Cape Town accommodation

Atlantic Suite/Camps Bay

The summer is soon over and it is the time of the year when we start looking ahead and planning for the holidays to come, and it is also the time when I get more busy planning. As I tailormake my tours, I arrange accommodation from backpackers to 5star, and all is possible in South Africa, you CAN see much and sleep good for a small budget.

I will start with Cape Town, you can have a good night sleep for a low budget of R100/night...or spend a fortune with room service and a view to die for, lets say for R8000/night :)

I have tried most and I must say that when I was younger, more adventurous and had a low budget,I loved staying at backpackers, there you will find these careless people enjoying the moment, different nationalities taking the days as it comes, maybe they just booked a few nights in advance,if even that, living a bit of an adventure all trough, because you never know where the road will take you. The backpackers are usually owned or run by young people with same interests as the guest. It is a world of its own and you will meet many fun people to hang around with, and there is a big selection of activities/ tours usually arranged by the backpackers, so you become a tight group. Usually you can choose accommodation in dorms( many beds in one room) or simple double rooms. You find this form of accommodation all trough South Africa, and in Cape Town there is quite a few to choose from, here is one example: Longstreet Backpackers.

Other forms of moderate to expensive and uniqe accommodation is Guest House accommodation. The price range can differ a lot, depending of area and style. Some offer spa facilities, but the main character for them all is the intimate feeling, the hosts are making sure you are comfortable and all your arrangements, from booking a taxi to having dinner suggestions / reservations made, will be done for you. Rates usually are between R500/pp to R1000/pp. Here is one guest house in Green Point area, close to V& A Waterfront: Cape Standard Guest House.

I found families like to stay in Guest Houses, and then there needs to be a pool , so the children can play. Also self drivers like to stay in Guest Houses, feels like they get more of a familiar feeling with the area in that way, and sometimes you will sit and have a long chat with the owners over a glas of wine or two.

Queen Victoria Hotel

And then we move on to Hotel accommodation, and here I found that the most popular once are the once close to V&A Waterfront, especailly when on holdiay and having about 5 days in Cape Town. The benefit of being by the V&A Waterfront is that you have all the shops, restaurants and entertainment just on you doorstep. Popular hotels are V&A Hotel, rates about R2500/ room , and Queen Victoria Hotel, rates from R3500/ room, and one of the most expensive Hotels is Cape Grace with rates starting from R4500/room.

Boutique Hotels are becoming more popular nowdays, and here are two about 10 min walk from the V&A Waterfront: Villa Zest and Head South Lodge.

Of course there is more affordable hotels too in the close by area from V&A Waterfront with good standards, like Dale Court, City Lodge V&A Waterfront or Breakwater lodge.

If you plan to stay a longer time in Cape Town it is also worth looking into accommodation in areas close by, for example a popular holiday area is Camps Bay, it is a bay with luxurious accommodation, mostly Guest Houses, and a few hotels, and you are just a few steps from the beach, the Atlantic Ocean. The Bay Hotel is one of the most popular hotels in Camps Bay.

There is many guest Houses to choose from,and of course one with a sea view is the best, and if you dont mind spending , here is a good one: Atlantic Suites .

A more affordable hotel, but still very good in Camps Bay is: Primi Sea castle

I know, it is a jungle out there, hard to find the right accommodation, but so far I have managed to read my customer quite well and found just the right accommodation for them.

Hopefully this will be to a help for someone too:)

Love,

Jannika

Our House

We put up some new curtains in our kitchen and hallway last week and it is amazing what curtains can do:) We like it!

Have a wonderful start to this week!

Love Jannika

Four seasons in South Africa

Some weeks back I promised to write something about South Africa every week, and I will start with the weather:) As the country is very big with mountains and the Atlanti Ocean on one side and the Indian Ocean on the other side, the weather differs much from coast to inland, from west to east coast.

SPRING
Springtime is during months September, October , November. The changeover from winter to spring can be somewhat windy in the interior, until the rain starts. Day temperatures are on average between 25-30celsius. The nights are still rather cool ,so it is good to pack that sweater or fleece with for a visit during this time of year.

