Bubulander Travel Guide: Cape Town

Discover Cape Town, South Africa

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This season, the Bubulander travel guide is taking you to one of the most breathtaking cities on the planet, a place where a flat-topped mountain watches over sandy beaches, where world-class wine grows at the foot of ancient peaks, and where the energy of Africa meets effortless cosmopolitan cool. The home of Nelson Mandela's release, the inspiration for J.M. Coetzee, the birthplace of some of the world's most extraordinary cuisine… CAPE TOWN.

Breakfast

Head to the leafy suburb of Kloof Street and make your way to Yours Truly for a long weekend brunch. Think fluffy ricotta pancakes, smashed avo on sourdough, and some of the best flat whites you will have anywhere in the world. The outdoor terrace, canopied by trees, makes it an absolute dream.

If you find yourself in the De Waterkant neighbourhood Cape Town's colourful cobblestoned village pop into Superette on Hudson Street. Delicious food, a rotating filter coffee menu, and the most Instagrammable tiles you have ever seen. Arrive early; it fills up fast.

Start your day early near the V&A Waterfront, head to Truth Coffee Roasting on Buitenkant Street for a quick breakfast and extraordinary single-origin coffee; the steampunk industrial interior alone is worth the trip.

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Lunch

Pay a visit to Camps Bay and have lunch at one of the restaurants along the strip, watching the Atlantic roll in beneath the Twelve Apostles mountain range. Chinchilla and The Codfather are both excellent choices for fresh seafood. The views are simply unmatched anywhere.

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Sweet tooth

Koeksisters, koeksisters, koeksisters!

Take a walk through the Bo-Kaap Cape Town's iconic pastel-painted Cape Malay neighbourhood and find your way to one of the family bakeries along Wale Street. You will not leave empty-handed. Pick up a syrup-soaked koeksister and a warm samoosa and consider your afternoon made.

What surprised me even more was how clean everything is. The streets, the parks, the beaches, even the public toilets. They are clean, well-maintained, and treated with a level of respect that still catches me off guard. It’s as if the city quietly agrees to take care of itself, and everyone plays their part.

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Cape Town experiences

Fill a bag with fresh fruit, biltong, and local treats from the Oranjezicht City Farm Market at the Granger Bay on weekends, and enjoy them on the grassy lawns with the harbour and mountain as your backdrop, while the children are entertained by local musicians and artisans.

Do not miss the iconic ride on the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway! The rotating cable car lifts you above the city to one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World in under ten minutes. On clear days, you can see all the way to Robben Island.

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Time to play

Besides the beaches of Camps Bay and Clifton, why not head to Boulders Beach in Simon's Town? A magical and completely peaceful escape from the city, and an unmissable destination for nature lovers and families. Home to a protected colony of African penguins, you can walk the boardwalks between hundreds of them waddling around on the sand.

Not many things can compare to Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden! Set at the foot of Table Mountain on the slopes of the Cape Peninsula, with ancient trees, fynbos, and a world-famous summer concert series. Make sure to arm yourselves with a picnic, a blanket, and plenty of sunscreen for a full day out.

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Museums

The Iziko South African Museum in the Company's Garden is home to extraordinary natural history displays, interactive exhibits, and cultural programmes. Children and families can explore dinosaur fossils, whale skeletons, a world-class planetarium, and exhibits tracing the deep history of southern Africa. Hands-on and genuinely fascinating for all ages.

One of the highlights of the museum is its planetarium, which offers immersive shows projecting simulations of the southern hemisphere's extraordinary night skies onto a dome-shaped screen. The southern skies are some of the clearest and most spectacular in the world, an absolute must.

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Robben Island

In case you have a day extra, we strongly recommend taking the ferry from the V&A Waterfront to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years in captivity. The island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the tours are led by former political prisoners. Deeply moving, profoundly important, and unforgettable. Book well in advance.

Night out

Cape Town is known for its vibrant and diverse food and nightlife scene. Acclaimed restaurants, rooftop bars, world-class cocktail lounges, and long winelands tables all spread across the city's beautiful neighbourhoods.

The rich cultural life of Cape Town is not just for grown-ups. Check out the websites of Artscape Theatre and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra for family-friendly performances, and be sure they will not disappoint.

Cape Town doesn't just show you beauty, it wraps you in it. From the mountain to the ocean to the table set with the best of Africa's flavours, it is a city that stays with you long after you have left.