Visiting Cape Town On Budget

Cape Town, South Africa, is one of the top tourist attractions in the world and promises adventure, incredible food, and natural beauty that is hard to beat. But, because many of its visitors are paying in foreign currencies like dollars and pounds, some of the more popular attractions can be a little expensive for South African tourists that are visiting Cape Town on a budget.

Don’t let tighter purse strings stop you from visiting Cape Town, though; because there are loads of freed or cheaper things to see and do that still spell out the magic of the Mother City.
Free or Cheap Attractions for Those Visiting Cape Town on a Budget:

Walking Tours

Take your own self-guided walking tour of the city centre and include must-sees like Greenmarket Square, Long Street and all its quirky shops and boutiques, The Company Gardens, Bo-Kaap, the Castle of Good Hope (impressive from the outside, but there’s a reasonable entrance fee of R50 for adults and R25 for children and pensioners), and the District Six Museum in Buitenkant Street (which has an entrance fee of only R40 for adults).

Free guided walking tours are on offer from the Motherland Coffee Company at St George’s Mall. These leave every day at 11h00, 14h00, and 16h20. To book, visit their website – freewalkingtourscapetown.co.za.

The V & A Waterfront

As one of the most popular malls on the African continent, this attraction may not seem to be very budget-friendly. But, there’s so much to see apart from the actual shops and restaurants. Browse the African arts and crafts at the market; watch the yachts, tugs and even cruise liners come into the working harbour; admire the sculptures at Nobel Square or the African Trading Port; and watch as tourists from all over the world discover Cape Town against views of the majestic Table Mountain in the not-too-distant background.

Free Museum Tours

Although most of the museums in Cape Town ask a nominal fee for entering, there are some that are free to enter or that work on a donation basis. These museums include the incredible Cape Town Holocaust Centre (City Bowl), the Cape Medical Museum (Green Point), the Centre for the Book at the National Library (City Bowl), and Rhodes Cottage Museum (Muizenberg).

Zeitz MOCAA

Normally, the entrance fee to this absolutely breath-taking contemporary African art gallery is R190. But, on Wednesdays, visitors that have any form of African identification (like an ID book or driver’s licence) can experience the magic for free. Situated at De Waterkant, just a few minutes’ walk from the main mall of the V & A, this is a must for locals and visitors to Cape Town.

The Company’s Garden

Right in the heart of the City Bowl, there is a lush green oasis known as the Company’s Garden. Feed the squirrels, visit the birds in the aviary, eat under the trees at the restaurant or from your own picnic basket, and explore the fountains, ponds, and the bamboo forest that is more than 80 years old.

Green Point Park

Families, couples, or those needing a time-out will love relaxing at this gorgeous urban park, which is flanked by Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean. There are several play areas for little ones, as well as an outdoor labyrinth, walking and cycling paths, ponds with fish and birds, picnic areas and water features. An added bonus is that it is within walking distance from the hubs of Green Point and Sea Point.

Intimate Dinner Dates at Umhlangas ‘The Village Table’

The classic candle-lit dinner date for two has become somewhat a ‘religious practice’ society classifies as a true statement of romance which is an arguable statement. But for a quick second, let’s picture a cultivated and cosmopolitan twist of a 21st century dinner date and voila! – ‘The Village Table’ comes to mind.

Situated in the Pearls Shopping Center which is not far from Umhlangas’ luxury accommodation area, this upbeat restaurant is more than taking your significant other out for a romantic meal but rather an intimate experience. With its very Urbane presence and fashionable setting, the restaurant certainly offers patrons more than just delicious food and amazing cocktails, ‘might I add’!

Without a shadow of doubt, you can expect a weekly lineup act whether it’s a nostalgic live-band performance, Salsa Date Nights or their Soulful Sunday Sessions. The Village Table brings upon various forms of activities to set the ambience and mood during any couples “Date Night”.