In Cape Town the springweather is pleasant,a good time to visit Cape Town.

In Mpumalanga, lowveld, and the Kwazulu Natal coastal region, with a tropic to subtropic climate, temperature changes between winter and spring is much smaller, spring weather still very pleasant, in comparison with the very hot summer weather.

Spring is a very good time to go for safari in the Mpumalanga area, as the summer rain has not started, and the nature is dry and the visibility good, animals cant hide as good as in summer when the bush is thick and green.

SUMMER

Summer season is during the months December, January and February. For most of the country this is the rainfall season. The interior of South Africa is dry , warm to hot, with heavy afternoon thunderstorm and temperatures between 25-35 celsius.

In the Mpumalanga, lowveld, Kwazulu Natal coastal area the humidity is high, temperatures sometimes up to 40celsius.

In Cape Town, with its Mediterrainean climate, there is very little to no rain during summer, and the easterly winds helps to keep the daytemperatures around 25-30celsius.

FALL

Fall is during the months March April and May. The grassy plains turn dry yellow, and brown, trees shed their leaves. This time of year offers probably the best weather overall, very little rain all over the country,and it is warm, but not hot. Nights are cool ,but not cold.

In the Mpumalanga, lowveld, and Kwazulu Natal coastal area hot and humid conditions slowly turn into very pleasant dry and warm winter weather that these areas are known for.

In Cape Town fall is wonderful, little wind,warm sunny days,and pleasant nights, also a great time to visit Cape Town.

WINTER

Winter season is during months June, July and August. The interior of the country has cloudless skies with no rain, cold nights with frost in the morning, even snow some years with temperatures under zero a few days. Day temperatures between 20-25 celsius and night temperatures between -5 to 10 celsius.

In the Mpumalanga, lowveld , and Kwazulu Natal coastal area , humidity has dropped close to zero, very little wind. Day and night temperatures are just perfect.

Cape Town area is a different story. With its mediterranean climate it gets most of its rainfall in the winter season, there is many rainy, grey, cloudy cold days. Maybe not the best time for us Scandinavian people that like sunshine and have a great summer at home this time of the year.

Hopefully this will give an idea when to travel to South Africa and helps understand that the weather differs much from place to place because of the size of the country.

Love,

Jannika

Weekend

It has been quite a grey and rainy weekend so much time has been spent inside. On saturday me and the girls baked a cake, we try to get back to our saturday bake-days:) It is fun to do something together, here is our tasty result:)

Both girls enjoy drawing, we have evidence on our walls ....so today I printed Liina many dot to dot drawings and that kept her busy for quite some times, a very good way to practise numbers.

We have also made a few changes to our bedroom, put wallpaper on one wall, new curtains....still a few things( = many things) to do but I think we will have plenty of time this coming winter re-decorating our house , and Im busy looking for a modern but classic chandelier for our bedroom.

Enjoy rest of your sunday!

Love,

Jannika

August

Can you believe it is August already? I started work again, have planned a few tours and girls are back at daycare.
One tour Im busy with is for fall 2012, to an AIDS orphanage in Zimbabwe, I will be going with the group to help out at the orphanage for 5 days, I think it will be very interesting and an eye opener, and as Im busy looking into projects I can support trough my business, it will be a great experience for me to see how and in what way one best can help children in need. Maybe in future this kind of tours will interest more people. We will also spend a few days on safari and of course visit the Victoria Falls:)
Other tours are for private client , golfing, safari, winelands.
I got a letter yesterday from a lady who has not been on any of my tours but I did plan a tour for her friends last year, and after hearing so much wonderful things about the tour from them she just wanted to write to me, not to book a tour...yet, but to tell how much joy I brought to her friends lifes. It reallt made me happy to hear:)
Lets enjoy the beautiful weather outside , before we know the crispy mornings are here and the summer fades away.

Take care,

Jannika