A Cape Town City Break

With a good night’s sleep behind you (we hope), and little time difference (Cape Town is just two hours ahead), you’ll be ready to hit the ground running on this three-night South African adventure. From the airport, you’ll be greeted by a local representative who will help you with your luggage and escort you to your private transfer. A 30-minute drive later and you’ll be at your Victoria and Alfred Waterfront hotel, unpacking your bags, checking out the pool (and its bar) and booking in for some salubrious spa treatments. Spend the rest of the day at the hotel or head into the city. We recommend starting at Cosy Corner in Wynberg, famed for its Gatsby sandwiches (Cape Town’s speciality). After you’ve filled your boots with its combination of chips, meat, salad, cheese, sauce and a fried egg, continue onto the slopes of Table Mountain for a tour of its tropical Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens. Or, head back to the waterfront to catch the ferry to Robben Island. Once thought to be a sacred place for the indigenous Khoi, then a leper colony until 1931, and – most famously – a prison for anti-apartheid activists including Nelson Mandela, a tour is the perfect opportunity to get in-the-know about these prominent crusaders.

Think three nights won’t give you enough time to see the city? Think again. Today you’ll rise early for a private day tour down the Cape Peninsula. Start in Hout Bay, just a twenty-minute drive out of the city, before heading down to the scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive. Stop for lunch at the picturesque Harbour House Kalk Bay – the sushi bar is simply sublime – before carrying on to Good Hope Nature Reserve and Boulders Beach. The latter is most known for the colony of 3,000 delightful African penguins that call its sandy coves home. While you can’t access the beach (for obvious reasons), the viewing platforms are perfectly positioned to enjoy their donkey-like braying, especially if you visit during the breeding season, from March to May.

It’s impossible to visit South Africa without paying a visit to its wine country. With a private local wine specialist in tow, you’ll spend the morning exploring Stellenbosch, Constantia or Franschhoek’s vines and cellars and end the tour with some tastings.

Back at the hotel, you can relax by the pool, have a massage, or simply enjoy another bottle of a local Chenin Blanc. If you’d prefer to keep the cultural tour going, visit Woodstock, a neighbourhood known for its street art, or swing by District Six and its museum dedicated to the vibrant community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, labourers and immigrants who were forcibly removed from the area during the Apartheid. For dinner, we recommend bagging yourself a reservation at Test Kitchen (which our local Concierge can arrange for you, naturally). Delivering a theatrical evening of multiple courses – you even move between a light and dark room – this is one for the foodies.