What’s red, will take you on a breathtaking ride and speaks 16 languages? Yes, it’s the trademark City Sightseeing Cape Town double-decker tour bus and its unique night tour offering is back. Patrons can enjoy this tour with a difference in the beautiful city of Cape Town and with the driving taken care of; all you need to do is sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Our minds were at work. We had visitors from Johannesburg and were looking for a relaxing evening activity that we could all enjoy together after a busy start to the New Year.  With our guests having ticked most of the popular tourist activities off their list, the City Sightseeing Cape Town Night Tour proved to be the perfect option for our evening out.

5pm, we collect our tickets at the ticket kiosk at Stop 1 outside the Two Oceans Aquarium and join the line. 5.30pm, the bus arrives and we board the bus and get great seats on the top. 5.35pm, and we are still waiting for our Gauteng guests to arrive from their day out. 5.45pm, our nerves are on edge with still no sign of our Gauteng guests, who 20 minutes ago were just 5 minutes away.

We wait and we wait for them, to no avail, until the clock strikes 6pm and the bus engines below start rumbling. “That’s it!” we mumble “So much for our relaxing evening out.” and we run below to tell the driver our sad story.  To our delight he informs us that we shouldn’t worry and that we should just catch the next night tour bus. What a relief! There was hope yet.

We disembark and the bus pulls away, only to reveal a long snaking queue for the second bus. After having secured such great seats on the first bus we were feeling rather hopeless until the group in front of the queue invites us to join them up front. Things are starting to look up and at that moment, to our great pleasure, our Gauteng guests finally arrive. At last, the evening is starting to resemble the portrait we had hoped for.

The second bus arrives a few minutes later, we board securing great seats on top and in no time the engines start up and the tour commences. We plug in our red earphones that we were all issued with, sit back and listen to the tour commentary. This commentary which provides interesting information on all the sites and landmarks along the route is available in 16 different languages.

Feeling relaxed we all enjoy the gorgeous views offered, as the bus meanders passed the iconic Cape Town Stadium and then along the Mouille Point beach road. My camera is already hard at work as my eyes scan the dramatic skyline discovering new photo opportunities, which are plenteous, as usual. The tour continues along the Sea Point Promenade and then picture perfect Lions Head, peppered with hovering paraglider’s, comes into view. *Click Click Click*

The bus continues along Victoria Road, into the suburb of Bantry Bay and so begins our viewing of the glorious ocean to the right and the “I-know-you-wished-you-owned-me” Atlantic Seaboard mansions to the left. The tour bus driver is a master and the City Sightseeing bus makes her way gracefully along the narrow winding roads as we make our entrance onto the ever popular Camps Bay strip.

We turn left and head up Camps Bay Drive and the Twelve Apostles look mystical as the rollicking clouds float above them. The drive up provides panoramic views of Camps Bay below and Lions Head above and suddenly the wind picks up and helps herself to a fellow travellers cap. He thinks he can save it, but Mother Nature is too quick and his rescue effort is abandoned.

We detour up Signal Hill Drive and at this point it’s well worth your physical effort to turn around and take in the magnificent views of Table Mountain from this unique vantage point.  We pass groups of hikers preparing to take on the Lions Head hiking trail and after a couple of minutes we are finally on top of Signal Hill. The bus stops and we all disembark excitedly. Its picnic time!

It starts to get rather cold so we put on our jerseys and then look for a spot amongst the crowd. We make sure that we’re seated in a place where we can enjoy the sunset, before relishing our picnic treats which consists of a delicious cheeseboard, chips and dip, some chocolate sweets and bubbly. It’s a stop of about 30-45 minutes, so there’s enough time to chat, eat and enjoy the views. We also have time to walk around and take some gorgeous photos. The sun sets in spectacular fashion alongside the backdrop of the winds handiwork, which is illustrated in the form of long, wispy clouds streaked across a powder blue sky.

After watching the sun’s final journey to other lands across the horizon, we gather our things and head back to the bus which is parked further down the road. It’s now really windy and we lament not bringing an extra blanket and hooded jackets. The bus starts up and as we drive off, the Mother City’s night lights start to make their entrance. It’s a beautiful sight of yellow, fluorescent twinkling’s; that my camera can’t adequately capture to do it justice.

Down Kloof Road and back towards the V&A Waterfront we head and just when I think the tour is over we are in for a pleasant surprise. The bus turns right passed the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and then towards Adderley Street. The wonderful Christmas lights are still up and in my view the City Sightseeing tour bus offers the best way to see this festive light display. We enjoy the light show and after marvelling at the dazzling Christmas tree, we catch sight of Table Mountain which looks extraordinarily magical, flooded with lights.

Finally we make our way back along the familiar route to the V&A Waterfront, where we disembark and walk across the road to our car. We all agree we couldn’t have made a better choice for our relaxing evening out; a glorious tour route including a splendid sunset stop, all for an affordable price. We are sure this tour is going to be a Mother City night time favourite and that our favourite tour bus will be painting the night skies red for many nights to come.

So it’s simple! You can enjoy this affordable and relaxing sightseeing tour in three easy steps:

1.    Purchase your tickets online at www.citysightseeing.co.za or at the ticket kiosk at Stop 1 at the V&A Waterfront (just outside the Two Oceans Aquarium) at R 80 for Adults and R 40 for children;

2.    Wait in line at the yellow bus sign marked “Night Tour Queue Only” which lies to the right of the ticket kiosk upon exiting it (The first bus departs at 6pm sharp and the queue builds up quickly so be there early especially if you want a seat on the top floor of the open air double-decker tour bus.);

3.    Board the bus, picnic basket in hand and get ready to take in spectacular 360° views of the Mother City. NB. Be sure to bring your camera, a warm jacket and some blankets.

I’m a fun loving, adventure seeking young lady with a zest for life that lives in the beautiful city of Cape Town. I have a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Tourism Management from UCT. I have had the good fortune of travelling and working  internationally on a global secondment programme for a large corporate and have had many amazing  travelling experiences. I also enjoy travelling locally in our beautiful country South Africa and have taken international students on many travelling experiences across South Africa. I love hiking, most outdoor activities, reading, developing people and especially writing. I believe in the power of taking the road less travelled and in the power of pursuing a purpose filled life.