Plan Your Stay

 

General Information

Shop

Shopping for you

Cape Town has several world-class shopping malls. They are well designed, beautifully merchandised, atmospherically controlled retail outlets selling brands as familiar to shoppers in Milan, Paris, London and New York as they are to shoppers in Cape Town. The major centers include The V&A Waterfront (www.waterfront.co.za), Cavendish Square in Claremont, Tyger Valley (www.tygervalley.co.za) in the Northern Suburbs and Canal Walk (www.canalwalk.co.za) at Century City (the largest in the Southern hemisphere, rivalling any in the world for its variety of merchandise).

Cape Town is a treasure house for some of the best craft markets in the country. On weekends, open air markets such as the ones in Green Point, Hout Bay, Kommetjie, Rondebosch and Constantia offer hours of browsing and are the source of the best original hand-made crafts.

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Banking:

Banks are open from 09:00 to 15:30 on weekdays and 08:30 to 11:00 on Saturdays. Automated Teller Machines (ATM's) are readily available in cities and towns.

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Beaches:

What do you want to get out of your trip to the beach?

- If you want a long invigorating walk, try Noordhoek or Bloubergstrand.

- If you want children in a safe environment where you can watch over them easily, try St James, Fish Hoek,
   Boulders, Hout Bay, Camps Bay or Gordons Bay.

- If you are looking to meet attractive people of the opposite (or same) sex, try your luck at Clifton, particularly
   first or second beach.

- And if you are looking to taking off all your gear, then Sandy Bay is the traditional spot.

- Big Bay, Bloubergstrand, Kogelbay at Gordons Bay, as well as Outer Kom (Kommetjie) and Long Beach at
   Noordhoek are draw cards for serious surfers. Surfer's corner at Muizenberg is the ideal place if you want
   to try surfing, lessons are available for beginners.

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Conversions - distances and temperatures:

Distances are given in kilometers (1 mile = 1.62 kilometres)

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Cape Town International Airport :

Situated conveniently only 20km's from Cape Town center, Cape Town International Airport is the main gateway to the Western Cape. Tel: 021 9371200 https://www.acsa.co.za

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Duty Free Shops:

Duty-free shops are situated at Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban International Airports.

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Electricity:

Current is 220/230 volts at 50 cycles per second. A three-point round-pin adaptor is required, so take an adapter. Most hotel rooms have 110-volt outlets for electric shavers and small appliances.

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Mobile Phones:

Public phones use telephone cards. The cards can be bought at post offices, airports, bookshops and supermarkets.

Mobile phones/cell phones, are widely used. Cellular phones can be hired from the airport and various other outlets https://www.cellucity.co.za/ Sim cards are available in all major supermarkets.

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Languages:

There are 11 official languages in SA. English is the language of administration and is widely spoken. Other languages are: Afrikaans, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.

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Public Holidays:

Fixed: 1 January, 21 March, 27 April, 1 May, 16 June, 9 August, 24 September, 16 December, 25 & 26 December. Variable: Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

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Standard Time:

Two hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time.

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Theatre:

Watch out for excellent home-grown productions.

Visit Artscape in the city centre at www.artscape.co.za or the Baxter Theatre in Rondebosch at https://www.baxter.co.za/ or Theatre on the Bay in Camps Bay at https://www.theatreonthebay.co.za

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Traveller's Cheques:

Most international traveller's checks are accepted provided they are in an acceptable currency and may be cashed at most banks. Many hotels and shops also provide this service.

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VAT Refunds:

Foreign tourists visiting South Africa can have their value-added tax (VAT) refunded provided the value of each invoice for goods purchased exceeds R50 the value of the total items purchased exceeds R250. VAT is refunded on departure at the point of departure.

VAT of 14% is levied on nearly all goods and services.

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Water:

Tap water throughout the Cape Metropolitan Area is safe for human consumption.

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Weather:

https://www.iafrica.com/weather/capetown/ or https://windguru.com

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Important Phone Numbers

Red Cherry Accommodation contact numbers.

Office:                     +27 (0)21 433 0529
24 Hours Numbers: 0832663089

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Below are some emergency numbers you may need during your stay:

 

Emergency Hotline	Nationwide	107
Ambulance	Nationwide	10177
Fire Brigade	Camps Bay	021 535 1100
Mountain Rescue	Cape Town	021 948 9900
Paramedic Service	Western Cape	080 022 5599
Poison Unit	Cape Town	021 689 5227
Police Flying Squad	Nationwide	10111
Police Station	Camps Bay	021 437 8140
Sea Rescue	Camps Bay	021 449 3500
Christiaan Barnard Hospital	Cape Town	021 480 6111
Cape Town Medi-Clinic Hospital	Cape Town	021 464 5500
Trauma Unit	Cape Town	021 423 4835
Dentist	Camps Bay	021 438 1505
Doctor - 24 hours - Dr Tyga	Sea Point	083 655 8899
Chemist	Camps Bay	021 438 2888