Dubai to Cape Town Shore Excursions

We are on the Dubai to Cape Town 2015 cruise and it is nearly time for us to book excursions.

When we reach South Africa there are several cultural tour we are wondering about.

In Richards Bay there is an excursion to Sharkaland and also one to Dumazula Cultural Village. Both are 1.5 hours each way so travel time won't be different.

In Durban there is an excursions to Valley of a Thousand Hills which also visits a cultural village.

Could anyone recommend any of these tours over another? We would like to visit a Zulu cultural village, and understand they are set up for tourists.

It is coming close to booking the excursions and we are doing our research.

Also, I would like to see the Ardmore Pottery. Is there a way to visit it when not on a tour?

Jill

We did this itinerary this past Nov/Dec. In Richard's Bay we did the excursion to see the hippos. Loved it.

We didn't do the cultural options. Passengers that went to Shakaland told us it was very touristy. You get a overview but it is not real. Sorry not much help to you with this.

We visited Ardmore Ceramics on an excursion. Very happy we did though my credit card not so much. If i recall it was a fair distance from the port so i am not sure how you would get there if you are not on a tour unless you want to rent a car.

We found every place on this itinerary to be interesting but for the most part would not go back to them. Now we don't snorkel so that eliminated the interest in the Maldives and the Seycelles though we did enjoy our tours on the Seycelles. So glad we did the itinerary. The highlight for us was the safari to Kapama Private Reserve at the end. It was fantastic. We also did a side trip to the Taj Mahal offered by Regent and really enjoyed it. We were very well taken care of.

Enjoy this cruise. To us it was a once in a lifetime experience.

ALSO liked Hippos at Richards Bay. Lemurs in Nosy Be was a highlight. HAD TO HIKE UP HILLSIDE TO SEE THEM. Did some snorkeling in Seychelles. Not too many fish and much of the coral was harvested by islanders for their purposes. WATER COLORS WERE STUNNING!

Thank you for the information.

We are staying at Arathusa Lodge after the cruise and they have a webcam on their dam and there are lots of hippos so we will give the wetland tour a miss.

With the trip to the falls and Ardmore Ceramics, how energetic is it at the falls? We are happy to walk but lots of stairs/ slope could be a bit much in the heat.

I really would like a teapot as a souvenir of the cruise ( saving my pennies now).

How difficult was the uphill walk to see the Lemurs?

How full was your ship? I think they may be having trouble filling this cruise as most suites except lowest fare and a few of the higher priced suites are available.

They have also reduced the fare, which is rather nice for us.

Our rollcall has only a few people so far whilst yours was very busy.

So glad you enjoyed the cruise even though you visited places you wouldn't return to. I'm sure we will feel the same, but looking forward to places we have only dreamt of.

Thanks also for the information on the snorkelling. It isn't all that important to us especially if they don't have somewhere to sit on the beach ( chairs).

Sorry about all the questions but it is great to hear from you both. :)

The falls are easy to get to. Very few steps. They are a short walk from the bus. There is a little outdoor market across the street. When we were there it had been fairly dry so there wasn't a lot of water flowing but they were still pretty.

Our ship was almost full. I believe the GM said there were about 4 cabins empty.

We have just booked our excursions. :) That's for Concierge and above.

Only 7 months to go.

I think we will also be looking forward to sea days especially after India and the early starts.

We ended up deciding on Dumazula Cultural Village when we stop in Richards Bay - mainly because it was a 5 hour v 7 hour tour.

I'm hoping a few more people will join the roll call.

We did this itinerary this past Nov/Dec.

 

We visited Ardmore Ceramics on an excursion. Very happy we did though my credit card not so much. If i recall it was a fair distance from the port so i am not sure how you would get there if you are not on a tour unless you want to rent a car.

 

Enjoy this cruise. To us it was a once in a lifetime experience.

Our travel agent just got notice that our tour to the Ardmore Ceramics and Howick Falls has been cancelled due to operational reasons.

We were so looking forward to this excursion - wonder how difficult (and expensive) it might be to arrange for a private tour?

gnomie :)

This tour has not been cancelled on our cruise (Cape Town to Cape Town departing November 24th). We looked up this excursion at one time and could not find local tour guides, however, if you contact them directly http://www.ardmoreceramics.co.za/contact-and-visit/contact-us they may be able to assist.