(sold out – similar here and here) | | | Blush pink lace trim dress | Maxi skirt

If you’re following me on Instagram (@arumlilea), you will have seen that we travelled to Paternoster and Cape Town for a little birthday getaway.  We had a marvellous time so I thought I would share a Western Cape Travel Guide with you if you’d perhaps contemplating a similar holiday so you have a little insight into where to stay, what to do and, most importantly, where to eat!

After arriving at Cape Town International, we hired a car and drive in the direction of Paternoster but made a stop in Darling for a beer tasting at Darling Brewery and wine tasting at Darling Cellars which we highly recommend!  It’s a very casual little stop but a fun one to do.

I have travelled to Paternoster with Ryan and his family once before in 2014 (comment below if you remember!) and I was so excited to go back to the little stretch of South Africa that could pass off as Greece at a quick glance.  The sand is white and so fine that it is powdery.  It is so peaceful that you feel so at ease and you’ll want to do nothing but climb into a good book and eat great food each day.  In terms of accommodation, we stayed at Stone Cottage which is an absolutely gorgeous self-catering house in Paternoster that is beautifully decorated and is in a prime location too.  From Stone Cottage, it is a short walk to the beach and to one of the best restaurants in Paternoster, the Voorstrand.  The Voorstand restaurant is situated on the beachfront so the view of the ocean is pretty phenomenal and couldn’t be more enjoyable over a glass of wine and a fantastic meal.  The other restaurant we highly recommend is Gaatjie which is just the kind of place you’ll want to call ahead and make a reservation for a fine dining experience.  The menu is incredible and the food lives up to every possible expectation.  This restaurant is another one with prime location with views of the beach and the white houses that Paternoster is famous for.  Ryan actually booked for dinner at Gaatjie to celebrate my birthday and it was so wonderful that words couldn’t even begin to describe.  If you’re looking for a little excursion during the day, we hoped in the car and drove up to Tietiesbaai and the Cape Columbine lighthouse which were both lovely to see both are situated in a nature reserve which you pay a really small entrance fee for (I think we paid R20) and we were pretty much the only people in the nature reserve.  If you watch my Western Cape Vlog below, you’ll see that we climbed to the top of the lighthouse too which was pretty fun to do!  Paternoster is definitely the place to go if you’re looking for some R&R which is exactly what we needed and we lapped up every moment.

Once we had left Paternoster, we drove through to Stellenbosch and had a wonderful time wine tasting.  We started off at Villiera for a sparkling wine tasting which was fantastic.  Our next stop was which is an absolute must if you’re in the area.  They have such a modern tasting room overlooking the vineyards which you can walk through too.  You’ll see those in my vlog too.  You can also book to stay over at  which I wouldn’t mind doing on my next trip.  From there we moved on to a wedding at in Elgin which is somewhere I’ve always wanted to go after seeing it in a travel segment years ago.  It was definitely worth all the hype!  It has such a fun atmosphere and is a quirky as I had anticipated!

Our last stop on our Western Cape road trip was the delightful Mother City, Cape Town.  We stopped off in Muizenberg for the boys to attempt surfing which was really hilarious.  They have a great setup there for renting wetsuits and surfboards so it’s a great place to try it out if it’s something you’d always wanted to do.  You can also key in your Vitality details and get points for your surf of the day.  After a surf session, we headed on over to The Creamery which is an ice cream parlor with the most amazing ice cream you could imagine.  It’s definitely worth a stop here for a tasty treat.

In terms of accommodation, we stayed at the most fabulous .  This trendy hotel comes highly, highly recommended.  On check-in, we received a glass of bubbles and sat up on their deck which has 360 degree views of the city before having a dip in the pool.  I could have sat up there all day and had nothing but a smile on my face the entire time.  The location couldn’t be better as it’s pretty central to most things around the city.  The staff were ever so helpful and very attentive so we would have to say that the service is impeccable.  Our room was nothing short of perfect with a king-size bad, gorgeous pressed ceilings and the bathroom built into a bay window which meant it had all the natural light I could have wished for.  They have a wonderfully large spa which is perfect for a little pampering during your stay.  They also have a great little gym setup too so Ryan and I could squeeze in a work out session while we were there.  The hotel parking fills up quickly and there isn’t much parking on the road so I’d definitely recommend arranging parking with the hotel ahead of time.  The hotel itself does not offer breakfast but it does have an arrangement with the adjacent restaurant for buffet breakfasts if you’d like to pop in there in the mornings.

On our last day, we popped into Bo-Kaap for a photo op (which you will have already seen in this post) which is less than a 10 minute drive from the .  From there, we took a slow drive down Chapman’s Peak Drive to take in Cape Town in all its glory and we headed on to Boulder’s Beach to spend the afternoon swimming on the beach in the company of penguins.  Gosh, they are the cutest little things!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this round up and found this Western Cape Travel Guide helpful in planning your own.  I wish I could do it all again!  It’s actually something I’d love to do again later this year.  For those of you thinking about a trip to the Western Cape, please bear in mind that the area is extremely water scarce and it is unbelievably important to take every measure possible to save water when you’re in the area.  There are so many ways to do this so be sure to do your research beforehand so no drop is wasted.

If you have any recommendations for a trip to the Western Cape, please leave them down below and I’ll be sure to add them to my itinerary for later in the year.  Thank you so much for reading! x

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