Heather has promised me that in January for my birthday I will either be surfing or skiing, so today we present our lists for top winter destinations so that we can work on choosing our destination!
6 weeks somewhere is the plan in early 2019, but we need your help to get there.
Have a listen, then let us know where YOU think we should go!
From the snowy peaks of Colorado to the sandy beaches of Sri Lanka, we’ve spanned the globe with today’s picks!
Do you have travel questions for Trav about travel or travel hacking? Tweet us @packofpeanuts or Instagram with #askepop to @extrapackofpeanuts, or even on Facebook! Anywhere you can find us!
Summer is the prime time for travel. Great weather, easy time off, and beaches galore.
But it can also be expensive, and very, very crowded.
Solution? Fall travel! The weather is still great (most places), the crowds are smaller, and the prices are cheaper! You gotta love those shoulder seasons.
Today Heather and I list our top 6 fall destinations each, complete with some (maybe) cheating, and surprises!
Where’s your favorite place to spend the fall? Let me know @ExtraPackofPeanuts!!
Today’s episode has been sponsored by our friends at Tortuga Backpacks!
Definitely opt for 20 minutes vs. 15 as this allows you to go behind Table Mountain.
Also, negotiate! We were able to get it down to $80 per person. Plenty of options all right next to each other, so just go around and ask their best price.
Sunset boat cruise.
Sunset cruise costs about 220 rands per person ($16). Bring a jacket or sweatshirt because it’ll get cold when the sun goes down.
Certainly not the best fish and chips like everyone claims – they were average at best – but a neat spot if you are passing through right on the water.
Day 6 – Downtown Cape Town then Wine Country (Stellenbosch)
Went to Truth Coffee downtown.
Hot chocolate was just ok, not near as good as Origin, but Heather LOVES the coffee!
Dropped one rental car off at the airport, picked up another one (don’t ask).
Drove to Vredenburg Manor in Stellenbosch/Somerset West to stay for a few nights.
Incredible place with amazing hosts, Leon and Luke. We paid 1050 rand ($75) total for 3 people in one of their cottages and a fabulous breakfast was included.
Went to Delheim for our first wine tasting of the day.
They have wine and cupcake pairing (woohoo!) but you have to set it up beforehand (boo!) so I didn’t get to do it. You should. And tell me how it goes.
Headed to Jordan for our second wine tasting of the day.
Prettiest winery we went to with decent wines. Overpriced but pretty good food.
They have khao soi, my favorite dish in the whole world, which was very surprising. Unfortunately, it was just average, as was the rest of the food. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here.
After 5 hours of hiking, anything would have tasted good, but this was an awesome meal. Definitely eat here – but call for reservations, they get busy.
We loved this BnB so much we went back for our last night and so we could have a great breakfast in the morning.
Went out to Thirsty Scarecrow to meet up with EPoP reader Bryan Teare.
Day 18 – Wine Country (Stellenbosch)
Awesome breakfast (included) at Vredenburg Manor…for the last time.
Drove to Cape Town airport.
One thing that is great about Cape Town airport is that it’s so easy to get to from both downtown and the wine region – 30 minutes max on the highway.
Shot intro/outro videos in the airport.
Got on the plane and headed off to New York via Abu Dhabi.
Cried because we were leaving the amazing city of Cape Town.
So there you have our exact itinerary for 18 days in the Cape Town area. But here are our suggestions for people with more or less time in Cape Town.
If You Have More Time in Cape Town:
Hit up Cape Town attractions we missed such as Robben Island, District Six Museum, and Castle of Good Hope.
If you’re adventurous, dive with great white sharks (I’m definitely doing this when I come back).
Spend a night or two at towns along the Garden Route. I’d recommend Hermanus and Knysna.
Check out even more wineries around Cape Town by heading to Franschoek or Paarl (or both!).
If You Have Less Time in Cape Town:
Out of the three regions – Cape Town, wine country, and the Garden Route – I’d cut out the Garden Route.
The drive is boring and far (and you may end up with speeding tickets!) and you can get the same feel by going to coastal towns much closer like Hout Bay.
Pick up the pace.
We did things slower because we had more time and had to film stuff. Cape Town is easily navigable, so you can fit a lot of the stuff we did in downtown Cape Town in a few days.
Take a day tour out to wine country.
If you’re really pressed for time, you can do a wine tour in one day (like EPoP reader Nate). We loved staying out there and spending time in Stellenbosch, but a day tour will allow you to at least see it.
And since I have no idea how many days you have or your travel style, here is an ordered list of what I think are the things you can’t miss in Cape Town.
It always helps to know the “best of the best”.
Things I Wouldn’t Miss (starting with the most important)
Hiking Table Mountain – if hiking is too hard, you can take the cable car up and down.
Cape of Good Hope – stop to see the penguins at Boulders Beach!
A trip to wine country – whether that be one day or a week, get out there. And if you’re in Stellenbosch, go to Annandale, our favorite winery.
Old Biscuit Mill Saturday market.
Helicopter ride over Cape Town.
V&A waterfront – wander around, take a boat cruise, eat at the market.
Truth Coffee in District Six for coffee lovers and Devil’s Peak Taproom for beer lovers.
Drive-up Signal Hill.
Drive out to Milnerton/Big Bay for views of Cape Town.
If you do drive the Garden Route, hike Robberg Trail in Plettenberg Bay.
Have you been to Cape Town? If so, what are some of your favorite recommendations? What did you love?
Today we talk about experiences that had us shivering in our boots…
because it was winter!
Nick joins me again today so that we can layout our top 10 (or if you use Nick as an example, 13) European cities to visit during winter.
Not only do several airlines run off-peak promotions for award bookings to Europe during the winter (most notably, American Airlines) but you can save a ton on accommodation as well because it’s the low season!
We chat about everything from London to Istanbul with tons of locations in between, with a ton of funny stories to go with each. Where do you suggest we travel to in Europe during the winter? What did we miss? Let us know so we can plan next year’s trip!