Weekend Breaks in Cape Town
A big advantage of expat life in Cape Town is that getting away from it all entails only a short drive from the city. For those seeking a weekend break leave early on Friday afternoon to beat the traffic on the main exit routes of the N1 and N2 highways.
For ideas and inspiration of where to go get a copy of Time Out Cape Town: Weekend Breaks 2008 -2009 for a handy reference of where to go and stay in the Western Cape. Another essential resource is the annual Budget Getaway guide book which has detailed info on self-catering and B n’ B accommodation around Cape Town. Another good source of current information is the Friday Weekend supplement to the Cape Times.
Weekend break destinations
Hermanus, 40 minutes away on the False Bay coast, is a popular weekend retreat and second-home destination for Capetonians. It’s great for whale watching, has good boutique accommodation and decent restaurants, and is close to some scenic drives and excellent wine farms. A little further inland is the sleepy retreat of Stanford, home to the region’s only microbrewery.
The Cape Winelands appears to be custom built for weekend getaways. There are 13 different wine routes, and endless spas, rustic guesthouses, boutique hotels and five-star restaurants to enjoy. The main base for visitors is Franschhoek, the affluent, French-influenced cuisine capital of South Africa. Other places of interest are Stellenbosch and Paarl.
The charming villages of the Overberg are also ideal weekend getaways. Linked together by the R62 road are Montague, with hot springs, rock-climbing and hiking, the twin towns of Greyton and McGregor, for luxurious seclusion and incomparable Karoo silence, Robertson, known for its wines and historic homesteads, and Barrydale, a down-to-earth slice of small town South Africa.
The Cederberg is a rugged wilderness of wind-carved stone and pristine mountains about 4 hours north of Cape Town. Camping is the most popular form of accommodation (Algeria) but there are plenty of self-catering cottages, and even a world-renowned luxury lodge (Bushman’s Kloof Lodge).
The West Coast has several popular weekend getaway destinations. Paternoster is a gentrified fishing village with distinctive white-washed cottage architecture and an excellent beach. Further up the coast Langebaan has a lagoon that is very popular with water sport enthusiasts. In-land are the rural hamlets of Darling – an interesting combination of reclusive artists and conservative farmers - and the upmarket cuisine destination of Riebeek Kasteel.
A little further afield, but still weekend viable for those willing to fly or drive rapidly is the Garden Route, which winds its scenic way along the Indian Ocean coastline. Popular spots within 6 hours of Cape Town include George, Wilderness, Jeffreys Bay, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, the latter two deservedly among South Africa’s most popular seaside resorts.
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