About South Africa > About Cape Town > Travel Guide > Getting There

Getting There


Travel by: [ Road ] [ Rail ] [ Water ] [ Air ]

Road
Cape Town's road network has both good highways and scenic routes. This, combined with the fact that there is limited public transport, means that driving is often the preferred mode of transport for many tourists. However, visitors should note that South Africa has a very high accident rate and many drivers do not adhere to the rules of the road.

Roads are designated by an ‘M' for motorway, ‘N' for national roads and highways (major routes that criss-cross the country) and ‘R' for the smaller yet still key routes. Local roads, including gravel or dirt tracks, are commonly designated by a ‘C' or ‘D', if they are listed at all. The legal driving age is 18 years, though if hiring a car, most companies require drivers to be at least 23. Driving is on the left and seat belts must be worn at all times. The speed limit on highways is 120kph (75mph), 80-100kph (50-62mph) on national roads and 60kph (37mph) in urban areas. Foreign licences are valid if they are printed in English and have a photograph of the holder; otherwise an International Driving Permit is essential. Licences must be carried at all times. Mandatory Personal Accident Insurance is included in the price of the petrol, however, drivers should not rely on this and extra insurance is highly recommended. Drink-driving penalties are strict and visitors should note that the maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%.

Foreign drivers need to be aware that car hijacking is rampant in South Africa. Doors should be locked at all times and picking up hitchhikers should be avoided. Unfortunately, it is essential for drivers to carry cash, as petrol stations often do not accept credit cards. Nevertheless, almost all petrol stations provide ATM machines. Petrol stations are not self service and petrol attendants are on hand to fill up tanks, wash windscreens and check oil and water; a small tip is customary.

The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) (tel: (011) 799 1001; www.aasa.co.za) provides general information on road travel in South Africa.

Emergency breakdown service: AA (tel: 0838 4322/THEAA) yellow SOS telephones are available along major routes.

Routes to the city: There are three main routes leading into Cape Town. These are the N1 from the Winelands (Paarl and Franschhoek) and northern destinations, such as the Karoo and Johannesburg, the N2 from the airport, Somerset West and the Overberg via the Garden Route, and the N7 from the West Coast and Namibia.

Approximate driving times to Cape Town: From Somerset West - 30 minutes; Paarl - 45 minutes; Franschhoek - 1 hour; Johannesburg - 17 hours.

Coach services: Cape Town is linked by bus services (usually air-conditioned and good condition) to all major destinations in South Africa, including Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth, as well as some international destinations, such as Bulawayo and Harare in Zimbabwe, Maputo in Mozambique and Windhoek in Namibia.
Cape Town Station, Adderley Street, is the departure point for all bus services. Service providers include Intercape (tel: (021) 380 4400; www.intercape.co.za), Greyhound (tel: 0839 159 000; www.greyhound.co.za), and Translux (tel: (021) 774 3333; www.translux.co.za). The Baz Bus (tel: (021) 439 2323; www.bazbus.com) is a jump-on-jump-off bus service aimed at backpackers and picks up and drops off from Cape Town's backpacker hostels. It runs along the coast between Cape Town and Durban, from where there are two routes to Johannesburg.

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Rail
Shosholoza Meyl (tel: (021) 774 4555 or 0860 008 888; www.spoornet.co.za) operates all mainline railway services, while Cape Metrorail (tel: 0800 656 463; www.capemetrorail.co.za) operates the suburban services (see Getting Around). While national travel is easy and comfortable suburban services are unreliable, not very extensive and can be dangerous, especially after dark. Rail enquiries should be directed to the Metro Transport Info central toll-free number (tel: 0800 656 463; www.mti.co.za); inter-city train reservations are also available.

Cape Town Station, Adderley Street, services both national and suburban lines. The station is in a vast, vaulted building that houses an array of shops and kiosks. Other facilities include information desks, security lockers for hire, a restaurant and even a doctor and dentist.

