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Exchange Rate: $1 Canadian = 9.78 South African Rand

Overall
South Africa was the first time either of us had stepped foot on the African continent, and it was with a combination of excitement and trepidation that we touched down.

Though Johannesburg would be our first entry into the country, we’d already decided to transfer directly onwards to Cape Town, based on some frightening internet research about crime in the city. Normally, we don’t put too much stock in alarmist reports, but we simply had no idea what to expect from the country.

As it turned out, reports of danger are most likely overblown (as they usually are), and we probably could’ve had a great time in Johannesburg. We certainly did in Cape Town, which turned out to be the 2nd city to make it onto our “we could live here” list, along with Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Gifted with some of the world’s most stunning natural beauty, elegant infrastructure and a diverse food scene, our one week stay there only left us wanting more. With a vow to return one day, we boarded the plane and headed for, what would be, one of the most exciting destinations of our entire trip – Tanzania!

What We Did
To call this post a South Africa breakdown is a bit of a misnomer, because aside from a few nights in Hermanus and a stopover in Johannesburg’s airport, we basically spent all our time in Cape Town and the surrounding area.

It was our first time flying on South African Airways, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. We barely felt the 12 hour long-haul. Maybe it had to do with the unlimited South African wines on the flight? 😉

We had a quick stopover in Johannesburg’s O.R Tambo airport, where we fueled up on huge cups of percolated coffee at Mugg and Bean. Oh happy times! We’d definitely been missing that particular form of caffeine rush during our 3 months of travels in South America.

From there, it was a quick 2 hour flight down to Cape Town, where we picked up the cute little Hyundai that would take us to Hermanus, for the first 2 nights of our stay in South Africa. With a reputation for being the best place to see southern right whales from land, we’d hoped to get a glimpse of the gigantic beasts, but to no avail, despite driving the length of the Whale Coast Route.

We cut our losses, made the stunning drive back to Cape Town, and checked into a gorgeous and affordable little Bo-Kaap guesthouse with a view of Table Mountain and the sea, that for the life of me, I can’t remember the name of (sorry!).

We took full advantage of our rental car and drove all over the Western Cape, visiting penguins on Boulders Beach, checking out Camps and Hout Bay on the way down to the Cape of Good Hope and driving Chapman’s Peak twice. We also explored the city thoroughly, taking a stroll through Long Street and the V&A Waterfront, and dining on seafood one night, Indian the next, and Thai the night after.

Costs
South Africa is where we went well and truly over our attempted $100 per day budget. Over 7 days, we spent $1080.87 or $154.41 per day – a full 50% plus over our intended number!

Truthfully, I’m pretty sure we could’ve stuck close to our goal. Cape Town was not that expensive. Our centrally located guesthouses in both Hermanus and Cape Town cost $50 per night (including breakfast), our car rental was just $15 per day, and we only paid 1 park entrance fee of $44 during our entire week there.

In Cape Town, we spent some money stocking up on items we’d been missing on our travels, like a miniature speaker and mundane things like underwear and slippers. South Africa’s shopping environment was very similar to Canada’s, so it was an easy and comfortable place to do so. Still these living expenses only amounted to $107 or 10% of our total budget.

No, where we really failed was in the dining department. After the relative sameness of South America’s cuisine (with the exception of Peru), South Africa’s diversity felt like food nirvana. We felt like kids in a candy store as we indulged in the cornucopia of dishes on offer.

I am sad to report that we spent a full 40% of our budget just eating, but hey, we couldn’t resist. 😉

The full breakdown of our costs can be found on the Budget Your Trip website.

South Africa Budget

Food and Drink
The fact that I only have a single photo of the things we ate in Cape Town, is a testament to the level of enjoyment we were having over it.

We literally ate a world of food while there. I honestly wish I had some pictures to show you of the spicy Thai and Indian curries, Greek lamb chops, and steaks we dined on while there, not to mention the wine, but unfortunately the food didn’t last long enough for me to snap a pic. It’s like we couldn’t wait to get our paws on the food and into our bellies.

Suffice it to say, everything we ate was delicious and authentic, and you will not be disappointed for choice if you visit.

Travel Tip
Not only do you need a car in Cape Town, but you’ll be very happy to be driving one indeed.

Whether it’s zipping around the breathtaking curves of Chapman’s Peak, or speeding down the highway towards penguin paradise, this is one place where driving is a real joy. We couldn’t get over how wide and smooth the roads were, how gorgeous the scenery, and how little traffic there was. It was truly a driver’s dream.

More practically, distances between attractions and sites are not small, and while public transit is available, it just doesn’t make sense to use it, when a car (and the corresponding freedom), can be had for just $15 a day (over a 1 week rental).

Just remember to drive on the left hand side of the road.

Attraction Tip
How do you choose between the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain, Boulders Beach, the dazzling ocean vistas or the delicious restaurants? It’s not an exaggeration to say that we loved every single moment of our time in the city and it’s surrounding area.

It really didn’t matter if we were visiting penguins, attempting to scale Table Mountain, watching a brilliant sunset, or eating flavourful Greek lamb chops, we always felt completely and comfortably peaceful and content.

