Cape Town Explorer

South Africa's ‘Mother City' extends a warm sanibonani welcome. After transferring to your hotel, spend time exploring Cape Town's cosmopolitan surrounds on your own before joining your fellow travellers and Travel Director for a Welcome Reception.

This morning, ascend Table Mountain via aerial cableway to its vast flat top - a rocky wonderland of rich Cape fynbos and curious dassies (hyraxes). Peer over the sprawling City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard keeping a keen eye out for the landmarks your Travel Director will show you during this morning's city tour, including Company Gardens, Bo-Kaap and the Castle of Good Hope. The rest of the day is yours to explore Cape Town at leisure.

Circumnavigate the Cape Peninsula, from trendy Camps Bay to Cape Point and back. You'll discover why the winding road which hugs the rocky 12 Apostles is regarded as one of the world's most magnificent coastal roads. Visit rugged Cape Point which rises out of the swirling Atlantic Ocean. Your journey will take you to the south-western edge of the African continent, through playgrounds of the rich and famous and charming coastal towns along the way.

This morning you'll bid a brief farewell to the city and journey to the coastal town of Hermanus, one of the best places in the world to seasonally view southern right whales. Connect With Locals when you meet local business owner Stefan, who will treat you to a delicious Be My Guest traditional braai (barbecue), featuring such delicacies as boerewors, pap and melktert and a glass of his homemade wine, and share stories of his life in South Africa’s whale-watching capital. Our next stop is in the scenic Hemel-en-Aarde (Heaven and Earth) Valley where we’ll visit Bouchard Finlayson, an award-winning boutique winery owned by the same family that owns Trafalgar, the Tollman family. You’ll savour some of the estate’s best wines. Later today, we return to Cape Town via the spectacular Clarens Drive, a breath-taking coastal route along which we’ll stop at Betty’s Bay to greet the curious colony of African penguins, one of the largest successful breeding colonies in the world.

Indulge in a full free day at leisure in Cape Town. Your Travel Director will arrange return transfers to Camps Bay for you to spend the day at one of Cape Town's most famous beaches, soaking up the sophisticated atmosphere and café culture. Or choose to spend the day independently in the city, perhaps beginning your exploration at the V & A Waterfront with a visit to the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa or sampling delicious local flavours at the Food Market. After a leisurely day you may wish to tackle the summit of Lion's Head during an Optional Experience that will see you lace up your boots for a moderate to challenging hike, with spectacular sunset views over the City Bowl and Camps Bay as your well-deserved reward.

Visit one of Trafalgar's MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences - the Amy Foundation. Learn how the Foundation has supported vulnerable communities over the past 20 years by providing a range of youth development programmes for over 2,000 children, and see some of these first hand. Later, South Africa’s turbulent past is revealed during an afternoon visit to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27-year prison term. Your tour with a Local Specialist will reveal the island’s multi-century history, from its origins as a leper colony to its transformation into a military base and finally a prison, ironically with one of the world’s most iconic views of Table Mountain.

The beautiful Cape Winelands beckon today, with a visit to the French-inspired town of Franschhoek. An orientation tour will reveal why the area has justifiably earned its title as one of the most beautiful wine valleys in the world. Travel to nearby Stellenbosch where you'll enjoy a wine tasting and picnic style lunch at a picturesque wine estate. The rest of the afternoon is yours to explore Cape Town on your own until a memorable Farewell Dinner, where a lively evening with African drumming and Cape Malay cuisine awaits.

Our time in South Africa has come to an end. Transfer to Cape Town International Airport for your onward flight. Find out more about your free airport transfer at trafalgar.com/freetransfers. Or consider extending your holiday by booking our Victoria Falls Experience trip.