The best Cape Town transport options to visit the Mother city and its surroundings!
I would like to give you my suggestions to organise Cape Town transport depending on what you are planning to do and visit. And my first advice is...please don't forget that the driving is supposed to happen on the left hand side of the road!!!Follow the cars and if you are at a stop, think twice before engaging!
CAPE TOWN TRANSPORT...BY BUS
However, in town, you will find the 'taxi bus' or black taxis as they call it here. You will find them all over town. This type of transport is cheap and may prove practical for short distances in town (less than R5). Another option is the City sight seeing bus . You see these red open top double decked buses all around town where they hop on and hop off tourists who want to have a city sight seeing with no stress! Two routes (A mini Cape Town's Peninsula tour and a city tour for R200 for both routes over 2 days) cover the city as far out as the world famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and Hout Bay. Buses depart daily from 09h10 outside the Two Oceans Aquarium in the heart of the V&A Waterfront.
CAPE TOWN TRANSPORT...BY CAR
Also, Capetonians are easy going drivers. If you arrive at a cross lane, the first car which arrives there, will be the first car to go. Driving standards vary fron one country to another so drive carefully at all times. Ah! Most of the time, the speed cameras will be indicated before with a sign..so watch out! There are something like 73 of them around Cape Town. Whatever you decide to hire, you will need a valid driver's licence (with photo and in english) or an international driver's licence, to have been a driver for at least 1 year and be over 21 years old. You can rent a vehicle from the airport or through the car hire agencies themselves prior to your arrival. To give you an idea, it will cost between R150 and R600 a day depending on the car you wish to hire.i.e R300 a day to rent a class B such as a VW Polo . Most of the international car hire companies have an office and depot at the airport so you can take the car directly at the airport when you arrive and leave it there when you leave. Check with them! There are many other rental car companies available, and although they do not have an office at the airport, you may book your car online prior to arrival and they will deliver the car at the airport when you arrive.
Rent a car in Cape Town!
RIKKI's taxi! Yeaaaahhh! I think they are good and look great! You phone them for a shared ride, and they fetch you. They can take up to 4 passengers. The driver is picking everybody along the road before going to final destination which minimizes the cost and it gives you the opportunities to meet people. And the little extra...there is tv inside! Very fancy! The price varies related to where you go from R5 to R30. They also offer shuttle service from and to the airport, and their Rikkis direct service (door to door classic taxi service). www.rikkis.co.za Other than Rikki's taxi, there are numerous taxi companies in town. You could contact sea breeze radio taxi's- 084 6910072 or shuttle excellence cc-021 4620272, or excite taxis and Marine Taxis. It will cost you around R 150to the airport if you are in the city center.If the taxis are not metered, agree on the price beforehand.
For the little info, they are actually part of a Dutch/South African commuter project to prepare the city for the arrival of the Dutch national soccer team for the World Cup in June/July 2010.
CAPE TOWN TRANSPORT...BY SCOOTER
Also, Wayne Armstrong invites you to check the experiences & pictures of scenic motorbike rides in the Western Cape, South Africa. Journey with Wayne Armstrong as he shows you the most beautiful,scenic motorbike rides on routes he has taken in and around the area. Useful Biker Links included.Click here.
NOW, LET'S SAY YOU WOULD LIKE TO VENTURE OUT OF CAPE TOWN... From Cape Town, there are 2 national highways: the N1 which bring you to Johannesburg if you go straight and the N2 which brings you to the Garden Route. Both roads are pretty empty in terms of traffic which makes it very pleasant to drive in South Africa. The roads are also very often in good conditions and road safety in South Africa is fine. However, sometimes to go to a specific place off the national roads, you might have to drive on dirt roads! You will then feel in Africa even though the off roads are much nicer here and it is easily accessible with a normal car (most of the time! ;-))Drive preferably less than 80km/hour and you'll be fine.Dont brake suddenly Also, one other great thing, I must say, is that there is almost no toll road in South Africa... It's quite appreciating when you come from Europe! Something quite unusual but pleasant for most of the tourists when they drive for the first time on the national roads is the straight road. Sometimes you can drive for 100km without steering, straight ahead, and you can see the road like a ribbon unrolling itself in front of you, through the wild emptiness of South African land... By the way, talking about emptiness, make sure that you fill your car up in every town because petrol stations aren't as common as in Europe. Also, take enough cash with you, as most of petrol stations don't accept credit cards or traveller cheques. For your information, petrol is much cheaper in SA than in Europe with EUR0,55/L. Ah! Another funny thing...You must know that there is a 'driving language' in South Africa! If you need to overtake, signal it with your indicators, and most of the drivers will pull their cars to the left, on the emergency yellow lane so that you can overtake safely! You will thereafter activate your warning lights to thank them! My last advise to you is: please try to avoid driving at night. Wild and stray animals become more active and it can be dangerous as most south african roads don't have proper lights at night. To rent a car, click
here.
Also, check if you are a student, you might be able to get 15 % discount! The prices depend on seasons. One great way to discover the country is to buy a Travel Pass from Greyhound. It will give you 7 days unlimited travel within 30 days for R1400 or 15 days unlimited travel within 30 days for R2700. You hop on and off the bus as you like!... and because they go virtually everywhere in South Africa, this makes it a great way to discover the country. You can decide to stop for a few days in a village, totally improvising, just because you liked it! This is also available from
Baz Bus
at slightly lower rates which backpackers will appreciate...
However, if money is not the matter and you want to indulge yourself in a mix of exotic romance and luxury, I can only recommend you to do the journey from Pretoria to Cape Town in the world famous Blue Train or in the Rovos Both trains have been completely refurbished for the delight of their travelers. You will enjoy a five star luxury service and accomodation with air-conditioned compartment, queen bed, writing table, dressing table, small refrigerator, toilet, hand basin, en-suite bathroom, fresh white towels and luxury toiletries.
If you are looking for flight, click international
transport
Return from Cape Town transport to Voila Cape Town
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Don't expect to get the same public transport in Cape Town than in most of the big cities in the world. There is no subway or tramway and the bus system works mostly to and from the suburb.
