We regularly share stories of people who have been on workation. This time the inspiring story of Lars Voorhout. He works as a freelancer digital marketer and went on a 2-month workation to Cape Town in South Africa. Below you can read his workation story.
As a conclusion of a world trip, I left for Cape Town in early 2023 to work remotely for 2 months. An ideal place to skip the cold Dutch winter and enjoy nice weather, beautiful nature and good facilities for remote workers.
What makes Cape Town so unique?
Cape Town has long been known as a popular place for digital nomads and remote workers. But what makes this place so unique?
- Beautiful nature on your doorstep
Built just above the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town is surrounded by mountains, hills and white beaches. For a nature and hike lover like me, I can’t think of a better place. After work you take an Uber and within 20 minutes you are at Table Mountain, Lion’s Head or lying on the beach. Then (with good weather) you can enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen.
- Affordable high-level gastronomy
Cape Town is known for its surrounding wine regions and an international cuisine that is second to none. The biggest advantage, it’s much more affordable than in the Netherlands!
- No to little time difference with the Netherlands
In our winter months there is only 1 hour time difference with Cape Town, the other part of the year there is not even a time difference. For me, this was ideal for scheduling calls with clients.
- Good facilities
The advantage of a popular digital nomad place is that it is set up for good remote working. For example, there are many high-quality coworking spots with high-speed Internet.
- Our winter is their summer
Cape Town is often chosen as a destination during our winter. Not surprisingly, because then it is summer there. It can get very hot inland, but in Cape Town it almost always stays an average of 17 degrees due to the cool sea breeze from the South Pole.
Fine remote workstations
There are several ways to work remotely in Cape Town. For example, you can work in coffee shops, in your own apartment/room or you can opt for co-working.
I myself chose co-working. This since here you have a nice workspace, people around you are all also working (often also as a digital nomad or remote worker) and the internet is always fast.
The electricity problem in South Africa
All of South Africa is experiencing load-shedding, which means that electricity is cut off in a certain area for a certain period of time. This is because Eskom, the largest energy supplier, is having problems supplying enough energy. The energy is distributed among the districts and there are periods during the day when you will have no electricity. Recently, these periods have become more frequent and longer, scaring off some remote workers. Fortunately, Cape Town is less affected than Johannesburg, for example, and there are many places with a generator for downtime.
Stay in Cape Town
Cape Town consists of several nice neighborhoods suitable to stay in. I myself have stayed in CBD (downtown) and in Green Point, the latter of which I highly recommend. Furthermore, Waterkant, Sea Point and Observatory are popular and safe places to stay. Waterkant is the most expensive and westernmost neighborhood in Cape Town, the advantage is that they have no load-shedding here and thus plenty of power.
Airbnb is very big in Cape Town and this is a good way to find a place for a short period of time. If you are going to Cape Town for a longer period, I would recommend a room/apartment. These are a lot cheaper than Airbnb. A good place to look for this is within Facebook groups. There are also a lot of co-living places in Cape Town. These are places that are made for short stays up to a few months, where you live with other remote workers and also have coworking along with them. This is a very expensive option, though.
The safety of Cape Town is often questioned. During the day, most places are quite safe. However, it is not recommended to go hiking or running alone in nature. When it gets dark it is smart to get around by Uber and not walk. If you use common sense and do not walk with valuables in plain sight, there is nothing to worry about.
To do in Cape Town
Besides working during the day, there is plenty of time left over to explore the city and its surroundings. Working and having fun are easily combined in Cape Town. It is a walhalla for hikers and nature lovers. Below are my favorite things to do in Cape Town:
- Hiking
A super beautiful hike is to Lion’s Head, especially at sunset or sunrise. Of course you have to climb Table Mountain, there are easy routes and very challenging routes, also you can go up by gondola. In addition, Chapman’s Peak, Suther Peak and Signal Hill are also very nice. Cederberg is also highly recommended where you can stay overnight at the Wolfberg Arch.
- To the beach
Cape Town has very beautiful beaches like Camps Bay and Clifton, for example. It is great to chill here with a snack and a drink, enjoying the sun and sunset. If you’re not cold, you can even take a dip. Even in summer, the water is very refreshing. Also, Boulders Beach is great to see, with penguins!
- Botanical garden
Cape Town has a very nice botanical garden that sits against Table Mountain. In the summer they also hold concerts here and there is an outdoor cinema every week.
- Visiting markets
Cape Town has several nice markets that are open several days a week. My favorite market to wander around is Oranjezicht in the Waterkant neighborhood. This is a farmers market with all kinds of food, drinks and flowers.
- Events
In summer, there is a lot going on in Cape Town every week. Think concerts by famous artists and festivals in the most beautiful places. My favorite is first Thursdays. Dit vindt iedere eerste donderdag van de maand plaats. Op deze dag/avond zijn alle kunstateliers geopend en gratis. Daarna is er een groot straatfeest met verschillende DJ’s.
The Cape Town area
Not only in Cape Town can you have a good time. It would be a shame to go to Cape Town and not explore the surrounding area. For example, there are wonderful wine regions in the area and you can explore the entire Cape. Be sure to visit wine regions Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. If you have a lot of time, it is also definitely recommended to head towards Drakensberg, Lesotho and Kruger National Park!
Cape Town was a unique experience for me and I can recommend everyone to go on work station here! Read here more about Lars’ life as a digital nomad and location-independent work.
