This is also the location where the ferry will depart. The prisoner the long walk of nelson mandela frontline. Book your township tour now to receive guaranteed robben island tickets. Robben island is a small landmass located just seven kilometres four miles off the coast of cape town, in table bay. Robben island is the most historic location in south africa. The windswept island, with its astounding legacy of confinement and brutality for those exiled there and its paradoxical existence as a sanctuary for bird and animal life is a place of mystery and amazement to the many who visit it.
Visit robben island, known for its maximum security prison and for being a home to socially unacceptable groups over the past 500 years, for a tour of the manmade facilities. A final, perhaps commercial concern, regards tourism. Township tour including visit to robben island book online. Robben island tour prices, entrance fees 2018 updated. 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. Well this is a must i suggest you book on line about. A special tour with 10 highlights and 5 stops is also available and it needs the adults to pay r1050 and children below 12 years of age to pay r600 for the tickets. A visit to the island is essential when visiting cape town.
Whilst my knowledge of apartheid is reasonable thanks to my university degree in international politics, nothing can compare to learning and experiencing history firsthand in south africa. Best time of day to visit robben island cape town message. Also preserved as a small museum is the waterfronts jetty 1, the departure point for robben island when it was a prison. Robben island or robbeneiland afrikaans is an island in south africa, located off cape town, 6. A day trip to robben island, which is now a unesco world heritage site, it must include in the itinerary for any traveler to cape town. Robben island, island in table bay, western cape province, south africa.
Sa adults and pay r400 and sa children pay r210 for 2 18 years. The journey takes around 30 minutes, giving you plenty of time to admire spectacular views of cape town and table mountain and to look for the whales, dolphins, penguins and fur seals that inhabit table bay. Cultural visit and robben island tour full day african. We take our visitors into the townships and witness everyday life in a harsh environment where you will hear some of. Robben island tours and times things to do in cape town. When i pleaded they were kindly able to get me a spot the next day. A visit to robben island the travels of bbqboy and spanky. The low, scrubby oval of robben island, a few miles offshore, can be made out from any of the heights around cape town. Visiting robben island on a tour from cape town stoked. When you are out for a vacation to cape town then robben island is a must to visit spot for you without which a significant part of cape town history will remain unknown to you. The island is a unesco world heritage site and has served as a whaling station, a leper colony and most notably as a prison, where south africas nelson mandela spent 18 years of his 27 years of incarceration before being elected as the countrys first democratic president.
Its name is the dutch word for seals, once plentiful in the surrounding waters. Visit to robben island cape town central forum tripadvisor. Robben island cape town, south africa attractions lonely. He and the other political prisoners were forced to work at the limestone quarries on the island. But we cannot deny the fact that for centuries, this. On a visit to robben island in 1997, president mandela commented on the general inadequacy of south african museums and other institutions in portraying the countrys diverse heritage. Fortunately, visiting robben island is a straightforward experience. Obama visits prison cell that helped shape modern south africa. For nearly 400 years, robben island, about 12 kilometres from cape town, was a place of exile where rulers sent those they regarded as outcasts and troublemakers. Obama, the visit to robben island, just off cape town, was part of an african trip that has been overshadowed to some extent by concerns about mr.
The prisoner in the winter of 1964, nelson mandela arrived on robben island where he would spend 18 of his 27 prison years. The leader in online ticket sales in south africa since 2007. Review of the halfday robben island tour from cape town. We were lucky as our guide was knowledgeable and humourous, and the whole tour was great fun.
Its buildings, particularly those of the late 20th century. The 45 minute ferry crossing also offers spectacular views over table bay. A visit to robben island takes about 3,5 hours and can only be done by booking a tour which departs three times a day. Here we will discuss a variety of ways to visit the island by ferry and even by helicopter. If you buy tickets for robben island tours in time, chances are that you might get robben island ticket prices at discounted rates. Robben island, a desolate outcropping five miles offshore, is a testament to courage and fortitude in the face of brutality, a mustsee for any visitor to south africa. Best time of day to visit robben island cape town forum. You can expect the tour including the trips to and from the island to last about threeandahalf hours. The robben island entrance fee via a boat has been categorised into two. It takes its name from the dutch word for seals robben, hence the dutchafrikaans name robbeneiland which translates to seals island. 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. Inscribed on unescos world heritage list in 1999, robben island is known for being used as a prison, leprosarium, psychiatric hospital and. Robben island museum artefacts this collection includes more than 3 000 accessioned objects left on robben island by prison authorities.