And that’s why I’m simply putting “Cape Town” as my attraction tip. Every single place we visited was completely worthwhile, and probably deserves it’s very own write-up, but honestly, my favourite part of our time there, was simply being there.

When in South Africa
When in South Africa, eat at Ocean Basket. A restaurant chain with delectable, fresh seafood platters at reasonable prices, we indulged at least a few times. You eeta da feesh, we cleana da face!

Have you been to Cape Town, or other parts of South Africa? What are your favourite places to go, things to do, and food to eat?

Comments:

  • June 1, 2016

    Great post, you made me miss home now. 🙂

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  • September 1, 2014

    That’s crazy that a rental car only costs $15. It’s interesting to read such a detailed cost breakdown. I assumed that traveling in South Africa would be really expensive. But it seems like it’s actually possible to do it on a budget. I want to go so badly!!

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    • September 2, 2014

      I knowwww!! I was completely shocked by how cheap the car was when we looked. We were there in low season though, so perhaps that’s why? Not sure. Actually, that’s why we only planned a week there…because we assumed it’d be expensive. Totally turned out not to be the case… and we didn’t really budget too much there, basically eating whatever we wanted and driving all over the place. It’s such an amazing place, I really do hope you get to visit one day soon. 🙂

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    • June 1, 2016

      Its even cheaper to go now, the South African rand is something like R16 to $1

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  • August 31, 2014

    Oh yes, I LOVED Cape Town!! And I’m with you on South American food being bland! I actually lost weight when I was in Buenos Aires because the food was so unappealing. Plus it was winter when I was there and there was NO SOUP!!! I’m a huuuuuge soup person!
    Anyway, if you go back to South Africa, you should drive along the Garden Route, taking your time! I only spent a day popping through some of the little towns along the coast, but it was absolutely gorgeousl

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    • September 1, 2014

      Ohhh, if you’re a soup person, you should come live in Asia… there are so many, and they’re all so delicious! I was never a big soup person before living here, but now I’m totally addicted. Need a soup at least every few days! 🙂 You can’t imagine how much I was craving them in South America!! 😉

      My brother and his wife drove the Garden Route and loved it! Will def have to add that to the growing list of things to do when we go back!

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  • August 30, 2014

    It looks like I need to allow more time for travelling South Africa next year. Would you recommend to visit Cape Town for full seven days or do you feel like four or five may be enough as well?

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    • August 30, 2014

      Hey Moritz, hmm, well, we were in Cape Town for 5 nights total and it didn’t feel like enough time to us, because of all of the things to do in the surrounding area. We did a lot, but we didn’t go to any of the wineries, or spend too much time just hanging out in the city. I’m not entirely sure of your interests, so I suggest you research what you’d like to do there and plan accordingly…but look at the entire Western Cape, and not just Cape Town. If you’re getting a car, it’s very easy to get everywhere. Enjoy! 🙂

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  • August 28, 2014

    You would have survived Johannesburg. All you need to do is use your common sense and don’t go places that you wouldn’t even in your own hometown.

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    • August 29, 2014

      Yes, you’re right, of course. And normally we don’t let this stuff get to us… I mean, we ended up in Jerusalem by chance in 2012 when there was a break in the cease-fire, and we survived that, so I’m sure that we would’ve been fine walking down the street in Johannesburg. Will have to go back and see it one day. 🙂

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  • August 28, 2014

    Cape Town, Franschhoek, and safari in Kruger :). Such a lovely part of the world! Glad you enjoyed, thx for sharing

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    • August 29, 2014

      It is such a lovely part of the world. Fortunately, we have lots of things left to do when we visit again. 😉 Kruger for sure, and we didn’t get a chance to explore the surrounding wineries either!

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      • August 29, 2014

        If you get a chance, either stay at or have a meal at Babylonstoren in wine country. Truly farm to table, with a winery onsite, too. Lovely, lovely experience, fantastic cuisine 😉

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        • August 30, 2014

          That sounds amazing…will definitely look into it when we go back. Thanks for the tip!! 😀

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  • August 28, 2014

    Thanks for the review, truly intriguing..not blaming you for eating too much there – I have heard good things about delicious food in South Africa and of course that include their wine 😀 Beautiful photos too!!

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    • August 29, 2014

      Thanks Indah! 😀 Yes, unfortunately for our budget, the food was just too good there. It really was an almost perfect destination for us – not too expensive, amazing food and scenery and friendly people. Ahhhh, I wanna go back!!!

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  • jam

    August 28, 2014

    I’m a South African and I’m so glad you had a good time in Cape Town! There are so many more awesome places in South Africa you will definitely need to come back! Some of my favourite places are the rural Transkei area, the arty Eastern Free State and Jeffrey’s Bay.

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    • August 29, 2014

      We really loved it there and definitely will be back one day!! We only had about a week, which was not enough time by far, so next time, we will plan a long time and really spend time exploring properly! 🙂

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  • August 28, 2014

    Have been to South Africa. Capetown is great but Kruger is my favourite – within driving distance of Johannesburg

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    • August 29, 2014

      I’d definitely like to visit Kruger one day! but as i was we only had about a week in South Africa (bad planning), and budget for 1 safari. We chose Serengeti, since it was our first one. 🙂

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