A diverse menu selection from: Afro-Portuguese, Mediterranean and Continental Cuisine all under the ‘same table’ , their VT’s Seafood Exotica and Biltong Sirloin Carpaccio certainly speaks of a personal flair due to the precision towards catering for everyone’s palette. “Let’s not forget that Food is the language of love”.

But what’s a good meal without an amazing drink to compliment it! Their drinks menu is very tasteful yet adventurous but a certain must try for couples would have to be their-Rosemary and Lemonade Gin or for the occasional Martini drinkers, their White Chocolate Martini is what I’d like to describe as ‘Heaven on Earth’.

An abundance of romance on display and what you can describe as a great idea of an initimate night out “With Bae”, The Village Table certainly ticks of all the correct boxes for an unforgettable dinner date but be warned about their ‘contagious bug’ which might leave you wanting everyday to be Date Night.

Location: 6 Lagoon Drive Umhlanga, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal

Phone: 087 288 4235

Email: info@villagetable.co.za

#BeAKidAgain – Enter The Paper Jet Challenge And Win A Trip To Zanzibar

My favourite online travel agency, Travel Start is running an awesome competition and inviting the public to take part in their Paper Jet challenge, were you one of those creative kids at your school or you always had the best Paper Jet in your neighborhood? Well, here’s a chance to join in the fun and #BeAKidAgain – you and a friend can stand a chance to win to the beautiful ZANZIBAR. I’ve shared this competition with all my close friends and family members and our deal was, whoever wins gets to take me, I’ve always wanted to go on holiday and anyways even if I don’t win, I’ve set up a budget to go on a vacation towards the end of the year because Travel Start offers amazing return flights to Zanzibar.

Talking about this competition brings a lot of childhood memories so let me share some of the incredible stories with you. Growing up I have always been the child that wanted to be heard, I always wanted to be on the center stage and tell my story, I think this will give you guys an idea of how I started blogging.

During primary school I took part at almost every school play that we would have seasonally and would be grateful to be chosen as the main act or ‘star’of each drama production I would audition for at my school, I was popular and would appear at local magazines and on our newsletter, the teachers loved this about me and the fact that I was not only excelling in the arts but also academically as I was in the debating team for our school 3 years in a row. Now I wanted to be paid for it, I wanted to be on a larger audience and I wanted to meet like minded people, then that’s when I started searching for acting gigs for kids and saw auditions for Gcina Mhlophe’s African Christmas production which was going to be staged at the playhouse, I took the newspaper my mom had bought and called in to register for auditions and having the supportive mother I have, we went there together. To cut the long story short, I was through the first and second round and made is as one of the leading characters for African Mother Christmas.

Being part of this production taught me a lot of things about the entertainment industry and was lucky to work with multi-award winning actors, musicians and directors such as Madala Kunene, Faca Khulu and Slindile Nodangala. My love for the entertainment grew from then and this was of great influence in working in the fields I have worked within throughout – PR, entertainment commentating and writing.

Emirates Makes Flying Fun For Families And Kids

Emirates reveals the secret to keeping your kids entertained on the plane with the Child Boredom Quotient

• Under 12s bored 49 minutes and 47 seconds into their long-haul journey
• Top 3 worries for parents when travelling with their children on a plane include entertaining their children (64%), disturbing other passengers (43%) and keeping their kids hydrated (23%)
• Sitting sweetly: 41% of parents admit that they have resorted to bribing their children with sweets, chocolate and crisps in exchange for good behaviour whilst on a flight
• A third of parents (33%) also rely on electronic babysitters by loading up their phone or tablet with their favourite games, apps, television episodes, and films 
• Emirates launches the Child Boredom Quotient – helping parents work out exactly when their kids will get bored and what to do about it

London, UK, 28 October 2017: Young flyers will take just 49 minutes and 47 seconds to ask the dreaded, ‘’are we nearly there yet?’’ so with parents battling the boredom threshold, Emirates has teamed up with Dr Sandi Mann, a psychologist and boredom specialist at the University of Central Lancashire to find a solution. Dr Mann has worked with the airline to create the Child Boredom Quotient (CBQ), helping parents identify the exact moment their kids will get bored so they can enjoy stress-free travel.

