Around Cape Town you can experience some of the best road trips in the world. Many have written about the most well known day trips from Cape Town so I thought I would take the opportunity to shine a light on the lesser known areas. Let’s go off the beaten track, just a little, and read what I consider the best road trips from Cape Town. I traveled all of them with my daughter Rosie. Single parent road trippin’ in South Africa is totally possible! OIh and sorry, we don’t do road trips if there’s no good food at the end…
A stay at Bluegum Country Estate near Stanford, about 3 hours drive from Cape Town.
This is my absolute number 1 place to go to enjoy and relax. The drive is beautiful along the Whale Coast through Gordon’s Bay, Kleinmond and Hermanus. Hermanus is very well known for whale watching but actually De Kelders, close to Stanford is much better to see these gentle giants up close. From Bluegum it is easy to go wine tasting at Raka, cheese tasting at Klein River next door. This is also a great place to take the kids because of the nice play area. Beer tasting can be done at Birkenhead.
Magic times at Old Mac Daddy near Elgin, about 1.5 hours road trip from Cape Town.
I took Rosie there when she was only 8 months old. The road from Cape Town to Elgin takes you over Sir Lowry’s Pass from where you have stunning views of False Bay and the Cape Wine lands. Once you’re over the pass, make sure to make a stop at Peregrine Farmstall to stock up on delicious apple juice. Elgin is apple country which reminds me of my childhood in The Netherlands. My dad used to be an apple farmer and I used to help him collect all the crates in harvest season. I loved driving the tractor. Rosie is not quite big enough yet to pick apples or drive a tractor but surely she enjoyed the lovely surroundings of Old Mac Daddy. It was just me and her for 2 days but we met a couple with a young child which was lovely. The staff at OMD fell totally in love with Rosie.
Lunch is a beautiful cactus garden at Mo & Rose, about 3 hours drive from Cape Town
We drove this road trip from Cape Town when the Cape Town Winter weather was absolutely gorgeous. The N1 takes you through the Hugenots Tunnel or you can choose to drive the pass. it is a gorgeous route that always leaves me in awe when I come out of the tunnel and look at the incredible mountains.Mo & Rose is merely a 2 hour drive from Cape Town and you will find yourself walking slower, talking slower and just being slower in general. The gardens are a delight and Rosie could crawl around and stretch her little legs in the thick grass. Pure bliss!
McGregor, this must be one of the most beautiful villages in the Western Cape
After lunch at Mo & Rose, we continued another 30 minutes land inward to the quaint and cute village of McGregor. It is actually the cutest village I know and I absolutely love, love, love it here. Every 2nd person who lives here offers self-catering cottages on their premises, there are a few B&Bs and guesthouses so accommodation in abundance. We stayed at a place called The Shed which we booked through the Mc Gregor Booking site a beautifully appointed 1 bedroom cottage with all you need. It even has a plunge pool for summer. And it was only R250 per person per night! I also saw places with WiFi on offer so if you need to be online, you can even do some work while staying in Mc Gregor.
Imhoff Farm, drive Chapman’s Peak Drive and then enjoy pizza!!
Chapman’s Peak Drive is probably one of the most beautiful coastal routes in the world. It is quite often closed because of rock falls so do check before you head out. Actually the whole route from Camps Bay to Hout Bay and then to Noordhoek is a very scenic beautiful drive. A visit to Imhoff Farm will be your reward! It was great to discover this lovely, kids friendly spot with beautiful food. I simply can’t go to Spur or McDonalds to do anything kids friendly so I’m very grateful for living in a city with so many child friendly places which are also fun for adults who LOVE good food!! Imhoff with Blue Water Cafe offers all of the above and made me dream about moving to that part of the world and leaving Greenpoint…. Any opportunities that side, please keep me in mind, haha!! For an overnight stay with children in Noordhoek, I would suggest African Queen Guesthouse which has lovely rooms and a great pool, always a winner.
