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Cheapest Places to Live > Cape Town on Less than $50 per day

When we traveled to Cape Town we extended our stay to a full 3 months because we decided to give birth to our first son while traveling here as it was quite affordable at the private hospitals and the quality of care was very good. Here is our budget breakdown over those 3 months and how we lived in Cape Town on less than $50 USD per day per adult. Let us know in the comments section if you have any questions.

Cape Town, South Africa

December 2, 2018 - February 28, 2019

Total Number of Days

89 days (88 nights, technically that means we had 89 days)

Total Expense

$8,811.79 USD
NOTE: Our airfare of $677.60 to Cape Town, South Africa from Cairo, Egypt is not included in this cost - why mention this? Everyone’s airfare to Cape Town will be dependent on where they are coming from. The other expenses - while in Cape Town - should be comparable for everyone. However, our airfare was technically $0.00 as it was paid for with points from our Credit Card rewards. You can check out our favorite things to do in Cape Town as well.

Average Daily Cost per Adult

$49.51
NOTE: $53.31 WITH airfare to Cape Town.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Because we spent most of our time in the Greater Cape Town area, most of the things that we did are based around the the city of Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula. However, there were a few things that we did out on the Garden Route - including visiting Oudtshoorn, Mossel Bay, and Hermanus - as well.

Transportation (airlines, taxis, trains, subways, buses, etc.)

$1,699.57

• Airlines: $0.00 (actual cost of $677.60)
  The airline tickets to get to Cape Town from Cairo, Egypt were fairly priced, but they were booked and paid for entirely by our credit card reward points so they took up 0% of our total Cape Town transportation costs.

• Car Rental: $1,309.74

  This includes a traffic fine for $22.74 because I ended up going through a red light while bringing my wife to the hospital to deliver our first child (missed the yellow by a few seconds!).

• Gasoline: $236.59

• Ubers: $101.23

• Parking: $34.50

• Bus: $11.25

• Tolls: $6.26

Accommodation

$3,703.63

• Airbnbs: $3,703.63
  We spent our time at three separate Airbnb’s while we were in the Cape Town area, and then another one in Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay. The ones in Cape Town were a wonderful little Summer Place, a Studio apartment on Long street (in a street-party location), and a Secluded Conservatory near Old Mutual (our favorite). In Oudtshoorn we stayed at 50 Klein Karoo - Acacia Unit and in Mossel Bay we stayed at The Eden Sanctuary, both of which we liked very much! That’s 88 nights for this price! Wifi was sometimes a bit limited or slow, but with the amount of data we received from our phone plan - and a phone that has Hotspot capabilities - we never had an issue. Full use of the kitchens was also vital for keeping the food costs low.

Food

$2,318.65

• Groceries: $807.18
  We shopped mostly at “Pick n Pay”, “Woolworths”, “Checkers Hyper”, and “Dis-Chem” for our groceries.

• Fast Casual Type Restaurants: $132.29
  This category contains mostly the amazing food markets - such as Bay Harbour Market, V&A Food Market, and Old Biscuit Mill Neighborgoods Market.

• Dine-in (table service) Restaurants: $1,225.43
  As we were in Cape Town for quite awhile, it’s hard to write down all of the restaurants that we enjoyed - but here are a few of our favorites: Chef’s Warehouse Constantia, Bistro Sixteen82, Saltwater Grill Pinelands, Moyo Restaurant, Bientang’s Cave Restaurant, Jonkershuis, Garden Route Game Lodge Serengeti Restaurant, and Pizzeria Villagio Pinelands.

• Pastry Shops / Cafe’s: $124.52
  Apart from buying pastries from the markets at the “Fast Casual” food markets listed above, we also enjoyed frequenting whatever Mugg & Bean we came across.

• Convenience / Street Food: $29.23
  These are just things we picked up at the movie theater (Ster Kinekor), Dis-Chem, Clicks, or a quick-grab convenience store.

Activities/Entertainment

$628.92

• Adventure Tour: $279.32
  We did 2 different Private Game Reserve Safaris, the Aquila Safari ($201.96) and the Garden Route Game Drive ($77.36). Additionally, we wrote up a “Safari’s Near Cape Town” article to help other people learn more about the safaris in the area.

• Cultural Sites: $270.00

  This included entry to the following places: Boulders Beach, Cape Point National Park, Chapmans Peak Toll, Cango Caves Heritage Tour, Tygerberg Park, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Table Mountain Cableway, and Groot Constantia’s Visitor Route + Wine.

• Local Attraction: $40.19
  We went to “Carols at Kirstenbosch” which was an event where people went to the botanical garden to sing Christmas Carols. Additionally, we visited the Cango Wildlife Ranch as well.

• Amusement: $39.41
  As we don’t always get to go to the movies - as not every country that we visit has theaters that play movies in English - we decided to go see Disney’s The Nutcracker & The Four Realms, The Crimes of Grindelwald, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Mary Poppins Returns, Instant Family, and Aquaman while we were in Cape Town. Additionally, we bought the Marvel Black Panther DVD as it was only $2.19 in South Africa!

Miscellaneous

$461.03

• Travel Patches for South Africa: $7.50

  Our one souvenir at each country that we visit is a travel patch because they are light weight and take up almost no space.

• Hygiene items / Bathroom supplies: $98.59

  We did need to buy some of our own body wash, even though bars of soap were provided. Additionally, this includes toothpaste, deodorant, a haircut, sunscreen, tissues, toilet paper, and cotton swabs.

• Laundry Machines & Soap: $8.87
  Washer & Dryer were included in the cost of most of our Airbnbs. This cost was for the laundry facilities at our Studio apartment on Long street and some bleach spray.

• Phone SIM & Data: $161.47
  This plan was through Vodacom - the data and minutes were quite expensive in South Africa.

• Donations: $8.72

  We made a few donations to people asking for them at various places. Additionally, we made an offering at a church we attended as well.

• Clothes: $37.95

  This included a few new shirts and shorts.

• Printing Service: $30.09
  As we had our first baby in Cape Town, we were required to fill out a number of papers for the Consulate and get some new passport photos. This was more expensive than we expected.

• Other Items: $107.84
  Some of the other items that we needed were a new thumb-drive, a car-phone holder, water filters, a waffle maker (we had a real craving for Belgian Liege Waffles!), a large suitcase, masking tape, paper plates, and some more ziplock bags.

What does this not include?

• Life Insurance 

• Berkshire Hathaway Travel Insurance + Medical (annual cost of $328 for a family of 3 - ask us how)

• Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card Annual Fees for additional Insurance & Airport Lounges (annual net cost of $150 annually). Alternatively, you could just get the Priority Pass instead of applying for a credit card (10% off with this link).

While these are costs associated with our travels, they are not country-specific, which is why they are not included in this expense report. 

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