BG Loves Cape Town: Our favourite spots for kids

With a husband deployed for seven months, whenever there’s the opportunity to join him we are all over it. So for the last two weeks Lola and I have been enjoying Cape Town. It’s a very child friendly city – the people were lovely and my little-legged one was welcomed wherever we went. Here are our top places for children….

Scratch Patch Billed as a place to discover minerals, to us, it was treasure hunting. Imagine a floor covered with gems/minerals and your child has all the time they want to fill their bag with the ones they want to take home. My daughter loved filling her little bag with minerals, and then emptying it again to find more. It cost less than £2.50 for a medium bag and adults go free. There is also crazy golf, it was a bit run down, but for about £1.50 we weren’t complaining.

Two Oceans Aquarium Wow. This is so brilliant we went twice. Not only will you get all the usual there, but it has a great play area with arts and crafts, sandpits and a very small soft play. We spent hours in here. The cafe has a play area too – which is great but avoid at busy times, as it was a little chaotic!

Inverdoorn Safari There are a few places to go on safari, all a couple of hours out of the city but worth hiring a car and heading there anyway. Ring around, as a lot wont take children under 6 (and Lola is 2). A definite win. It costs about £50 for a child for three hours safari, and that includes a delicious lunch. Lola’s highlight of the whole trip.

Boulders Beach - We drove down to Cape Point but to be honest it’s a trek, and carrying a two year old up a lot of steps isn’t too much fun but the drive there is brilliant. Boulders Beach is beautiful. Stunningly so. We arrived at about 5pm and it wasn’t busy so we had the little beach at the end of the colony to ourselves pretty much. The penguins are busy doing their thing, and it’s a joy to watch them in a natural environment.

There are also a hundred boat trips you can go on for whale and dolphin watching. We opted to go for a swim with sharks and Lola loved it. She didn’t actually do the swimming of course, but enjoyed the trip and being splashed by a shark a lot. Make sure you check about life jackets for little ones, as a lot of places didn”t have them for toddlers.

So Cape Town with kids? Yes. Do it. You’ll love it.

Tagged Aquarium, Beach, Boat, Cape Town, Guide, Guide To, Safari, Scratch Patch, travel