[Hagrid]

Hi,

We are going to spend few days in Cape Town end of April before heading to a Safari lodge with our 3.5 years old. I've booked a half-day city tour and plan to rent a car for 2 days to drive to Cape Point, wineland etc. The travel agent said it should be safe to drive around given the usual precautions. Has anyone travel with young children to this part of the world? Any advice?

[Sara]

We did a trip just weeks before our son turned 3. We flew from Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth, then rented a car, and drove the Garden route out to Cape Town. It was WONDERFUL and we had much admiration for South Africaan drivers. They were very polite and strictly obeying the road rules. We of course were worried about road safety, but not once on our 10-day trip that we saw a car accident. And everybody we met along the way, white or colored, was extraordinarily friendly and helpful.

The only hiccup we had was getting a car seat from Avis. We reserved a car with the car seat, but it wasn't readily available when we got there. We had to wait over an hour for it.

We did have a portable DVD player (with screen) for our son, and it proved to be a lifesaver on some long drives.

Have fun. You will love it, especially the blue skies and fresh, fresh air. My husband and my son did not want to come back!! Don't forget that it's wintertime there though.

[Hagrid]

Thanks Sara! Too bad I didn't see your reply until after the trip. I used to get an email if someone reply to my thread but not this time :(

This trip was probably one of our best holiday. You were right about the road safety and the people. Everyone we met was polite and friendly, just some locals asking for a few coins.

We had the same problem with car seat too. Avis didn't install the seat for us when they brought us the car and my husband didn't notice it...

We weren't as adventurious as you do and took such long drive. Well, we didn't have a DVD as secret weapon :) We drove around Cape Town (wine route, Cape Point, Seal Island, Boulder's beach, etc.) in 5 days so we could take frequent breaks for my boy to stretch his legs.

Our first Safari turned out to be a big success with our son. He was very excited about going on the jeep, looking for animals, picnic and sleeping in a tent.

The weather was great for the entire time, cool but sunny. I heard that it was probably the best time to visit Cape Town as it's very windy in summer. Overall, it was a great trip!