A world city with a small town feel. Mountains, beaches, great cafes and restaurants, Cape Town has it all. But also extreme poverty and resulting safety concerns.

People tend to be early risers and most bars and clubs close much earlier than they would in Europe. But why stay out late when you could be hiking, wine tasting and enjoying the sunshine and gorgeous scenery?

Positives 👍

• Stunning nature.
• Upbeat positive vibe.
• Not a huge city and Uber is cheap so it's easy to get around.

Negatives 👎

• Safety.
• Planned power blackouts most days.
• The Atlantic ocean means the sea is cold.

Safety ⚠️

I wasn't too worried about my safety day to day, but you do need to be careful. It was more of a mild annoyance that limited my freedom.

Most people you meet are friendly and trustworthy. However there are a lot of homeless and there is the risk someone will take an opportunity if you give them one.

You'll get asked for money and food on the street. At times they'll be pushy which can be intimidating.

One evening I stopped by a petrol station after a night out to grab a snack. A guy approached me from the street saying he was hungry and asked if I could buy him some bread. It seemed like a small request so I said yes.

They didn't have any bread so he asked if he could have some other food. This felt reasonable so I said again I said yes. Next thing I knew he was pilling crisps, chocolate and energy drinks into the counter. Several of his friends appeared from nowhere and did the same.

I let them have about a baskets worth of food before I said it was enough. They looked malnourished and I was feeling generous after an evening of cocktails. After I paid they disappeared into the night without so much as a thank you.

I wasn't worried at the time but the petrol station staff were visibly concerned by this. The next morning upon sober reflection I did wonder if things could have gone differently is there were fewer witnesses around.

I don’t want to scaremonger. No traveller I spoke to experienced any serious issues first hand. If you’re worried stay in Sea Point which is a safer area but still central enough to get around.

• Don't walk on the street at night. I sometimes did in busy areas, but some locals would advise against even doing this. Luckily Uber is reliable and cheap so for a few euros why risk it?
• Don't wear conspicuously expensive jewellery or watches.
• Don't go hiking by yourself unless it's a very popular route and other people are around.
• Don’t engage with someone asking you for money or food. It might seem like a small request but you’ll have to get your wallet or phone out to pay.

Blackouts ⚡

There are timed blackouts AKA "loading shedding" unless you're lucky enough to be on the same grid as the hospital or government buildings. They were typically 4ish hours per day, sometimes in the middle of the night when I was asleep but often during the day or evening. The Eskom App tells you when these are planned, check it before you get in an elevator!

Most cafes and coworking spaces have generators so apart from the odd cold shower or dinner by candlelight this wasn't a huge issue for me.

Dating 😘

Locals on dating apps are up for meeting but ghosting is common. If apps aren't your thing it's quite easy to meet other travellers through the plentiful social events.

Nature 🗻

The weather can be unpredictable so locals are spontaneous and you may need to be flexible with your plans. If you’re hiking check the forecast before you set off.

Table Mountain overlooks the city and has hiking routes of varying difficulty. There’s a cable car you can take up and / or down.

The other famous hike is Lion’s Head. You have great views of the city at sunrise and sunset. It’s a popular route but a light or better yet head torch would be helpful as there are some scrambles and ladders to climb.

The beaches and sea are beautiful but the water is cold. Take a 40-minute taxi over to Muizenberg for warmer waters and in the summer see newly hatched penguins.

Areas 🗺️

Sea Point and Camps Bay are the best for safety.

• Sea Point - well-to-do area with coastal walk / runs and an outdoor gym. It's not fair to say its touristy as locals live here but I didn’t find it the most interesting scene. Prices are slightly higher than the CBD and surrounding areas.
  

  View from Sea Point

• Camps Bay - similar to Sea Point but further out. Great spot for bars and restaurants to watch the sunset.
• CBD - as you’d expect the Central Business District has the most bars, restaurants and coworking spaces. Lots of homeless and feels quite sketchy at night.
• Garden - closest thing Cape Town has to a hipster neighbourhood. Great for cafe hopping.
• Oranjezicht - similar to Gardens but a bit quieter and further out.
• District 6 - not that much here.
• Woodstock - I was told it's quite dangerous. You can visit the brewery and market here (by taxi) but don’t go wandering around.
• Observatory - studenty / alternative neighbour further out. Not as safe as the more central areas at night but it felt OK during the day.

Meet ups 🍻

Events are organised though multiple WhatsApp groups. There are so many I had to mute them but things are going on most nights and weekends. There's also a Slack group.

The first thursday of every month is a big street party. Bars are packed and one street is closed to cars for a band / DJ and street food.

Things to do 💃

• Wine tasting at a vineyard - too many options to list but consider the wine tram which lets you visit multiple vineyards without needing a taxi each time.
• Silent disco - either held at the beach or a vineyard. Choose between different DJs playing electronic, rock and African music.
  
  The beach version is the nicer setting but occasionally the police will do a sweep and confiscate alcohol. You won't get in trouble but it's better to hide your beverage in a water bottle or thermos.

• Visit the botanical gardens, sometimes they have open air concerts here.

• Orange City Market - busy food stalls market in town.
• Neighbourgood market - more vibey food stalls market a bit further out with a DJ and dance floor. The market is fine but the surrounding area isn't the safest so best not to go exploring.

• Hop-On Hop-Off Red Bus Tour.

Clubs and bars 🍸

• House of machine has an open mic night on tuesdays.
• Social Athletics Club - packed to an extent that would be illegal in most countries. Not really my thing but certainly memorable.
• Modular - the main electronic music club. A rare venue that’s open late.

Coworking 👩‍💻

Most coworking spaces offer a trial day. They're professional and high spec but none have much of a social scene.

• Cape Town Office - spacious, great views of Table Mountain.
• Craft + Graft - nicely decorated and friendly vibe.
• Ideas Cartel - I only went to the cafe below the coworking space but its upmarket and quirky.

Free places to work from 💻

There are too many cafes to mention but a few stand-outs are:

• Bootlegger Coffee Company - decent if a little generic cafe chain.
• Neibougood Bree St - coworking space with a cafe open to everyone.
• The Electric - more of a bar vibe but they have power sockets and loads of space to work from.
  Happy hour starts at 4:20, read into that what you will.
• The Power & The Glory - great cafe with local hipsters working on laptops.
• Workshop17 - a cafe / coworking hybrid. Buying a drink gets you 2 hours of internet. Tip the server and they normally give you 2 tokens (so 4 hours).

Accommodation 🏘

AirBnB was expensive but I booked last minute and came at peak season.

Neighbourgood pitches itself as coliving but it's more of an upmarket hostel. It's not a bad place to stay but they're huge buildings so you don't get the community feel of smaller colivings. Coworking is included and was a decent standard.

Transport 🚘

You can get Uber directly from the airport. Walk pass the baggage reclaim belts and look for signs to Parkade 2 / E-Hailing.

Ubers are cheap. Sometimes Grab was slightly less but there wasn't much in it.

Uber drivers will often want you to sit in the front. Many of them don’t have a licence (but I still think they’re safe) and they’re less likely to get stopped by police if you don't look like a paying customer.

Conclusion 🏁

Cape Town is in incredible place. As cheesy as this sounds there is some sort of magic in the air. Safety needs to be thought about it's still well worth a visit.

Their summer is during Europe’s winter and it’s a similar timezone so a great option if this is a factor.