Vacanze in Sudafrica

What are the best things to do in South Africa?

1. Robben Island was for many years used as a penal colony for political prisoners, including most famously Nelson Mandela, who was incarcerated there for 18 years. Tours are led by ex-inmates with first-hand experience of prison life. See, among other things, the limestone quarry where Mandela did hard labour and the makeshift ‘university cave’ where inmates taught others to read and write.
2. Franschhoek is a wealthy town just outside Cape Town. The establishment of many top restaurants and wineries has given the town a reputation for being ‘the food and wine capital of South Africa’. You can visit the winelands on a special Wine Tram — there are many excellent art galleries and prime shopping options too.
3. Voted one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature in 2011, Cape Town’s Table Mountain enthrals visitors. It’s home to more than 1,470 floral species, along with rock hyrax, porcupines, mongooses, snakes, tortoises and the rare Table Mountain Ghost Frog. Hike your way up to the summit, explore the lower slopes on the Pipe Track on the Camps Bay side or take the cable car up to the two-mile plateau at the top.
4. Technically still a working harbour, Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront is nowadays more of a prime shopping and leisure destination with five shopping districts covering a whopping 123 hectares. After some serious retail therapy hunting for cool design finds in the Watershed Market, grab a sundowner at the Grand Africa Cafe & Beach, get a bite at the V&A Food Market and immerse yourself in culture at the Iziko Maritime Centre.
5. When in Cape Town be sure to make time for a wine tasting or two. The surrounding winelands are home to a dizzying 2,000 wineries. Some of the best include Groot Constantia, the country’s oldest, Vergelegen Wine Estate, which hosts a charming ‘white tablecloth’ picnic experience, and De Grendel Wine Estate, which offers fantastic views of Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and the Atlantic Ocean from its tasting veranda.
6. Clifton’s four beaches, each separated by giant granite boulders, are impossibly beautiful and wind-free. The first beach is the least crowded and is populated mostly by locals, surfers and volleyball players. The second attracts a younger crowd, while the third is reserved for those seeking privacy and quiet. The fourth beach is more family friendly with excellent amenities. Each one benefits from stretches of pure white granitic sand.
7. Sea Point is one of Cape Town’s most accessible suburbs on the Atlantic Seaboard. It’s famed for its attractive six-mile-long Promenade, swimming at Saunder’s Rock Tidal Pool, the quiet labyrinth in Green Point Urban Park developed for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, several yoga studios and its inviting clutch of second-hand book and thrift shops.