Day 1 — Gay South Africa

After 25 hours of travel, multiple connections, and more airplane coffee than any human should consume, Matt and I finally landed in Cape Town. Ethiopian Airlines did a great job keeping us comfortable, but fatigue is fatigue — and ours was biblical.

Thankfully, customs at Cape Town International was a breeze. Our private transfer from the Taj Hotel was waiting for us, and we were immediately blessed with the best driver ever: no chit-chat, no small talk, no forced tourism commentary. Just silence. Bliss.

We checked into our room, took desperately needed showers, and headed out for an early dinner in the De Waterkant neighborhood. Cape Town has a bit of a reputation for being unsafe to walk, but during the day we felt perfectly fine. Aside from the usual handful of unhoused folks (no different from any major city), it was completely manageable. And De Waterkant itself is gorgeous — a maze of colorful houses and winding streets.

We grabbed a light dinner at Café Manhattan, a neighborhood gay bar and restaurant. Our “gay bar days” are mostly behind us, but we wanted to support the local community and it felt surreal — in the best way — to sit openly as a gay couple in Africa, eating on a sunny patio.

We faded fast after that and called an Uber back to the hotel to collapse.

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Day 2 — Jewish South Africa & The Spa Day

Our first full day was intentionally slow. We slept in, enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, and wandered the city center, poking into a few shops.

In the afternoon, Matt napped while I walked a few blocks over to the South African Jewish Museum. I went in with low expectations — I pictured something tiny — and was blown away. The museum beautifully tells the story of the (mostly Lithuanian) Jews who migrated during the late-19th-century Johannesburg gold rush.

Nelson Mandela himself opened the museum, a nod to his long relationship with the Jewish community. In his own writings, Mandela noted that during Apartheid, the only white lawyers willing to defend him were Jewish. And just like in the U.S. civil rights movement, Jewish South Africans were disproportionately involved in anti-apartheid activism.

The museum sits beside the oldest synagogue in the country, with stunning grounds and thoughtful exhibits. I especially appreciated the way the museum intentionally draws parallels between Eastern European shtetl life and Black South African village life — making the experience accessible and relatable for school groups, many of whom are Black South African students.

Before dinner, Matt and I had spa treatments at the hotel (more on that in the Taj review). That evening, we tried Marble, a high-end open-flame steakhouse in the V&A Waterfront. Here’s the thing: when people say they “love Cape Town,” what they often mean is they love the V&A Waterfront — a beautiful but very curated, very white, very master-planned shopping district. The views of Table Mountain were spectacular, but we were glad we’d chosen to stay in the city center. The harbor, while lovely, could be anywhere; our hotel’s location allowed us to really experience Cape Town rather than an upscale bubble of it.

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Day 3 — The Cape

For our final full day, we hired a guide and driver through Cape Town Gay Tours, and they were fantastic. Our guide blended history, politics, geography, and LGBTQ+ South African stories into what became the perfect introduction to the Cape.

We visited several coastal towns, the Twelve Apostles, the Cape of Good Hope, and ended with the penguin colony at False Bay — which was as adorable and chaotic as you’d imagine.

That night, we ate at Bombay Brasserie in the Taj Hotel. Before you judge us for “eating in the hotel,” you should know: Bombay Brasserie is widely considered the best Indian restaurant in Cape Town. Our safari camp 1,500 miles away even listed it among their top Cape Town recommendations. It did not disappoint.

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Overall

We would return to Cape Town in a heartbeat. It’s a beautiful, complex, culture-rich city with warm people and endless things to see. We could easily have spent more time there — but the safari was calling.

Stay tuned for Part 2: The Bush.