What to do with kids in Cape Town? I recently had my 10 and 6 year old nephew and niece for a few days and had to keep them occupied. These little critters tend to get easily bored and also cost a fortune to maintain (LOL) so here are some handy tips on inexpensive things I found to do with them. Luckily, it’s Winter here and the weather wasn’t terrible, so we had plenty of options and Winter specials to enjoy as well!
This was an absolute hit with the kids! Cruising around town on an open top bus is fun on its’ own, but there are super-fun stops along the way. I’ve listed some of my favourites below separately because you can really spend hours at each of these places on their own. City sightseeing currently has a winter 3-for-1 kids special on at the moment (weekends and public holidays) where 2 kids get free tickets with each adult, cutting the cost down tremendously! I suggest checking out the stops and discounts beforehand so that you can make the best of the trip.
There’s loads to do in these beautiful gardens. A wander through the gardens of “smelly plants” where you touch and smell different nice and not-so-nice plant scents, useful plants and the garden of extinction are highlights. As are the Dinosaur exhibition in the cycad garden and the Boomslang treetop walkway, of course.
This is by far my favourite! You could probably spend the most part of a day here. I usually steer clear of anything animal-touristy or zoo-like, but this is not that. They have plenty of open, walk-in aviaries and sanctuaries for birds, monkeys, reptiles etc. and most of the animals there are rescued. A favourite here is the Monkey Jungle, where the monkeys like to jump on the visitors in their jungle!
You can also spend a considerable amount of time in here and it’s educational. The museum has various exhibitions relating to the sea, the earth, dinosaurs, natural wonders etc. They have real-size models of some of the world’s biggest animals – amazing to see how big our whales really are! Pair this up with a Planetarium show and your entire day is full (phone ahead to make sure that there is a show on that day).
Usually pretty expensive for a family outing, the Table Mountain Cableway currently has a 3-for-1 Kids Special on (weekends and public holidays) and is well worth the trip. You can stroll around on top of the mountain for a while and perhaps a picnic on the rocks somewhere at the top is an idea? Be sure to book online and arrive before they even open to avoid queuing for most of the day.
- Beach!
By far the most effective and inexpensive (free) thing to do with kids in Cape Town is to just go to the beach. Llandudno’s my favourite, but Clifton is always a safe best when there’s a bit of wind.
