Ryan Mackie
Cape Town - I have just come back from a trip to Boston in the USA which is a stunning city, and it reminded me of our very own Mother City.
It was clean and safe with its very own waterfront. Two things stood out for me: the price and the accent. I wanted to get an idea on cost compared to the two cities.
Sightseeing:
Boston's Beantown Trolley and Harbor Cruise R500 per person.
Cape Town City tour and harbour cruise R 205
https://www.citysightseeing.co.za/shop/view-tickets.php?city=CPT
Dinner:
When you are in an ocean front city, you have to have a seafood dinner. I thought we would compare lobsters and crayfish.
At Legal Seafoods Restaurant, we had lobster, and it was fantastic, but you can count on about $60 per person (about R840).
http://shop.legalseafoods.com/category/legal-lobsters
A similar style restaurant in the V&A Waterfront would be Baia, where you’d spend about R400.
Accommodation:
A place to stay, so we thought we would compare apples with apples - five stars in both waterfronts:
Marriot Long Wharf, an entry level room, would be R7 500 per night:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/boslw-boston-marriott-long-wharf/
The One&Only offers hotel rooms at the V&A Waterfront for R7 200 per night.
However, that being said, you still have the option in Waterfront for R1 800 per night which as a comparison you are closer to R3 000 night in Boston.
http://www.south-african-hotels.com/region/cape-town/hotels/
In conclusion:
If travelling in a luxurious way in five-star hotels in either Boston (USA) or Cape Town (South Africa), there is not a significant price difference in the spending even when you are converting at ZAR to USD.
However, in the three-star market, they are double our costs. You get much better value for money regarding food and activities in Cape Town.
I do believe that if you include the beautiful Cape Peninsula and the scenic Cape Winelands ( www.south-african-hotels.com/region/cape-winelands/hotels/), the Cape does have more to offer, and you get to save on a plane ticket. If you travel via Dubai like me, it does take 33 hours door to door.
Stay local and leave more money in your pocket and have an equally good if not better holiday.
IOL