The Travel Café Cape Town is 5 years old! 🎊🎉

The Travel Café Cape Town is 5 years old!

JD, François and the rest of the team couldn’t be more proud as we celebrate this month our 5th birthday! This milestone has given us a chance to reflect on just how far we have come, the highs, the lows and all the incredible guests we have met over the years, many of whom have become our friends.

What’s certain is that it hasn’t always been an easy ride. The Travel Café officially opened in September 2017. A year later, in 2018, Cape Town went through a massive drought which had a very negative impact on tourism.  Then in 2020, we went through two very challenging years due to Covid-19,  which dealt our business a pretty big blow. But we survived thanks to our passion, determination, motivation and our loyal guests - you!

When we started back in 2017, we were only covering South Africa  but we very quickly expanded to include Namibia , Victoria Falls  and Botswana. Then, few years later, we added Eastern Africa; Tanzania including Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro and last but not least Kenya. More recently, we have also added the beautiful Indian Ocean islands to our portfolio such as Reunion, Maldives  and Seychelles as well as some off-the-beaten-track luxury options like Mnemba, Pemba and Bazaruto.

In terms of service, we started the business by assisting guests with bespoke itineraries. Then we developed our mini group activities, especially with people coming to Cape Town and South Africa for weddings. Next month, we will be launching our very first scheduled departure group for a Francophone mini group in South Africa.

We firmly subscribe to Maya Angelou’s philosophy: “When you learn, teach. When you get, give”. That is why very soon after starting our company, we adopted a vibrant traditional choir run by the inspirational Andisiwe. Together with her we have grown and developed the group now known as Isibane Se Afrika. Isibane se Afrika

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that  in the middle of the pandemic, we moved our family and base to the Little Karoo to set up a Eco Mountain Lodge on Route 62. Strategically located halfway between Cape Town and the Garden Route, we named it Starry Starry Night N . Once you have stayed in our cottages and gazed up at the dazzling night sky, you will agree the name is a perfect fit.

That’s it for now! JD, François and the rest of the team would like to personally thank each and everyone of our guests who’ve put their trust in us and rewarded us with beautiful 5-star reviews in the last 5 years!  We could never have done this without you, and we can’t wait to continue the journey together by creating magical adventures in Southern and Eastern Africa as well as the Indian Ocean Islands. But first, we intend to crack open a bottle of chilled Champagne!

Much love, and sunny regards from Cape Town,

François & JD