South AfricaSouth Africa, chapter 1 of 11

First eveningin Cape Town

Silly costumes at the airport, an apartment in Green Point, coffee at Bootlegger and a sunset on the Sea Point promenade with Lion's Head in view.

Trip: January 2026Updated: 1 November 20261 min read

caféssightseeing
The Sea Point promenade at sunset: rocks, a beach and the sun over the ocean

The first chapter of our trip to South Africa. Three of us flew out together, me and two friends, and we planned the whole route ourselves: two weeks around the country, and then I stayed on to live in Cape Town with one of them. How we prepared is in the prologue.

Costumes and the flight

Our trip kicked off with the trend of “buying each other funny costumes” 😄 We flew via Qatar, and the journey took 18 hours 40 minutes. We arrived in one piece.

An apartment in Green Point

We stayed in Green Point, in an apartment with a pool in the courtyard. Six nights cost about 70,000 roubles (≈ $890) for the three of us. Green Point and neighbouring Sea Point are calm areas on the ocean, and you can walk around them on foot. Why that matters in Cape Town is something I explained in the safety part of the prologue.

A quiet street in Green Point: pale houses, agaves and greenery along the pavement

The Sea Point promenade

We didn’t have much time on the first day, so we simply went for a walk. First, coffee at Bootlegger, a very popular café near our apartment. Delicious.

Then along the Sea Point promenade, past cafés and the cute Love Matcha. We walked to a spot with a beautiful view of Lion’s Head, the mountain that rises above these neighbourhoods. Towards evening we dropped by Mojo Market, an indoor food market in Sea Point.

Lion's Head above the houses of Sea Point, waves crashing on the rocks in the foreground
The Sea Point promenade in the evening: a beach, rocks and the sun over the ocean
First evening: Lion's Head and a sunset on the promenade