, Stellenbosch, the Sea Point Promenade — are well-policed and safe by day. Keep your phone put away in busy areas. Lock everything in the trunk before you park (before you arrive at your destination — thieves watch you stash things). Take Uber at night — it's R50-100 across town and reliable.
And don't visit townships without a local guide. Langa, Khayelitsha, and Gugulethu all run excellent community-led tours that support the local economy. It's the single most important thing you can do to understand South Africa.
Best free things to do
So many. Hiking Lion's Head at sunrise (the line for the chain ladders starts forming at 5AM in summer). Walking the Sea Point Promenade. Exploring Bo-Kaap — the brightly painted Cape Malay neighborhood on Signal Hill (Wale Street is the most photographed). Catching the Noon Gun at Signal Hill (it fires at noon every day except Sundays — and has since 1806). The Company's Garden downtown. Green Point Park.
Cape Town pulls off something unusual: so many of its absolute best experiences cost nothing. The mountain, the coastline, the neighborhoods — all free. You pay for wine, food, and Robben Island. Everything else is just... there.
What's underrated
Kalk Bay. A small fishing village on the False Bay side with antique shops, indie bookshops, a harbor full of seals, and some of the best restaurants in the city (Harbour House, The Brass Bell). You can spend a whole day there, and most tourists have never heard of it.
Also the sunrise from Lion's Head. Everyone does sunset, which is great. But at sunrise you have it to yourself — the light turning pink and gold on Table Mountain across the way, the city still asleep below. It's genuinely one of the most beautiful sights in the city.
If you have just 3 days
Day 1: Table Mountain (hike or cable car, go early), a Bo-Kaap walk, lunch at the V&A Waterfront, and a Robben Island tour in the afternoon (book weeks ahead at robben-island.org.za, ~R600).
Day 2: The full Cape Peninsula drive — Chapman's Peak, the Boulders Beach penguins (~R176 entry), Cape of Good Hope (~R376 park entry), and fish and chips at Kalk Bay on the way back.
Day 3: A wine tasting day in Stellenbosch or Franschhoek. Three estates minimum. Lunch at a vineyard. Buy wine to ship home (DHL from the estates is surprisingly affordable).
That's Cape Town in 3 days. Come back for a week and add Muizenberg surfing, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, a township tour, and enough wine tasting to last a lifetime.
For a wildlife and nature deep dive, read the Cape Town nature guide.
Sarah can be found most Saturday mornings at the Neighbourgoods Market in Woodstock or surfing the longboard break at Muizenberg. Her Cape Town recommendations also live on her Instagram, which stays unlinked here at her request — she doesn't want more DMs from friends-of-friends asking for hosting.