Rail services: Standard train services going to mainline destinations include daily services to Johannesburg, via Kimberley and Worcester (journey time - 26 hours 30 minutes), and a weekly service to Durban via Kimberley and Bloemfontein (journey time - 37 hours). Trains to Johannesburg and Durban offer a sleeper service and are relaxing alternatives to flying, with dining cars for fast food and serviced compartments, though journey times are slow. There's also a more upmarket service known as Premier Classe (tel: 0860 008 888; www.premierclasse.co.za) that goes to Johannesburg twice a week.

The premier luxury train in South Africa is the world famous Blue Train (tel: (021) 449 2672; www.bluetrain.co.za), with deluxe services between Cape Town and Pretoria (journey time - 27 hours). They arrange occasional trips from Pretoria to Pilanesberg National Park and trains can be chartered from Pretoria to Victoria Falls and Nelspruit/Hoedspruit. This is one of the world's premier rail experiences and must be booked well in advance.

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Water
The superbly located Cape Town Harbour, at the heart of the city, accessed via Dock Road, off Coen Steytler Avenue, Portswood or Beach Road, or via Ebenezer Road, off the Western Boulevard, is overseen by South African Port Operations (tel: (021) 449 2405; www.saponet.co.za), and is the second busiest port in South Africa, handling a huge volume of freight every year. Cruise liners regularly call here and it is also a major fishing port.

There are two main sections of the harbour. While the massive working area, comprising the Duncan Dock, Ben Schoeman Dock and Sturrock Dock, is off limits to the casual visitor, the Victoria Basin, Alfred Basin and the New Basin, known collectively as the V&A Waterfront (tel: (021) 408 7600; www.waterfront.co.za) is one of South Africa's premium tourist attractions (see Key Attractions) as well as a working harbour. There is no dedicated passenger terminal at Cape Town Harbour. Cruise liners longer than 200m (656ft) are accommodated at various berths at the Duncan Dock, while smaller liners dock at the V&A Waterfront.

Boat services: Andrew Weir Shipping (tel: (021) 425 1165; www.rms-st-helena.com) offers round-trip cruises from Cape Town to St Helena and Ascension Island via Walvis Bay and Luderitz in Namibia (journey time - 23 days), on-board the RMS St Helena (a working Royal Mail ship). Twice a year it continues on to Tenerife and the UK.

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Air
Cape Town International Airport (CPT)
Tel: (021) 937 1257 or 0867 277 888 (flight information).
Website: www.airports.co.za

Cape Town International Airport is located 22km (15.5 miles) east of Cape Town's city centre on the N2 highway.

Approximate flight times to Cape Town: London is 11 hours 20 minutes; New York is 17 hours; Los Angeles is 25 hours; Toronto is 19 hours and Sydney is 16 hours.

Airport facilities: Facilities include foreign exchange, ATMs, executive car parking services, baggage storage, tourist information, restaurants, bars, snack bars, bookshops, duty-free shops, post offices, a pharmacy, mobile phone and SIM card hire centre, Wi-Fi access, and car hire from Avis, Budget, Dollar Thrifty, Europcar, Hertz, Imperial, National/Alamo and Tempest.

Business facilities: The Airport Company Premier Lounge (tel: (021) 936 1118) is located near the domestic arrivals terminal and provides meeting and conference space, with facilities such as e-mail, fax, telephones, projectors, video-conferencing and photocopiers. Secretarial services, catering and mobile phone hire are also available.

Transport to the city: There is no rail service or public bus service from the airport. Various shuttle bus services operate services from the airport. Legend Tours and Transfers (tel: (021) 704 9140; www.legendtours.co.za) and Backpacker's Bus (tel: (021) 439 7600; www.backpackerbus.co.za) operate a 24-hour door-to-door shuttle bus service. At the airport, there are desks for shuttle bus services in international arrivals for Randy's Tours (tel: (021) 706 0166; www.randystours.com) and Anwar's Tours (tel: (021) 936 2065). Metered taxis are always available outside the airport from Touch Down Taxis (tel: (021) 919 4659), the official airport taxi company, for approximately R260 to the city centre. Most luxury and business hotels will, if notified in advance, provide transport to and from the airport.

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