Cape Town Day 1: Hotel #1, Sunset Cruise, V&A Waterfront

Doing the first three days of Cape Town solo! I kicked off my time in South Africa cruising along the Atlantic and eating mussels. Loved hotel #1. ALSO: A sidebar about currency and tipping.

Mar 08, 2024

This trip to South Africa has been a decade in the making.

Watch the Cape Town Day 1 vlog on TikTok or Instagram

My dear mother is an Aquarius, so she’s very extra when it comes to her birthday. She goes on a birthday trip every year, but she does A LOT for milestone birthdays. So, the second she got back from her 50th birthday trip to Australia and New Zealand in 2014, she was already talking about turning 60 in South Africa.

Resources and unlimited PTO made it so I could partially tag along. I wasn’t going on the 12-night South African and Namibian cruise portion of the trip though. I love a cruise, but anything more than a week and third-wheeling with my parents on a boat is too much.

I got to The Mother City three days before my parents returned from Namibia, so I gladly spent part of my time in the city solo.

I’m a huge proponent of solo travel. Waiting on people to live my life is a no. You’ve already seen and read about solo trips I’ve taken to New Orleans and Houston, but I’ve also done Italy, Morocco, and Spain solo. That was before y’all knew me though.

Leaving Cape Town Airport

I got to CPT a little after Noon on Saturday. I flew Turkish Airlines from Dulles and had a long layer in İstanbul.

You can take an Uber from CPT airport for dirt cheap (see next bit), but I decided on a one-way private airport transfer to my hotel. I didn’t want to immediately think about phone service to secure a rideshare. I booked Morkel Travel & Tours via Viator.

Cost of one-way private airport transfer: $31.88

When I booked: 2 weeks ahead

A sidebar about currency (and tipping)…

I’ve decided to be transparent about how much I spent (minus tips) on this trip. I want you to make the best purchasing decisions when planning your trip to South Africa. Plus: I’m a regular working girl and despise gatekeeping.

The most expensive aspects of your trip will be flights and hotels. I’m a hotel girlie, so you might be able to stretch your resources more with home rentals. But everything else is affordable and cheap compared to the U.S.

The South African Rand (ZAR) is extremely weak against most currencies. $1 is about 18.6 Rand right now. This is wonderful for Americans like me. I had to ball out with a conscious, so I tipped generously the entire trip. How can I take a 30-minute Uber Black from De Waterkant to Constantia for like $10 and not tip 100%? Speaking of Uber: I Ubered everywhere. It’s just easy.

I bought $500 worth of Rand on the trip. I ordered foreign currency from my local bank five days before I left. Most of my cash was used for tips and shopping. It lasted me the whole 10 days.

Hotel #1

I stayed at two hotels in Cape Town. That was always the plan. I wanted to stay in multiple neighborhoods. I booked a studio suite at the Home Suite Hotels in De Waterkant via Hotels.com first.

The De Waterkant is a sub-district in Green Point. It’s trendy, but not touristy. I didn’t walk around much, but I did have breakfast and dinner in the neighborhood after switching hotels.

This apartment-style hotel is geared toward extended and more budget-friendly stays, but I enjoyed my time here a lot. I preferred it over the pricier hotel I stayed at next.

The studio was big. Very bright. The fridge and microwave came in handy for leftovers. The bathroom had lots of counter space. I’d live in a replica of this studio in any major city.

The best part of my suite was the balcony with views of Signal Hill and the colorful neighboring homes.

Home Suite Hotels is no-frills and the customer service is more laissez-faire, but it’s modern, secure, clean, quiet, and conveniently located near the Bo-Kaap, CBD, and V&A Waterfront neighborhoods.

I recommend it to non-fussy, yet discerning, travelers who rather splurge on food and excursions and want to cosplay as a resident.

Cost for a 3-night stay in mid-February: $409.67

When I booked: 1 month prior

Sunset Cruise at the V&A Waterfront

Cape Town is a gorgeous coastal city. And it’s summer over there (South Africa’s seasons are opposite ours)! I had to celebrate night one on the water.

V&A is a super touristy neighborhood with Table Mountain as its backdrop. There are several sunset cruise options at V&A Waterfront. You can probably book one same-day at one of the many kiosks. But you know I don’t do last-minute anything.

I booked a 90-minute sunset cruise with Mirage Catamaran. Your ticket includes two glasses of champagne, but you can purchase additional drinks at the bar or from one of the many servers.

Departure times vary depending on the time of sunset. In mid-February, the sun was setting around 7 pm. Check-in and boarding starts 30 minutes before sailing at the pier near the Clock Tower.

Although it was summer, it was extremely windy. It gets chilly, and the blankets on board may not be enough for you.

I spent most of the cruise on the top level. The DJ and dancing are downstairs.

There’s plenty of seating and you’re most likely going to mingle with other passengers. Everyone I sat with was South African, so it wasn’t as touristy of an excursion as I anticipated.

Look cute. You will want to get your content off.

Cost of sunset cruise: $26.97 (prices appeared to have slightly increased since February)

When I booked: 1 week prior

Late Dinner at Knysna Oyster Company

After I got off the boat, I realized I hadn’t eaten since landing in South Africa!

I did a quick search of V&A Waterfront restaurants. Knysna Oyster Company had one of the highest Google Places ratings, so I walked over and got seated immediately without reservations. It wasn’t busy around 9 pm.

The weather was perfect, so I chose to sit in the outdoor area in front of the restaurant. Plenty of people watching and live music coming from the surrounding area.

I had amazing service. The Oysters Rockefeller and Moules-frites were delicous.

Cost of dinner (water, soda, appetizer, entree, and frozen daiquiri): $26.13