Cape Town Day 4: Robben Island, Ariel + Hotel #2
I visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. Glam Italian in Sea Point for lunch. Checked into my my second Cape Town hotel at V&A Waterfront.
Solo in South Africa no more! My parents are finally back in Cape Town after cruising through South Africa and Namibia. They were back on land around 10 am, but I was already out and about and meet up with them later.
Watch the Cape Town Day 4 companion vlog on TikTok or Instagram.
Read the Cape Town Day 3 blog here.
Robben Island Museum
Sometimes I forget how young the Republic of South Africa is. Robben Island reminded
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Robben Island Museum is a must when you visit the country. Robben Island is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned between 1964 and 1982, but it’s been used to isolate and dehumanize political prisoners on and off since the 1600s. The last Apartheid Era political prisoners were released in 1991. The prison officially closed in 1996.
It’s heavy, sobering and you’re going to leave the island mad as hell. As much as I enjoyed this trip, South Africa left me with so many complicated feelings about race. It’s been a month, and I’m still processing.
The museum operates four tours daily during peak season from The Nelson Mandela Gateway at V&A Waterfront (near the Clock Tower). I took the first tour of the day at 9 am. The tour is about 3.5 hours.
Robben Island is a 35-minute ferry ride. But before the ferry, you must go through security inside the Gateway, purchase tickets if you haven’t done so already, and queue before boarding, which begins 45 minutes before departure. DON’T FORGET YOUR PASSPORT. I don’t exactly know why they check it, but they do. Boarding ends 10 minutes before sailing.
Once you’re on the island, you get on a bus (get on Craig’s bus if you can) and drive around the island.
When you reach the prison dormitories, you spend time with a former Robben Island political prisoner. They volunteer at the museum for 3-6 month residencies at a time. To honor their stories, you cannot record this portion of the tour whatsoever.
Our Freedom Fighter served 12 years at Robben Island. He was arrested in high school while attending a prayer vigil commemorating the 1976 Soweto Uprising. What he shared about his trial and imprisonment was horrific. And for him to be so sweet, warm, and downright funny after experiencing what would harden and break most, I lost it.
The tour concluded with seeing Nelson Mandela’s cell. That red bin and paper-thin mattress is seared into my memory.
Cost of adult non-resident tour ticket: $32.25
When I purchased: 1 month prior
Lunch at Ariel Modern Italian
Not my parents NOT wanting to meet up with me for lunch, so I went to Ariel Modern Italian by myself. That’s fine. I’ve been solo in Cape Town for almost four days. I told them I’d see them at the hotel for check-in.
Ariel was recommended by a woman I met on the sunset cruise I took my first night in Cape Town. I made a mid-afternoon reservation on the ferry heading back to the mainland. The Uber ride from V&A Waterfront was a little under 20 minutes.
Regent Road was busy for a Tuesday afternoon. Sea Point is one of Cape Town’s more affluent, but densely populated, neighborhoods with lots of shopping and restaurants. Ariel is next door to JARRYDS Brunch & Bistro, a popular and often-recommended brunch spot I didn’t have the chance to go to during my trip. Both restaurants are owned by the same restaurant group.
I’d describe Ariel as glam Italian. Chic and aesthetic. It’s perfect for lunch, dinner, or drinks. I had great service and one of the best espresso rumtinis of my life. The focaccia was good too. It left very little room for my prawn linguine.
Cost of lunch: $28.21
Hotel #2
I was really sad leaving my first Cape Town hotel in De Waterkant, but my mom wanted to stay in a touristy area. She is the birthday girl after all.
The Radisson RED V&A Waterfront is in the Waterfront’s artsy Silo District and next door to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.
The hotel is indeed red, but it’s cute. Great service. There’s a restaurant on the main floor (my parents had lunch there and liked it). The rooftop has a bar and pool. Because my dad wanted me on the same floor as him and my mom, I got upgraded to a king room with views of Table Mountain.
I still preferred my first hotel though. Yes, Home Suite Hotels is more budget, but it’s my vibe and my studio (with balcony) was more than double the size of this room. I must say staying at V&A Waterfront and being right next to one of the area’s ridesharing pick-up zones was pretty clutch.
Cost of 3-night hotel stay for 1: $707.58
When I booked: 4 months, 8 days prior
Thank you for sharing.