Wilderness Touring’s 5 best Cape Town tours

So much so that one could feel overwhelmed by the multitude of things to do. Fear not. With over 20 years’ experience, Wilderness Touring Cape Town has extensive knowledge of the city and its surroundings. Using this experience, Wilderness Touring has curated its offering to provide the best privately guided tours in and around Cape Town. Below are our 5 best itineraries to experience the Mother City to its fullest. Take a look.

The Cape Peninsula is synonymous with early seafaring explorers.  Once known as the Cape of Storms due to its rough seas, it soon became known as the Cape of Good Hope when the route to the East was discovered. Your private journey is an exploration of this majestic coastline, taking in the Twelve Apostles range, Hout Bay, and splendid Chapman’s Peak Drive, finally making your way to the south-western tip of Africa in Cape Point Nature Reserve, where the Benguela and Agulhas ocean currents – filled with rich marine life – collide. 

Your journey then slowly heads north, returning to the city along the False Bay coastline, passing quaint fishing towns such as Simon’s Town – where the Critically Endangered African penguin can be viewed at Boulders Beach – and Kalk Bay, as well as Muizenberg, a popular beginners’ surf spot famed for its colourful beach huts. From here, explore the Constantia region, where the South African wine industry started in 1685, and take a walk through the iconic Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden set below Table Mountain’s Skeleton Gorge. An enriching, informative, all-encompassing journey.

Your guide will ensure the day's activities and other points of interest are tailored to your specific interests.

Less than an hour from Cape Town are the much-lauded Cape Winelands, home to award-winning wine estates and some of Africa’s best restaurants and art galleries, as well as unique shopping opportunities. This historic region, where many of the original Dutch settlers and late 17th-century French Huguenots first made their homes, boasts charming towns such as Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, and Paarl. Explore a diverse range of vineyards, from small boutique wineries to larger estates dotted with whitewashed Cape Dutch buildings that contrast beautifully against the summer greens of the lush vineyards, fields, and majestic mountains.

While undertaking a full day’s touring, our guide will match your specific palate preferences with relevant wine estates and restaurants. This includes recommending and visiting any place that holds artistic, botanical, historical or cultural significance for you.

On this half-day tour, you get to see some of the city’s best downtown highlights. Your experience starts with a drive to the Castle of Good Hope, the oldest building in South Africa, and takes in the Grand Parade, where Nelson Mandela addressed the nation when he was released from prison in 1990. From here, take a stroll through the Company’s Garden, which was once the fresh produce garden for passing ships in the 17th century. Nearby, you’ll discover the Iziko South African Museum.  

Heading back towards the city centre, you pass the Iziko National Gallery, the Houses of Parliament and St George’s Cathedral. Just a short distance away is bustling Greenmarket Square, where you can browse for curios at the fascinating stalls. Your next stop is the District Six Museum, where you can spend time looking at a collection of pictures and memorabilia highlighting the colourful life of the famed suburb.

A trip up to the top of Table Mountain on the aerial cableway is included – either in the morning or afternoon. This is a truly spectacular way to see Cape Town, and the best way to start or end this tour.

With Tristan Voss of The Test Kitchen Fledglings

Cape Town leads the way globally as a foodie destination, showcasing several emerging gastronomists' culinary capabilities. This is thanks to available fresh produce, young talent and one of the most impressive wine regions in the world. Take a tour, mostly on foot, through the emerging east end of Cape Town and visit some of the inner city's iconic confectionery delis and one of the world's most acclaimed coffee shops. Discover the oldest fruit-bearing vine in South Africa, dating back to 1771. Taste various South African traditional delights at the iconic Time Out Market, and enjoy an inner-city wine-tasting experience showcasing the region's progressive contemporary wine-making skills thanks to the region's Mediterranean climate and unique terroir.

Less than an hour from Cape Town is the historic Babylonstoren. Located on Soetmelksvlei Farm, it honours life here as it unfolded in the late 19th century, and allows you to get a glimpse into life before the turn of the 20th century through the immaculately recreated interiors of the Farmhouse and Old Cellar.

Take refreshments at the Old Stables Restaurant and browse the Jonkershuis Farm Shop for old-world keepsakes. Soetmelksvlei has an indoor playhouse in the Old Cellar, as well as a family of adorable farm animals. Allow yourself enough time to experience all that it has to offer. Above all, take the time to experience life at a slower, more grounded pace. 

Recommended to enjoy as part of the Into the Vines and Wines tour.