Heading to Cape Town on business soon? Happy days! Whether you’re travelling to the Mother City, at the foot of the African continent, for work or pleasure - it’s always a treat to immerse yourself in the inimitable bustle of this singular city. It also happens to be the home of the TravelManor headquarters, so while we may be ever so slightly biased about the many wonderful attributes of the destination in question, we’ve also been around the block, so we really know the lay of the land.
Here are a few of our top tips for business travellers going to Cape Town:
While South Africa may be known for its wonderful climate, the weather in Cape Town is capricious even on the best day. It may start out sunny and gorgeous, and by lunchtime some cloud cover could have rolled in over Table Mountain, with showers following not long after. Additionally, the mountain creates separate climate zones all around its perimeter, so it could be dry as a bone in the CBD, while it could be bucketing down just a few kilometers away in Rondebosch and the rest of the Southern Suburbs. In short - pack a variety of clothing and dress in light layers if you’re headed out for a full day of meetings, especially during the shoulder season months of September to November, and March to May.
Cape Town traffic is notoriously difficult to navigate, even if you’re a local. Parking is also limited and quite expensive. We highly recommend that visitors stick to metered taxis or ride-share services like Uber. The drivers know when to expect congestion and will ensure that you get to your destination in time. However, just to be safe, factor in 30 minutes longer than your map app says it will take. At certain times of day it can take a full hour to go 3 or 4 kilometers in the CBD.
The city has so many wonderful attractions that you simply have to tick off a few while you’re in the vicinity. Capetonian business-people are generally more relaxed than their Johannesburg counterparts, so see if you can combine a business meeting with an experience. E.g. meet for lunch at the Silo Rooftop restaurant on top of the ZEITZ MOCAA art museum where you can look out over the bustling V&A Harbour and the vast Atlantic.
Ticking these boxes on your visit to Cape Town will pave the way for a rewarding business trip. Check the blog in coming weeks and months for more expert advice on making the most of your business journeys in some of the world’s most famous destinations. In the meantime, contact our team of passionate corporate travel planners if you would like to learn more about our services and how we can help you to tailor work travel experiences that live up to your expectations (and those of your superiors, of course!).
