Robben island half day tour with diamond museum experience. Robben island museum rim is a public entity responsible for managing, maintaining, presenting, developing and marketing robben island as a national estate and world heritage site. In 1961, robben island regained its function as a prison when the south african apartheid regime started using the island to stow away political dissidents, with the most famous ones being nelson mandela and current south african president jacob zuma robben island became a national monument in 1996 and is protected as a national heritage site up to one mile into the ocean surrounding it. As a result of the reconciliation process, most tour guides are former political prisoners. Visiting robben island on a tour from cape town stoked to travel. Take a tour to robben island robben island was a high security prison between 1961 and 1991 and is infamous for the incarceration of nelson mandela.
In 1999 the island was granted unesco world heritage site status. Explore robben island robben island tour cape town. Once aboard the bus, we had a lovely tour guide called alan. Robben islands duty as a prison ended in 1996, and the following year it was declared a national monument. A ilha robben, onde nelson mandela o primeiro presidente da africa do sul eleito.
Amazing architecture, great location, stunning views. Its name is the dutch word for seals, once plentiful in the surrounding waters. We booked on line before and took the the first boat in the morning so we were back at the waterfront for a late lunch. It was established by the department of arts and culture in 1997. Even so, mandela went on to become his countrys first black president, a nobel peace prize recipient, and known. During the 30minute ferry trip, imposing table mountain slowly slides away into a classic postcardsized image but to capture this iconic view of cape town we recommend you get in line for the ferry. It was a training and defence station in world war ii 19391945 and a hospital for people with leprosy, and the mentally and chronically ill 18461931. Many exinmates of the prison, including president mandela, see the island as a special place.
Things to do in cape town and everything you need to know about robben island, the attractions, history and. The tour includes a return trip, for more info visit. Almost all of the past and current elite of the anc was imprisoned here, but the cells also held members from the more radical pan africanist congress and the namibian independence movement swapo. From the 17th to the 20th centuries, robben island served as a place of banishment, isolation and imprisonment.
Robben island has a lowlying terrain, where mintos hill, at an elevation of 234 metres above sea level, is the highest point on the island. Just before i left cape town after a 4 yrs stay i got chatting a white sa middle age male at one of the many food markets in ct. Sep 28, 2015 robben island is now more of a money making museum rather than a historical tour. A discount code of 10% if you wish to purchase additional tickets. Robben island is quite rightfully a unesco world heritage site. Book robben island tour pickup 8am with transfer from hotel. He had recently visited robben island for the 1st time and was dismayed by his experience. Make your stay in this city worthwhile by participating in a wine tasting at the winelands and visiting the most talked about attractions. Weve got 41 tours going to robben island, starting from just 3 days in length, and the longest tour is 293 days. Discover all the wonderful highlights like the cable car ride to table mountain, the robben island tour, and the day trip safari tour. Declared a world heritage site a tour of robben island takes 3 and a half hours and lasts a lifetime in your mind. Used as a leper colony in the 1800s, it later became an infamous prison where former south african president nelson mandela was jailed for 18 years during apartheid. Explore robben island robben island tour cape town city pass.
Robben island informations histoire billets en ligne. Even so, mandela went on to become his countrys first black president, a nobel peace prize. The island experiences mediterranean climate, like that in cape town, although robben island is exposed to stronger winds and colder winters. The most popular month to go is november, which has the most number of tour departures. The island environment is a natural haven to a wide variety of. Robben island one of south africas most respected heritage sites, robben island which means seal island in dutch is central to the countrys history. Featuring fitness center, a sun terrace with a swimming pool and a bar, the silo hotel is located in cape town, a 9minute walk from robben island ferry and 1. Sa adults and pay r400 and sa children pay r210 for 2 18 years. I also want to go to both robben island and table mountain a soon as the weather permits so thought do robben island right away on the first morning at 9am nov 30. Robben island recently added a virtual tour of the island on their website. Wed visit the place which once held prisoners of the apartheid regime in south africa nelson mandela being the most famous among them. Multi culture city and robben island tour explore the city of cape town known as the mother city being one of the oldest cities in south africa.
