Guide in Cape Town

By Connie Martin
This item appears on page 26 of the March 2016 issue.

My husband and I visited Cape Town, South Africa, in October 2015. Since we had only 3½ days in this beautiful city, our time was at a premium, so we hired Emmy Levin (phone +27 082 810 6386 or email emmylevin@mweb.co.za), a licensed tour guide, to show us the highlights for two full days.
Emmy’s driver met us at the airport in a Mercedes sedan and took us directly to our hotel on the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. For the next two mornings, at 8:30 sharp, Emmy and her driver met us at our hotel and skillfully showed us around Cape Town and its environs.
One place we visited was Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, where there is an astonishing collection of botanicals, especially evergreen shrubs. We took a tram to the top of Table Mountain for spectacular views and also visited the Cape of Good Hope.
We saw an area of Cape Town called Bo-Kaap, filled with brightly painted homes that have an interesting historical background. And we enjoyed some wonderful local flavors at the Saturday morning outdoor market at The Old Biscuit Mill in the Woodstock area.
We didn’t visit any place during our visit that I wouldn’t visit again. Cape Town is a beautiful city!
We found there were many advantages to having a private guide and driver. For one, we didn’t waste time trying to find places on our own or taking public transport. Second, we didn’t have to find places to park and then walk miles to reach our destinations, since our driver dropped us off at the entrance to each site, returning to pick us up after a quick phone call. Third, we avoided traffic.
In addition to being very knowledgeable, Emmy knew how to get around long lines. She was pleasant and also flexible in making changes to our itinerary. We highly recommend her.
Emmy charged ZAR3,500 (near $230) per day, which included the driver and Mercedes sedan. We paid ZAR350 for the airport transfer.
CONNIE MARTIN
Prescott, AZ