5 nights West South Africa from Cape Town

When your MSC cruise brings you to Cape Town, it’s easy to see that, more than a scenic backdrop, Table Mountain is the solid core of this port city. It divides the city into distinct zones, with public gardens, wilderness, forests, hiking routes, vineyards and desirable residential areas trailing down its lower slopes. Standing on the tabletop, you can look north for a giddy view of the city centre, its docks lined with matchbox ships. When you are on holiday in South Africa, to appreciate Cape Town you need to spend time outdoors, as Capetonians do: they hike, picnic or sunbathe, often choose mountain bikes in preference to cars, and turn adventure activities into an obsession. Cape Town’s rich urban texture is immediately apparent in its diverse architecture: an indigenous Cape Dutch style, rooted in northern Europe, seen at its most diverse in the Constantia wine estates, which were influenced by French refugees in the seventeenth century; Muslim dissidents and slaves, freed in th…

On your MSC South Africa cruise you can admire Walvis Bay, which, thanks to its rich marine life, is one of the places of most outstanding natural beauty in Namibia. Its gourmet delights are not to be missed either. Before leaving the port you have to eat homegrown Walvis Bay oysters in one of the many restaurants that have sprung up in recent years. Today, maybe it’s harder to see whales in these waters but the highlight of Walvis Bay (aka Whales Bay) is still its natural lagoon with its abundance of seabirds, including flamingos and pelicans, which are joined every year by thousands of migratory birds. As this is an area of outstanding natural beauty, there are many options for spending your time away from the ship. Due north of Walvis Bay along a coast road, the Atlantic harbour town of Swakopmund is just waiting to be discovered on an MSC South Africa excursion. Offering a vivid reminder of Namibia’s colonial past, the older architecture is Germanic in style, German is widely spok…

On your MSC South Africa cruise you can admire Walvis Bay, which, thanks to its rich marine life, is one of the places of most outstanding natural beauty in Namibia. Its gourmet delights are not to be missed either. Before leaving the port you have to eat homegrown Walvis Bay oysters in one of the many restaurants that have sprung up in recent years. Today, maybe it’s harder to see whales in these waters but the highlight of Walvis Bay (aka Whales Bay) is still its natural lagoon with its abundance of seabirds, including flamingos and pelicans, which are joined every year by thousands of migratory birds. As this is an area of outstanding natural beauty, there are many options for spending your time away from the ship. Due north of Walvis Bay along a coast road, the Atlantic harbour town of Swakopmund is just waiting to be discovered on an MSC South Africa excursion. Offering a vivid reminder of Namibia’s colonial past, the older architecture is Germanic in style, German is widely spok…

When your MSC cruise brings you to Cape Town, it’s easy to see that, more than a scenic backdrop, Table Mountain is the solid core of this port city. It divides the city into distinct zones, with public gardens, wilderness, forests, hiking routes, vineyards and desirable residential areas trailing down its lower slopes. Standing on the tabletop, you can look north for a giddy view of the city centre, its docks lined with matchbox ships. When you are on holiday in South Africa, to appreciate Cape Town you need to spend time outdoors, as Capetonians do: they hike, picnic or sunbathe, often choose mountain bikes in preference to cars, and turn adventure activities into an obsession. Cape Town’s rich urban texture is immediately apparent in its diverse architecture: an indigenous Cape Dutch style, rooted in northern Europe, seen at its most diverse in the Constantia wine estates, which were influenced by French refugees in the seventeenth century; Muslim dissidents and slaves, freed in th…