The study of more than 2,000 UK parents of under 12s alongside observations of children during their playtime helped Dr Sandi Mann categorise activities into Active (A), Passive (P), Interactive (I), Creative (C) or Sensory (S) to formulate the CBQ, and ultimately help parents mix the perfect blend of activities to catch boredom before it sets in.

The findings which also saw two thirds of parents (64%) worry about entertaining their children and 43% expressing concern about their children disturbing other passengers, found little travellers aged 3 – 4 to be the most volatile. Bribery techniques such as giving out snacks (41%) in exchange for good behaviour were often used just to keep the peace. Other tried and tested methods of distraction for parents include employing electronic devices (33%) even if they’re not allowed at home, handing out new toys (27%) to keep their tots happy or trying to tire out their children by running around the airport before boarding (16%).

Dr Sandi Mann, psychologist and boredom specialist, University of Central Lancashire comments: “Parents of children aged 3-4 will start to find that this is when their children are physically very active, gaining independence and when they need more sophisticated things to entertain them than they did when they were younger.

For instance, the ‘electronic babysitter’ whilst popular for a flight may not work for all age groups and parents of younger children will find that they have less attention span for this than older ones. Breaking up this passive activity for active or creative ones will stop children becoming bored, restless and disruptive.’’

However, it’s not just bribery that parents resort to when travelling with their children on a plane. An honest 7% revealed that they simply try to relax with an eye mask to block out the disturbance.

When engaging in an activity on board, films are the most popular for keeping children occupied from around 40 minutes for the youngest age group (0-2) to 1 hour 45 minutes for the oldest (11-12). This is followed by games either on a smart device or on the inflight entertainment system (keeping kids occupied from 30 minutes for the youngest to 1.5 hours for the oldest).

Meanwhile, creative pursuits such as drawing was the most popular until age 9 when quizzes and puzzles become more engaging. Colouring and sticker books have most appeal to the younger ages.

Dr Sandi Mann further comments: ‘’Very young children don’t need very sophisticated toys for a plane journey and will be most amused by things in the environment – including people and of course their parents. For example, this could be ‘I Spy’ whilst, regular walks up the aisle are good for toddlers for exercise and for pre-toddles to change the visual environment. Don’t forget singing and interactive games like peekaboo are also great.

Older children can be given simple materials like notebooks and pens, puzzle books and comics. Ensure that they take breaks every so often to walk up and down the plane and try to restrict the passive viewing just like you might at home. Don’t be afraid of them being bored as left to their own devices with a few basic materials, they will find creative ways to engage their brains.’’

Jade Cobbs, Emirates Cabin Supervisor, comments: “We understand that parents often dread the idea of travelling on a long-haul flight with bored children. 

However, parents need not wait until the boredom alarm sets off. Whether it’s utilising the Cabin Crew to provide your kids with activity packs to watching the family friendly TV shows and movies on Emirates’ ice entertainment system, families can avoid the boredom threshold via some pre-prepared activities, interactive games or inflight entertainment.’’ 

Dr Sandi Mann has created a suggested guide for how to structure a plane journey for each age range. The activities are categorised as Active (A), Passive (P), Interactive (I), Creative (C) or Sensory (S) and the idea is that by mixing these up and stopping an activity at the right time, boredom and restlessness will be minimised. 

Passive – watching films, listening to music

Active – walking up and down the aisle, playing with a pack of cards

Creative – drawing, colouring books

Sensory – refreshments

Interactive – reading a storybook, chatting

The CBQ tables are attached as well as a guide to Emirates’ top tips for travelling with children.