Key to Cape Town: Your insider’s guide to exploring the Mother City, by Samantha Reinders and Toast Coetzer

Key to Cape Town: Your insider’s guide to exploring the Mother City, by Samantha Reinders and Toast Coetzer.

Key to Cape Town is a richly illustrated and easy-to-use insider’s guide by Samantha Reinders and Toast Coetzer that captures the very best of what the Mother City has to offer.

Toast Coetzer  Samantha Reinders  

Explore premier destinations such as Table Mountain, the Winelands, Robben Island, Camps Bay and Cape Point from a fresh, vibrant perspective, or discover lesser-known, off-beat destinations and things to do, such as a relaxing day trip to Bain's Kloof Pass or where to buy a tasty gatsby in the city centre. This indispensable guide, with all the maps you'll need, suggests itineraries to suit your interests and to maximise your stay in Cape Town. Or simply plan your own itinerary from a selection of 115 ideas. If you want to know where to watch soccer, what to do with your kids or where to find the best sushi, Key to Cape Town shows you the way, like here, to Camps Bay:

If someone is stuck in an office in Johannesburg and daydreaming of being on vacation in Cape Town, chances are that the daydream is set in Camps Bay. When you are down on the beach on a sunny day, everything is at arm's length: the ocean, good restaurants, cocktail bars, fantastic scenery and interesting people. Sun-worshipping locals and tourists come here to show off their tans or to work very hard on them. (Some would say you work at home on that tan, then come show it off here!) The suburb which lies up towards the lower slopes of the Twelve Apostles is a well-to-do one, with houses jostling for a view of the beautiful crescent-shaped bay. During December and January the main beach here is packed, a colourful throng of people competing for space to sit, lie, read, play beach bats or kick a ball.

Notice how we don't mention swimming, for the water on this side of the peninsula is never warm. Swimming here entails running into the icy water, maybe getting your head under the first wave and then sprinting back to the warmth of the sand. Well, it's not that bad, but you get the picture. When swimming, be careful not to dive in the shallows as there are often hidden sandbanks. And if the wind is howling, head for Clifton Fourth (key 27) which is more sheltered. Facing the ocean, Glen Beach lies off to the right, just beyond Fisherman's Rock. That's where you'll see the surfers when the waves are good. To the left of the main beach you will find a calm, safe tidal pool. 

The best places to eat and drink are on Victoria Road, because from here you can keep your finger on it, as folk lounge under the palm trees, cars and taxis with souped up sound-systems hump past, and the sea glistens beyond the white beach. Summerville (in the Promenade Centre) serves great cocktails, so too Baraza. Sinful is the ice-cream shop you'll be looking for on a hot day - it's also in the Promenade Centre. Sandbar (31 Victoria Road) has more of a cafe atmosphere and serves Mediterranean-style light meals. Once the sun has set and the view becomes less of a factor, explore a little further. More or less behind the Promenade Centre (37 The Drive), you'll find The Godfather which has a good sushi bar and a huge selection of fresh fish and squid.

Theatre on the Bay is near the police station on Link Street and run by South African theatre legend Pieter Toerien. The theatre hosts plays, stand-up comedy and music shows throughout the year. Unlike most of the nightlife in Camps Bay, Dizzy Jazz Cafe (also in The Drive) has no pretensions. It's a bar which also serves food and there is usually a live jazz band. If you want something with plusher seating, then head for Baraza (the name means meeting place' in Swahili) in the Promenade Centre - it's also a fine spot for sundowners while you hatch plans for the night ahead. […]

This is an extract from the city guide: Key to Cape Town: Your insider’s guide to exploring the Mother City, by Samantha Reinders and Toast Coetzer.

Book title: Key to Cape Town
Subtitle: Your insider’s guide to exploring the Mother City
Authors: Samantha Reinders; Toast Coetzer
Publisher: Sunbird Publishers
Cape Town, South Africa 2009
ISBN 9781919938868
Softcover, 20x28 cm, 220 pages, throughout colour photos, 3 folding maps