Cape Town
South Africa
Where mountains meet the ocean
Photo by Tobias Reich on Unsplash
Photos by Finding Dan | Dan Grinwis, Madiba.de African Inspiration, Sharaan Muruvan and Patrick Ward on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of South Africa
November to March (summer)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 93mm in Jun
Where it is
33.92°S, 18.42°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Hike or cable car up Table Mountain
- Visit the V and A Waterfront
- Drive to Cape of Good Hope
- Explore Bo-Kaap colorful houses
- Visit Kirstenbosch Gardens
- Wine tasting in Stellenbosch
Cape Town travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget South Africa
Good valueExchange at Travelex or American Express offices in malls. Airport rates are acceptable. The rand is weak so everything is cheap for foreign visitors.
ATMs & cards
FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank ATMs are safe. Use ATMs inside malls, not street-facing ones. Cover your PIN. Withdraw max R4,000.
Avoid these
- standalone machines
- any ATM where a stranger offers to help
Use these instead
- FNB
- Standard Bank
- Absa
- Nedbank
Card-swapping scams are the specific risk here. Use machines inside malls or bank branches, and never accept assistance.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of South Africa
Stay alertAvoid walking alone at night outside tourist areas. Don’t leave valuables visible in cars. Uber everywhere after dark.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (9 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- Cape Town CBD — and Long Street on foot after dark — take a car, however short the distance
- Lion’s Head — and the Table Mountain trails alone, where muggings are reported
- Stopping at the roadside on the N2 from the airport
- Displaying a phone at a traffic light with the window down
Cape Town has world-class areas and world-worst crime statistics in the same city. The local rule is simple and works: do not walk after dark, and drive with the doors locked.
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa South Africa visa rules
No visa neededup to 90 days
Other passports
No visa neededup to 30 days
Visa required in advance
How to get it: Two completely blank passport pages are required on arrival, and this is enforced — people are refused entry over it.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of South Africa
Good and affordableRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Malaria prophylaxis only if you are going to Kruger or the north-east — Cape Town has no malaria
Getting treated
Private hospitals (Netcare, Mediclinic) are genuinely world-class and cost far less than Europe or the US, which is why medical tourism exists here. The public system is overloaded. Insurance is worth it, and private ambulances (ER24, Netcare 911) respond faster than the state service.
Tap water is safe in Cape Town. No malaria in the Western Cape.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
Very goodTry a braai (BBQ) experience, biltong (dried meat), and bobotie (Cape Malay curry dish). Wine is incredible and very affordable.
Nightlife
Long Street for the crawl, a serious wine and craft-beer culture, and summer nights that run outdoors from November to March.
- Bree Street — the best bars and restaurants in the city
- Long Street — the crawl, and the late end of it
- Woodstock — the alternative scene, and the Old Biscuit Mill
- Camps Bay — the beach clubs and the sunset
Closing: 02:00–04:00.
A beer in a bar: R30–60
Take a car or a rideshare between venues after dark even for short distances — this is the standard local advice, not caution for visitors.
Getting around
Easy- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- inDriveWorks here
- From the airport
- Cape Town airport to the city bowl R250–400
- Against a taxi
- There is no metered taxi trade to speak of. The apps are how a visitor moves, and the minibus taxis are a different thing entirely.
Wait indoors for the car rather than on the street at night, which is what locals do.
Time zone and your working day
Africa/Johannesburg — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Internet speedall of South Africa
What these numbers mean
Home broadband — Fair. Video calls and streaming for one or two people — fine for a holiday, thin for a household working. Broadband here runs at 41% of the global median of 130 Mbps.
Mobile data — Fair. Maps, calls and streaming; tethering a laptop works for an hour, not a day. Mobile runs at 81% of the global median of 109 Mbps.
A median is the middle of every connection tested there, old copper and new fibre together — so in a country part-way through laying fibre it sits well below what a fibre line actually delivers, and a rental on one can run several times this number. Half of the connections are slower; a fibre flat is rarely one of them. It says what a place can do, not what your rental does, so every listing on Holistay carries its own measured speed and the date it was tested.
Getting online: Airalo or Holafly — a data eSIM for South Africa, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
South African English — local usage
- HelloHowzit
- ThanksThanks / DankieDUNK-ee
- BarbecueBraaibry
- Traffic lightRobot
4 more phrases
- Yes, definitelyYebo
- No problemSharp sharp
- The bill, pleaseThe bill, please
- GoodbyeCheers / Totsiens
Religion
Christian majority
Around 80% Christian, alongside African traditional belief, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish communities. The constitution protects all of them explicitly.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with howzit and take time over it; abruptness is rude
- Tip 10-15% at restaurants, and a few rand to car guards
- Accept a braai invitation — it is the central social ritual
- Ask locally which areas to avoid; the answer changes by street and by hour
Don't
- Do not walk alone at night, or use a phone visibly in the street
- Do not accept help at ATMs from anyone, ever
- Do not discuss race and politics casually; the history is recent and raw
- Do not leave anything in a parked car, or resist if you are robbed
Where to stay in Cape Town
No Holistay rentals in Cape Town yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Cape Town on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Cape Town CPT
25 minfrom the airport· 18 km as the crow flies
25 min to the city bowl.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
