3 Easy Day Trips from Cape Town

Happy Travel Tuesday! You know that I absolutely adore travelling overseas, but it’s not always easy to do. Luckily for me, we live in one of the most beautiful provinces in South Africa. Since I don’t have any overseas holidays on the horizon at the moment, I’m focusing on local African travel! We have an AWESOME country that many, many people travel to each year. Technically, we are someone else’s abroad! As with any trip, it’s important to do your research and discover what you’d like to see and when. I was considering which easy day trips from Cape Town I could do myself and thought I’d recommend 3 easy excursions for locals or visitors alike:

3 Easy Day Trips from Cape Town

Tannie Evita’s Se Peron – Darling

Darling is a charming little town just 75 kilometers north of Cape Town. Home to one of South Africa’s most famous comedians and social politicians – Tannie Evita, Darling offers a fun and easy day away from the city. Make your way through to the town during flower season to see all the beautiful west coast flowers in the morning, grab a bite to eat at the Marmalade cat on main road, pop into Darling Sweet for some much loves toffees and enjoy an afternoon of laughs and head nodding at Tannie Evita’s se Person.

Pieter-Dirk Uys’s famous character is ‘stationed’ at the Peron, in the heart of the village. Tannie Evita performs over the weekends, both stepping back in time to share her experiences as a close friend of Nelson Mandela as well as offering political observations of modern day South Africa. She’s sharp, she’s brilliant and it’s a fantastic opportunity to connect with modern day politics, without having to grab a sign and stand outside parliament yourself!

South of the City – Cape Point

Just 65 kilometers from the city bowl, Cape Point is one of those weird places that locals often don’t often visit because it feels too close, yet too far from home. However, every time I’ve visited in recent times I’ve really enjoyed how beautiful it is and just last year the City of Cape Town celebrated 20 “official” years of Cape Point, where the natural landmark was handed back to the government and made accessible to all.

I recommend doing a ’round trip’ to Cape Point. Make your way through Simon’s Town, stopping off at Boulders Beach to see the penguins if you like, while following the road along the mountainside to the Cape Point National Park. There are some incredible views of hidden mountain coves and blue skies across False Bay.

The last time I visited Cape Point I saw ostriches at the beach, baboons in the trees and a solar halo! It costs about R140 per adult (£10) to enter and you can enjoy lunch at the restaurant and a funicular for those who aren’t able to climb to the end of Cape Point themselves.

A post shared by Boring Cape Town Chick (@boringcapetownchick) on Apr 19, 2015 at 8:13am PDT

Complete your ‘around drive’ by taking the road through Misty Cliffs (great for whale spotting), Kommetjie and Noordhoek. Stop for a picnic at the Cape Point Vineyards or lunch at Tinswalo Atlantic, while you make your way along Chapman’s Peak, back to the City Bowl.

The views along this drive really are out of this world and it’s a great way to spend a day in the and ‘around’ the Mother City.

Franschhoek Wine Tram – Franschhoek

In case you missed my Franschhoek Wine Tram video, this is one of the most fun trips you can make from the Mother City. I’d recommend booking a night (or two) in Franschhoek so that you don’t have to worry about drinking and driving. The Franschhoek Wine Tram is TOO much fun and the perfect way to experience the Franschhoek Wine Valley in one day.

Meet at the ticket booth on Franschhoek main road before being bussed away to your first destination. Depending on what time you book your trip, you will be able to visit between 3 – 6 wine farms on a single trip. The tram/bus comes every hour or so, so I recommend spending 1 hour at each location and squeezing in as much as possible. Farms I recommend – La Bri, Maison, Grand Provence. Buy tickets online for around R200 per person to avoid missing out – they do sell out very quickly.

These are just 3 ideas of how to spend time outside the Mother City. There are many, many more options such as visiting Stellenbosch, popping over to Hermanus for whale spotting, hiking in the Cederberg, to name a few. If you have any questions about these 3 trips, feel free to leave your queries in the comment section below. Thanks for reading and ENJOY a day out in the Mother City!

**Post created in partnership with African Odyssey.