For your Table Mountain and Victoria & Alfred Waterfront tour you have a choice of a morning or afternoon trip. At the start you will be picked up in an air-conditioned coach from your hotel in Cape Town. An English-speaking guide will go with you.
The coach will take you to the cable car station at the base of Table Mountain. You can then take the 10-minute cable car ride (payable direct) to the top of 1086-meter high Table Mountain (weather permitting). The state-of-the-art cable car rotates 360 degrees on its way to the top, offering incredible panoramic views.
When you get to the top, you may be surprised to find that the ‘table top’ is not really flat at all! The scenery is breathtaking and your guide will take you to various viewpoints and point out all the famous landmarks. Facilities at the summit include souvenir shops and a self-service restaurant.
You will probably see ‘dassies’ or hyraxes among the rocks. These plump creatures are about the size of a rabbit and look a bit like a guinea pig. Surprising but true is the fact that they are the closest living relatives of the elephant!
After descending the Mountain, the coach tour continues through the colorful Bo-Kaap, district. With its steep, narrow cobbled streets, mosques and brightly painted houses this is the historic center of Cape Malay culture in Cape Town. In the past, Bo-Kaap was home to descendents of South East Asian slaves brought to Africa by the Dutch-East Indian Trading Company. While the architecture has altered little in 200 years, the cultural mix is now changing as wealthy outsiders snap up the historic artisans’ houses.
Your tour also takes you past President Zuma official residence and the Houses of Parliament before continuing to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. Here, a run-down fishing harbor has been transformed into a vibrant entertainment quarter by one of the world’s most successful waterfront restoration projects. The atmosphere and interest is increased by the fact that it is a working commercial harbor with fishing vessels, tugs and barges.
Nobel Square in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront features statues of South Africa's four Nobel Peace Prize winners - Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela.
At the end the coach will drop you back at your hotel or you can choose to explore the Waterfront further on your own.