Zimbo

I am planning to spend a couple of days in the Winelands in Jan.

Could you recommend a couple of wineriers to visit and restaurants for lunch or dinner. Thanks

Hi JT

It is very difficult to recommend one or two wineries, given the diverse wine Cape Town has to offer! What I would recommend, is that you pick one of the wine routes, and just leisurely travel down it, popping in to the wine estates on both sides of the route, and see what takes your fancy (or try them all! :D). My recommendations would be to choose either the Stellenbosch, or Paarl/Franschhoek wine route, but if time is short, there are a couple of excellent wine estates in Constantia Valley, which is closer to town (20 minutes drive).

A few worth popping into in Constantia include Groot Constantia, Constantia Uitsig, Klein Constantia, and Steenberg. Almost all have excellent restaurants for lunch and dinner, and you can't really go wrong with any. Constantia Uitsig has the famous La Colombe restaurant, but book months in advance if you want to eat there (but definitely worth it!). Another eating option in the area is the Greenhouse at Cellars-Hohenort Hotel, another of Cape Town's top restaurants.

Hi -

 

Are you able to recommend a company that offers a chauffeured car hire service? We are looking to do a full day tour out of Cape Town on one of our days there.

 

Thanks

Beth

Hi Beth

I have not had the pleasure of using any of our local tour companies for a day tour (obviously I just drive and guide myself! :D). But, based on feedback, I can recommend African Eagle Tours. They have a number of packaged tours, or you can make your own, and I believe they also offer the option of a private (as opposed to a group) tour, if you prefer to have the privacy and flexibility a private tour offers.

Another option is Cape Town Day Tours, but they are a little lesser known entity to me. It may be worth getting in touch with them as well though, just to make sure African Eagle is not charging too much, or if African Eagle don't offer what you are looking for. CTDT are a smaller company than African Eagle, so the service may be more personal.

We have been to a private lodge in Sabi Sands for a safari and also did a self drive safari in Kruger. Really enjoyed our days in Kruger.

 

We have also spent time in the past in Cape Town doing the tourist things. We will again be in Cape Town for three days on a cruise and are looking for something different to do.

 

I thought about renting a car and driving to Sanbona for a night then back to a nice B&B in the wine area for an over night. We want a break from the confines of the ship. The idea of a couple of game drives and maybe a quaint B&B with a good wine and food pairing meal is appealing.

 

I know we won't see as many animals in Sanbona, but is it even worth the drive. We enjoy driving and have driven in SA so I am not worried about the actual driving or time to do it, just about the lodge and area as a whole.

 

Thanks

It's a nice drive, and Sanbona is a lovely reserve, especially Dwyka tented camp. Enjoy the vast landscapes and solitude, the piece and quiet, and if you see any game that is a bonus, but Cape Town and surrounds are, as you quite correctly state, not the best area for big game viewing. But certainly I would recommend it for "getting away from the hoards"...

If driving out there, try take a couple of alternative routes than following the main N1 highway all the way (if time allows). For example, instead of taking the tolled Huguenot tunnel on the N1, rather take the alternative windy road over the mountain, which provides for fantastic views. Also, on your way there, or on the way back, stop in Robertson, which has several excellent wine estates and restaurants, as an alternative to the typical (but still excellent) wine areas such as Stellenbosch and Franschoek. If you want to stay a night over in Robertson, try the Robertson Small Hotel, or there are several excellent guest houses as alternatives. Off the top of my head, Van Loveren wine estate has excellent tastings and food.

Most of all, relax, take your time, and enjoy! Nothing worse than rushing through. :D

Apologies folks, it has been an incredibly busy week. Will get to your questions this weekend, so stay tuned!

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Hi all

I see there are a number of threads asking various questions and for suggestions on activities in Cape Town and other parts of SA. I have lived in Cape Town for over 10 years now (previously was in Zimbabwe), so know these parts pretty well, and have been fortunate to travel relatively extensively.

I am new to these boards, so don't have the time to go through all the individual threads, but thought I would offer my help, where I can, in this thread. So please feel free to fire away, and I will try be of help as often as possible.

(Admin, if this is not allowed, please feel free to lock/delete this thread, no offense will be taken! :) )

Hi Zimbo. I read your post and I highly recommend port side on the southbound leg. To answer your first question, no, we never did leave the inside passage between all the ports, including going to Ketchikan. But as far as reaching the Inside Passage enroute Vancouver, we did not enter the narrow area until about 3:30 pm. Not only were the better views on the port side that day, but also on the first sea day. That photo I posted of Mt Elias early in my review represents the port side view, whereas the starboard side only saw open water.

 

I hope this answers your question. Feel free to shoot more my way. :)

Thanks, very helpful. Looks like we might stick to our original plan with a cabin on the port side.

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Hi Aquahound, amazing review, thank you. This is the cruise my wife and I are planning for next year, and despite the minor shortcomings of the older Millenium, we are very much looking forward to it!.

Quick question, relating to my post here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1871481

The Celebrity route map for the Southbound sailing shows the ship actually leaving the inside passage on the way to Ketchikan, before somewhat doubling back. Is this map representative of you route you took, or did you stay quite close to the mainland, through the Inside Passage, during the Juneau to Vancouver portion? Any input would be greatly appreciated!