Your First Day in Cape Town
Our advice, from meeting families at arrivals since 2008: do not book a tour for the day you land.
Why We Say That
Most families reach us after a night on a plane, often with a connection. The children have not slept, the grandparents need to sit, and the hotel room is often not ready until the afternoon.
A tour booked months ago, at home and rested, then has to be done by people who are neither. Once it is paid for, families push through it so as not to waste the money, and the holiday starts with everyone at their worst.
We would rather you saw District Six and the Bo-Kaap on a day you can take them in.
What Actually Helps
Someone waiting at arrivals. Your name on a board, your flight followed so a delay costs you nothing, car seats on request, and a luggage trailer for a large group at no extra charge.
Your bags off your hands. Land in the morning and your room may not be ready, but most hotels will hold your bags. Ask for early check-in when you book; it costs nothing to ask.
Something light, close by. A slow walk along the Sea Point promenade or around the V&A Waterfront, somewhere easy to eat, and an early night. Nothing that needs booking.
Dinner without the driving. If you would like to eat out on the first night, we drive you to dinner and collect you afterwards, so nobody has to find their way around a new city in the dark.
Landing in the evening? Straight to your hotel. Dinner close by or room service, and the holiday starts tomorrow.
The City Centre on Your Own
Once everyone has slept, the city centre is easy to do yourselves, and we would rather tell you so than sell you a day of it.
The Bo-Kaap. The coloured houses and cobbled streets just above the city centre, best on foot. Auwal Masjid, completed in 1794 as South Africa's first mosque, is on Dorp Street.
The District Six Museum. A neighbourhood demolished under apartheid, told by the people who lived there. Open Monday to Saturday.
The Company's Garden. Shade, benches and lawns in the middle of the city, planted in 1652.
The V&A Waterfront. Food, shops and the harbour, and easy with children.
A free walking tour. Guides lead walks through the Bo-Kaap and District Six from the city centre every day, for a tip.
If you would like a day that genuinely needs a driver, such as the kramats around the peninsula or a walk through Langa with a local guide, tell us and we will plan it.
The Days Worth a Driver
Cape Peninsula is the day most families book. Winelands Premium Trio takes you through Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, with or without the wine. Between June and November, Hermanus & the Whale Coast is the whales from the cliff paths.
See all our daysTell Us When You Land
Send us your flight and where you are staying, and Andre will be at arrivals.