Pre-arrival / Getting to our flat

Cell phones & SIM cards

Cape Town (and most of South Africa) has great mobile phone reception. Calls and mobile data will be significantly cheaper with a local SIM or an eSIM than than roaming with your home provider.

SIM card

If you are coming from overseas, we’d recommend that you get a SIM card for your phone at the airport. If you are from the US (and some other countries), you will first need to confirm that your phone isn’t locked to one specific network and that you can add other SIM cards.

Vodacom and MTN are the main two carriers. The process to register a SIM card is simple and straightforward at the airport: you just need to show your passport, pay, and they’ll activate it for you.

(If you don’t do it at the airport, you’ll have to go to an MTN or Vodacom store, provide a document stating your South African “proof of address” like a utility bill or bank statement with your name and a South African address on it —which you won’t have as a visitor. Trust us: it will be faster to Uber back to the airport another day than to try to deal with all that red tape at a store)

You can add money or mobile data, right at the airport. If you run out, you can use the MTN or Vodacom or Snapscan apps to top up, or do so at most supermarkets.

eSIM

Alternatively, if your phone supports eSIMs, you can get internet-connected without the need to get a SIM card. We use

Airalo⁠

when traveling, especially when in a place for a short time (as it cuts down on admin time at the airport). Use promo code WERNER8667 and we both will get a small discount!

The biggest advantage of eSIMs is that you will be connected from the minute your airplane touches down, enabling you to send messages to those back home, and get an Uber right away.

(Note 4G/5G/LTE data are usually faster and cheaper with Vodacom and MTN than an eSIM. You could also do both: get a physical SIM card, and then use the Airalo eSIM as a backup)

🚕 Getting to the apartment

The address is

3 Brunswick Road, Tamboerskloof⁠

. The building is called Bagamoya and you’ll be in unit 10, on the top floor at the back of the building.

Unit 10 is on the 4th (top) floor) at the back of the building.

Please try to use the far staircase (which leads directly up to our flat), as some of our less Airbnb-friendly neighbors have complained about guests traipsing up the other staircase 😬

Yes, it’s on the fourth floor with no elevator access (it’s worth it for the view!).

Ride Sharing / Taxis from the airport

Cape Town is served by both

Uber⁠

and

Bolt⁠

. We use both but prefer Uber. (Bolt is often cheaper than Uber, but with longer waiting times and older cars).

A ride from the airport is usually between R150 and R350 (~US$8 - $20).

For both Uber and Bolt, the airport pickup area is in P1. Follow the signs in the airport (or ask the information desk) for the e-hailing pickup area there. Ignore any touts offering you a “cheap taxi” or “Uber price here!”.

If you prefer, there are also official (but more expensive) taxi companies with desks inside the airport terminal.

Driving/Parking

If you’re driving, please make sure you only park in our bay, in front of the building, below. (Do not drive your vehicle into the side entrance, not even to drop off your bags; and don’t allow delivery vehicles in either).

⁠

⁠

While this is a dedicated parking bay, it is still accessible from the street, not behind a fence. Please never leave anything in the car. There have been stories of visitors leaving bags on the backseat for an hour while they grabbed a meal, just to get back to a smashed window and a missing bag.

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