{"id":24323,"date":"2011-08-27T04:15:28","date_gmt":"2011-08-27T02:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=24323"},"modified":"2011-08-28T13:44:31","modified_gmt":"2011-08-28T11:44:31","slug":"telegraph-travel-cape-town-city-break-guide-an-improvement-but-not-error-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/telegraph-travel-cape-town-city-break-guide-an-improvement-but-not-error-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Telegraph Travel ‘Cape Town City Break Guide’ an improvement, but not error-free!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>After writing about the disastrous error-filled and outdated Conde Nast Traveller<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0 Guide to Cape Town earlier this week, it was refreshing to see a link on Twitter about the Telegraph Travel’s <\/strong>\u00a0‘Cape Town City Break Guide’, written by local travel writer and ‘destination expert’\u00a0Pippa de Bruyn (author of a ‘Frommer’s Guide’ to South Africa and to India, and of\u00a0 ‘A Hedonist’s Guide to Cape Town’),\u00a0resulting in\u00a0a far more accurate guide for the tourist visiting Cape Town.<\/p>\n

The Guide kicks off with the Beauty positioning for Cape Town (the one that Cape Town Tourism has just thrown away by using ‘Inspirational’<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, as the new positioning for Cape Town, even though it is not unique for Cape Town and has been used by others, including Pick ‘n Pay!), in stating that “Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities in the world”<\/em>.\u00a0 It is accompanied by a beautiful shot of Clifton, with the Twelve Apostles as backdrop.\u00a0 The reasons for travelling to Cape Town are motivated as\u00a0its ‘in-your-face beauty’<\/em>; the pristine white beaches; the proximity of nature; spotting zebra and wildebeest on the slopes of Table Mountain; watching whales breaching\u00a0in False Bay; being ‘halted by cavorting baboons near Cape Point’<\/em>; being a contender for World Design Capital 2014<\/a><\/strong><\/span> with its art galleries, ‘hip bars’<\/em>, opera, and design-savvy shops; the unique marriage of Dutch-origin vegetable gardening, winemaking introduced by the French (this fact\u00a0must be challenged, as it was the Dutch who established the first wine farms), Malay slaves’ spices, and English ‘Georgian mansions and Victorian terraced homes’;\u00a0 <\/em>its contrasts of pleasure and poverty, of ‘pounding seas and vine-carpeted valleys’, <\/em>and its award-winning wines and produce offer ‘some of the best (and most affordable) fine dining in the world’.<\/em><\/p>\n

