Hotel, Self Catering or Bed and Breakfast? Choosing the Cape Town accommodation that is right for you.

If you are looking for accommodation in Cape Town one thing you will find is that you are spoilt for choice. Cape Town offers the full spectrum of accommodation from the most basic place to lay your head to the most opulent five star accommodations. While there are a large range of accommodation options in Cape Town, when looking to book accommodation travellers can generally narrow it down to three main categories: hotels, self catering accommodation or bed and breakfasts. Each of these options has their own pros and cons and choosing the right one for you will depend on your own particular needs and preferences. Here are some of the things you might want to consider when choosing your accommodation:

Type of rooms

The type of room you will get in Cape Town will vary greatly depending on the type of accommodation you are looking at as well as the price range you are looking in. Hotel rooms are usually done up in a uniform way they will offer all the necessary comforts but can often feel impersonal and sterile. Cape Town bed and breakfast rooms on the other hand are generally individually decorated, often with different themes in different rooms. These rooms can feel more intimate, cosy and personal. Self catering accommodation has the benefit of allowing you to rent out an entire flat or house which means you are not confined to a single room, the style and comfort of this type of accommodation in Cape Town however varies greatly and there is little consistency in what you can expect.

Food

One of the main advantages of hotels is that food is available to you at any time of the day or night. The downside of this is that food is generally not included in the price of the room and additional food costs can add up. Bed and breakfasts on the other hand generally only provide breakfast but this is normally built into the price of the room. Bed and breakfasts also have the advantage of only cooking for a few people so the food is often of a very high quality. Self catering accommodation means that you are in charge of organising your own meals. This can be good as you control when, where and what you eat but it also means you don’t escape your every day routine of cooking and cleaning.

Facilities

In terms of facilities bed and breakfasts and hotels in Cape Town generally offer similar things within the rooms such as a kettle, fridge, TV, etc. Where hotels have an advantage is that they often offer other facilities such as a gym, swimming pool, etc. Self catering accommodation is different in that it has a full kitchen and often laundry facilities.

Botanical Gardens in South Africa

South Africa botanical gardens are some of the best in the world, especially ones that concentrate on cultivating and conserving indigenous plants. Eight of the country's botanical gardens are managed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute.

The botanical gardens in South Africa include the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden near Cape Town, which is not only the largest but also the most popular with an estimated 680 000 visitors per annum. The garden is home to a wide variety of the Cape Flora.

The Disa flora and the King protea, South Africa's national flower, are cultivated in the Harold Porter National Botanical Garden, located an hour from Cape Town near the coastal town of Hermanus. This garden lies in the Cape fynbos region.

The Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden near Johannesburg boasts a large collection of lithops, one of the largest in the world and is home to over 230 species of birds, reptiles and mammals.

Pretoria National Botanical Garden boasts the biggest herbarium in the Southern Hemisphere.

For plants originating from the Free State, Northern Cape and Lesotho, turn to the Free State Botanical Garden near Bloemfontein, where they are grown.

The KwaZulu-Natal Botanical Garden in Pietermaritzburg focuses on growing indigenous plants from the eastern region of South Africa, many of which are endangered; while the Lowveld National Botanical Garden near Nelspruit is home to ancient cycads and various shrubs, which are evergreen thanks to the Nels River and Crocodile River that course through the garden.

Two other remarkable South African Botanical gardens are the Durban Botanical Garden, popular for its large collection of cycad and its huge Orchid House, as well as the Johannesburg National Botanical Garden, which offers large green spaces close to the city centre.

Source: http://www.southafrica.net
Cape Town Bed and Breakfast

A Visitors Guide To Cape Town South Africa

Greenpoint Guest House | Jambo

If you are looking for a truly extraordinary place to visit, consider Cape Town, South Africa. There are few places on earth that can compare. There are wide open spaces and so much beauty that it is hard to describe or imagine.

Cape Town is physically cut off from the rest of the country by a barrier of mountains. The valleys produce grapes, wine, deciduous fruit and wheat. The cobbled streets, ancient oaks, and the British-built Georgian buildings are only a few of the sights that make Cape Town an extremely beautiful place to visit.

The city has an interesting history and a wonderful blend of people both culturally and racially. If you are interested in this aspect of Cape Town you should visit the South African Museum where you will get a glimpse into the various cultures of the area. This museum is the oldest one in South Africa. You can find the South African Museum in Cape Towns Company Gardens at the top of Adderley Street. This is the place to see many exhibits depicting much of the natural and cultural history of South Africa. There is also a planetarium on the grounds.

The Dutch East India Company has a fascinating history and this was the group of people who designed the Cape Town Companys Gardens. These folks established the Company Gardens so that the sailors who were traveling to the East would have a place to stop and take care of any health problems they incurred during the first part of the journey. There are also amazing buildings in the Gardens including a museum and the Anglican St. Georges Cathedral.

In the same area is the office of South Africas State President and the Houses of Parliament. At the southernmost tip of Government Avenue is the citys best known hotel, the Mount Nelson, which sits in the shadow of Table Mountain. This hotel has a grand colonial atmosphere and still serves a delicious and elegant afternoon tea.

On Adderly Street you can walk toward the harbor and see the oldest church in South Africa, Groote Kerk. Be sure to take a look at the ornately carved pulpit. Here you can view the statues of Jan van Riebeeck and his wife, Maria. Close to these attractions is the Castle of Good Hope which is the oldest surviving intact structure in South Africa.

You may want to search out Greenmarket Square which is the heart of the old city. There are flea market stalls, shoppers and buskers galore. The Old Town House is a beautiful baroque building that dates back to 1761 and holds the Michaelis Collection of Dutch and Flemish art. There are also Victorian buildings that house pawnshops and boutiques.

There are many museums and galleries in Cape Town. Most of them operate under the umbrella of Iziko Museums of Cape Town. The museums offer diverse exhibitions in lovely settings. You can even tour a collection of old city houses that have been restored.

Visit Cape Town, South Africa for a trip you will always remember.

By: Thomas Smith

Article Source: www.articledashboard.com