Anyone Been to Cape Town South Africa?

I just got back a month ago.  The most interesting place I've ever visited.  It's history is so raw and recent and alive - nearly all of the adults you encounter would have lived through apartheid and it's so fascinating and stimulating to hear such important history from those that lived it.

It's not a good news story - SA and Cape Town still faces massive challenges but there is a spirit there that I loved - and hopefully one day it will be a good news story.  On top of that the view from Table Mountain across Cape Town, the Cape Flats and out across the bay is breathtaking.

Happy to talk about it all day as the trip was so recent. Can answer as many questions as I can here or if you PM me an e-mail address can discuss on mail and I can share photos as recommendations.

I went as part of a post grad MBA study trip (and stayed a week to enjoy as a tourist) so got some incredible insights that I can point you towards including some amazing social enterprises that will blow you away.

Haven't been to Cape Town (yet) but was in Johannesburg earlier this year and will be going back shortly. 

The parts of South Africa that I've experienced are pretty dramatically split between the "haves" and the "have nots."  Inside the fence of the gated hotels/communities, life is quite good and westernized.  Outside the fence looks to be pretty rough and I wouldn't take too many chances. 

x2 on making the trip if you can.  Cape Town is the vacation area of SA so there are lots of international travelers. Table Top mountain is a must as is venturing to see Nelson Mandela's jail cell on Robben Island.  Just walking by the lime quarry will blind you. I can't believe he did hard labor there for years. 

I was there on a grad school trip as well so we focused a lot on higher education in the country. We went to the University of Stellenbosch if I remember correctly.  And after our lecture, we went to the Stellenbosch winery. 

There's a lot you can do and see and a lot of history to soak in as well. Culturally, they are still working to change attitudes towards race. Some of my minority friends were treated poorly or had negative comments made towards them. This was five years ago (to the week!) so more progress may have been made now. 

 I still think it's totally worth the trip to explore.  Here's a pic of Table Top Mountain from the beach for inspiration (and this was July which is their winter- still really great weather despite being cool at night).

I'm headed there in just over a month.  I'm pretty pumped!  I've heard nothing but good things about the area. 

Actually, I'll only be in Cape Town for 2 days, but I'll be in Simon's Town (only 45min away) for 4 days, then Gansbaai and Mossel Bay for 2 days each.  The wife and I are doing some shark diving in each of those 3 coastal towns.  We're also going to a small game reserve in Mossel Bay, and abseiling on Table Mtn in Cape Town.  We found a personal guide in Cape Town for one of the days that is going to take us all over the city and surrounding areas that are not on the typical tourist stops and fill us in on all the unique history of the area.

We consistantly heard that the early and late winter months are the best times to visit.

Cool pic that was posted!

Thanks everyone.  I may have to look further into it.

It's sort of a crazy situation.  My wife is in the entertainment industry we we know someone in a reality show that films in Cape Town.  His "role" is a rich trust fund kid who has a penthouse apt there (that's how "real" a reality show is).  So he says we can stay with him there when they are not shooting between seasons.  So a free place to stay!

I always make a big trip a year, and that may be the deciding factor to go there instead of what I was first planning (Ireland/Scottland).

As for the "have/have not" comment.  Sadely, that's the state in a LOT of countries.  In Manilla, people lived in nice houses OR corrigated metal shacks and threw their trash in the streets or the rivers that ran by.  The seperation of classes was pretty startling.