The ‘Cape Town City Break Guide’ includes the following recommendations:<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 travel time is suggested as ‘pretty much any time of the year’,<\/em> and a warning of wet Julys and Augusts now is inaccurate, given the wonderful non-winter weather experienced in Cape Town\u00a0during both these months this year!<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 misleading is the claim that Cape Town offers the best land-based whale watching in the world – this\u00a0positioning belongs to Hermanus, and is corrected a few pages further into the guide.\u00a0\u00a0 Also misleading is the claim that the best ‘summer deals’<\/em> are available in October and November –\u00a0most accommodation establishments have\u00a0the\u00a0same rate for the whole summer, and do not drop rates at the start of summer.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0it is up-to-date in that\u00a0use of the MyCiti Bus<\/a> is recommended to travel between the airport and the Civic Centre, as well as to the\u00a0Waterfront.\u00a0 Train travel between Cape Town and Simonstown is not recommended, due to dirty windows and lack of safety, one of the few negatives contained in the Guide.\u00a0 The red City Sightseeing bus\u00a0is recommended, as are bus tours, taxis, Rikkis, and car hire.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 The ‘Local laws and etiquette’ section does not address either of these two points.\u00a0 Instead, it warns against crime when walking or driving, and recommends that tourists should not ‘flash their wealth’.\u00a0 Potential card-skimming in the Waterfront and at the airport is also a potential danger, travellers to Cape Town are told, not accurate, and unfair to these two Cape Town locations.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Tourist attractions recommended are Cape Point, driving via the Atlantic Seaboard and Chapman’s Peak;\u00a0wine-tasting in Constantia; the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens; exploring the city centre on foot, walking from the city centre to Green Point; taking a water taxi from the Convention Centre to the Waterfront; the Footsteps to Freedom Tour; the Company Gardens; the National Gallery; summer concerts at Kirstenbosch; tanning at Clifton beaches; shopping for wines or going on a wine tour; High Tea at the Mount Nelson hotel; going on tours which allow one to meet the ‘other half’<\/em>\u00a0 locals; \u00a0walking through the Waterfront or taking a\u00a0sunset cruise; the Two Oceans Aquarium; eating fish and chips in Kalk Bay; going up Table Mountain by foot or cable car; day trips to Cape Point, the West Coast National Park to see the spring flowers, and the Winelands (referring to Franschhoek as the now out-of-date ‘Gourmet Capital of the Cape’,<\/em>\u00a0by stating that ‘it is the only place where you have award-winning restaurants within walking distance of each other’<\/em>, not\u00a0correct either).<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 in the ‘Cape Town Hotels’ section, it states disturbingly (and information out of date<\/a><\/span><\/strong>) that ‘Cape Town isn’t cheap’, and therefore suggests that clients stay in Oranjezicht, Tamboerskloof, Higgovale, and Bo-Kaap\u00a0\u00a0(but none of these suburbs have restaurants, something guests would like to\u00a0walk to\u00a0by foot from their accommodation), as well as De Waterkant, the V&A Waterfront (probably one of the most expensive accommodation areas!), and ‘Greenpoint’ (sic).\u00a0 Self-catering and ‘B&b’ (sic) accommodation is recommended.\u00a0 Hotels previously reviewed by The Telegraph <\/strong>are listed: the Mount Nelson, Ellerman House, the Cape Grace, Cascades on the Promenade, Four Rosmead, An African Villa, Rouge on Rose, Fritz Hotel, and The Backpack hostel, an interesting mix of hotels, and not all highly-rated in its reviews.\u00a0No newer ‘World Cup hotels’ are recommended.\u00a0<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 For nightlife, Camps Bay’s Victoria Road, Long Street and Cape Quarter\u00a0are recommended.\u00a0 Vaudeville is strongly recommended, but has lost a lot of its appeal.\u00a0 Other specific recommendations are Asoka on Kloof Street, Fiction DJ Bar\u00a0& Lounge, Crew Bar in De Waterkant, Julep off Long Street, and the Bascule bar at the Cape Grace.\u00a0 The list seems out of date, with more trendy night-time spots being popular amongst locals.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 The Restaurant section is most disappointing, given the great accolade given to the Cape Town fine-dining scene early in the guide. Four restaurants only are recommended, and many would disagree that these are Cape Town’s best, or those that tourists should visit: The Roundhouse in Camps Bay, Willoughby & Co in the Waterfront, 95 Keerom Street, and ‘Colcaccio (sic)\u00a0Camps Bay’!\u00a0 A special note advises ‘gourmet diners’ to check Eat Out<\/strong> and Rossouw’s Restaurants<\/strong>\u00a0 for\u00a0restaurants close to one’s accommodation.\u00a0 Stellenbosch restaurants Overture<\/a>, Rust en Vrede<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and Terroir are recommended, as are Le Quartier and Ryan’s Kitchen in Franschhoek<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, and La Colombe in Constantia.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0 Shopping suggestions include\u00a0the city centre, Green Point, Woodstock,\u00a0De Waterkant, and Kloof Street, the latter street not having any particularly special shops.\u00a0 The Neighbourgoods Market in the Old Biscuit Mill is recommended as the ‘best food market in the country’\u00a0(locals may disagree, with the squash of undecided shoppers, and increasingly more expensive), and may recommend the City Bowl Market instead).\u00a0 Art galleries are also recommended.<\/p>\n

While the Telegraph Travel<\/strong>\u00a0 ‘Cape Town City Break Guide’ is a massive improvement on the Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveller<\/strong>\u00a0 Cape Town guide, even this guide contains unforgivable errors, which a local writer should not be making.\u00a0 One would hope that Cape Town Tourism will get the errors fixed.\u00a0 We also suggest that they recommend the addition of\u00a0Cape Town’s\u00a0many special city centre eateries<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, and that the accommodation list be updated.\u00a0 The exclusion of Robben Island on the attraction list is a deficiency.\u00a0\u00a0 The delineation between recommendations for things to do in Cape Town is blurred in some instances with recommendations in towns and villages outside Cape Town, which may confuse tourists to the Mother City.\u00a0 Overall, the Guide appears superficial and touristy, and does not reveal all the special gems that Cape Town has to offer.<\/p>\n

Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a>\u00a0 Twitter:@WhaleCottage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After writing about the disastrous error-filled and outdated Conde Nast Traveller\u00a0 Guide to Cape Town earlier this week, it was refreshing to see a link on Twitter about the Telegraph Travel’s \u00a0‘Cape Town City Break Guide’, written by local travel writer and ‘destination expert’\u00a0Pippa de Bruyn (author of a ‘Frommer’s Guide’ to South Africa and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,124,22,21],"tags":[7244,12953,11418,12967,338,130,12971,4309,695,110,661,32366,12950,85,12962,838,32378,11928,94,3683,32383,2436,12957,6894,32391,12586,12969,474,138,2229,851,12968,10945,12956,11417,32369,12964,12952,233,12914,32377,12961,9234,27,12451,12970,7410,12955,39,188,441,12526,12958,5970,5954,7411,33,957,12951,12954,87,1358,12963,61,34,4836,131,4,1131,9327,12965,12381,2495,1587,92,3040,10974,482,12960,32373,76,376,1895,32382,6405,2135,12966,7120],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t