Well this is a must i suggest you book on line about. Children under 2 enter for free with a presentation of a birth certificate. This is where the former president of south africa nelson mandela was imprisoned for 18 an 9 years in pollsmoor prison and victor verster prison before the fall of apartheid. Review of the halfday robben island tour from cape town. Situated just a few kilometers from the waterfront, it was home to nelson mandela for almost 20 years. Since 1997 it has been a museum and a heritage site. We did the robben island tour january this year and enjoyed the experience. Robben island, off the coast of cape town, is world famous as the place where nelson mandela was imprisoned for 18 of his 27 years in jail. It is 5 miles 8 km west of the mainland and 6 miles 10 km north of cape town and has an approximate area of 5 square miles square km. Find and compare all 58 robben island tours, cruises, and packages from 23 companies. We will do our best to adhere to the confirmed times. Years ago when i visited mr mandelas cell was open for us to walk into. Robben island, island in table bay, western cape province, south africa.
The tour commences with a ferry trip across the bay to robben island. In times of apartheid which was a dark time for the continent, with slavery and discriminatory practices being rampant in the place, the place was used as a. Oct 23, 2017 it was a sunny day when we headed to the cape town waterfront to catch the boat to robben island for our halfday robben island tour. The standard tour to robben island is about 4 hours long with two half hour ferry trips, this is only true for the sikhi as other boats take longer, between 30 min and 1 hour. Book your robben island tickets online and skiptheline. Written from mandelas tiny cell in robben island prison, five years into his life sentence for sabotage, the letter would have seemed outlandish to its recipient. Other operators advertise robben island tours but just take visitors on a boat trip around the island. This combo tour gives you the opportunity to see table mountain as nelson mandela did, with a 3hr tour of robben island. Please note when booking this tour your full name and passport number needs to be provided and.
By that time, the movement to end apartheid had been crushed, its leaders in prison, hiding, and exile, or hunkered down in guerrilla training camps abroad. The island is flat and only a few meters above sea level. He would spend the next 18 years imprisoned in an 8x7foot cell, forced to do hard labor, and permitted only one visitor a year. Robben island tours and times things to do in cape town. Private tour of robben island cape town central forum. The view of robben island from the top of the mountain puts everything into perspective.
Robben island book your cape town helicopter tour with nac. Robben island childhood memories of growing up there. Robben island standard tour the standard tour to robben island is 3. Robben island, cape town ticket price timings address. Robben island tour cape town central forum tripadvisor. Robben island, off the coast of cape town, is world famous as the place where nelson mandela was imprisoned for 18 of. This is what i received in a message reply from a visitor who used capescape for the robben island tour in aug 2015. The importance of the site lies in its role in the history of not just south africa but the entire continent of africa.
Our only negative point was we struggled sometimes to understand the guide as his english was not clear. Robben island s duty as a prison ended in 1996, and the following year it was declared a national monument. For the robben island tour clients need to provide their idpassport number, next of kin name and contact number as a prerequisite when making the booking. I then want to do table mountain on the next day which is a sunday dec 01. We used tickets n tour as they had a few options with different providers was super simple and easy, booked morning, went in the afternoon.
Have hesitated to post this story but its directly relevant to robben island and i dont doubt the veracity of what happened. The ferry takes approximately 50 minutes to transfer to robben island where you follow the crowd to the buses. Visit the 7 th natural wonder of the world table mountain and get a birds eye view overlooking the entire city bowl thereafter take a city orientation drive through downtown where the late. The boats run three times a day for the robben island tours 9 am, 11 am and 1 pm. All our tips for exploring robben island, an island charged with history. This full day tour is split into two, either table mountain in the morning and robben island in the afternoon or vice versa, weather conditions play a large part in this tour because if the wind is too strong table mountain is closed as a safety precaution. Robben island is now more of a money making museum rather than a historical tour. Your tour of robben island will take 3 and a half hours, which includes your boat trip to and from the island. Robben island museum, cape town central tripadvisor. Take a shared boat trip to robben island museum and explore the island where former south african president nelson mandela was held as a political prisoner. In 1964, an antiapartheid revolutionary named nelson mandela was arrested and brought to south africas robben island, just west of cape town. A tour designed to maximize on your time in cape town, this tour includes all the mustsees when in the mother city robben island, table mountain and the city itself.
Robben island was the penitentiary island where the south african apartheid regime kept its political prisoners between 1962 and 1991. Robben island world heritage site pictures, info and. Our tour guide never explained to us how the number 46664 was given to the prisoner like they explained years ago. Robben island ticket prices are r340 for adults and r190 for youngsters under 18. Today robben island is both a living museum dedicated to the promotion of equality and human rights, and a poignant testimony to those who fought for democracy. Robben island south africa history and gripping facts. Please note when booking this tour your full name and passport number. We are a group of six adults and i want to do the hoho bus the first two days we arrive to get acquainted and used to the city layout.