Once aboard the bus, we had a lovely tour guide called alan. Guide to the history and importance of robben island. During the apartheid era, it was a kind of purgatory in plain sight for. Visit different townships around cape town and witness the aftereffects of the struggles of apartheid before hopping on a ferry to robben island and discovering the story of one of the men who played. Visit the world heritage site of robben island museum, a spit of land just off the cape town coast. Find out how to visit robben island, the infamous political prison off cape. Book visit robben island and dine with a local south. Today, tourists and locals alike can tour robben island and give themselves the opportunity to experience a part of south africas history. Visit district 6 museum proceed to the robben island gateway to board the boat to robben island arrive at the nelson mandela gateway board the boat with many other customers 30 minute boat ride to the island walk to the buses guide will be on the bus 30 minute ride around the island walk around the prison, see nelson mandelas cell ex prisoner will do a guided tour in. The island s main claim to fame is rather unfortunateit includes the prison in which nelson mandela served much of his sentence. However, double check your reservations because they can cancel tours without a lot of notice. The crossing can be quite rough, so those that suffer from. Robben island tickets you can book your tickets for the tour by using.
It was a highsecurity prison where nelson mandela was held captive for 18 years. Robben island was the location of one of the main prisons where political prisoners were held during the apartheid era in south africa, most notably nelson mandela, who was imprisoned there for 18 years of his 27 year sentence. Robben island fees robben island in cape town entry tickets. Children under 2 enter for free with a presentation of a birth certificate. From robben island tickets to transport, we arrange everything for you. Signup for our weekly email newsletter so that you can be the first to know about the biggest events and the ones we think you personally would like. If you miss it in your inbox, you can still catch our greatest events on social media. I did, i got the trip i wanted, at the least expensive available. Robben island is an island near cape town in south africa. The tours begin at the nelson mandela gateway in the victoria and alfred waterfront. Apr 14, 2015 in the beginning of march, ies took us on a robben island tour. Robben island, including its buffer zone, is a national heritage site and unesco has listed the island as a world heritage site. The island is a unesco world heritage site and has served as a whaling station, a leper colony and most notably as a prison, where south africas nelson mandela spent 18 years of his 27 years of incarceration before being elected as the countrys first democratic. Where mandela kept hope, guide tells their shared saga the.
Book flights and browse accommodation now to get the best rates. They are mostly empty, husks leftover from the old days. Robben island was used at various times between the 17th and 20th centuries as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups and a military base. Getting tickets for robben island was never that easy. It was established by the department of arts and culture in 1997. Cape town has millions of people living in townships, and this tour takes you to visit them and offers an opportunity to find out about their harsh past, to witness the challenges. Information and translations of robben island in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Book your robben island tickets online and skiptheline. 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. President obama wrote in a guest book that his family were deeply humbled to visit. Worth it for the views of cape town from the water alone. Robben island has been used as prison and a place where people were isolated, banished and exiled to for nearly 400 years. Things to do in cape town and everything you need to know about robben island, the attractions, history and. By the end of the visit, i found the cell itself to be just a tiny part of the overall robben island visit, as i experienced it.
Check out the best tours and activities to experience robben island. 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. I tried booking online but they were always sold out. I see there are four sailings a day to robben island, what would be the best time of day to book for. According to tripadvisor travelers, these are the best ways to experience robben island museum. Even if you dont plan a visit to the island, its worth dropping by the free museum at the nelson mandela gateway, with its focus on the struggle for equality. My letter to the press that, together with sharp reporting from freek robinson and his television episode on fokus, managed to highlight robben island s plight and, we think, eventually depose the corrupt officials. For adults, the normal ferry trip costs r360 while for children it costs r200. Failure to produce corresponding proof will result in full price being charged. These days, a trip to robben island, a unesco world heritage site, is a must do on the. Robben island museum, cape town central tripadvisor. Visiting the island is a sobering experience, which begins at the modern nelson mandela gateway to robben island, an impressive embarkation center that doubles as a conference center. 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.
Township tour including visit to robben island this intimate interactive tour will expose you to some of cape towns multicultural life. Mandela and six other antiapartheid leaders were sentenced to a life of hard labor in the quarry of robben island, apartheids most infamous island prison. Then you would be led by a exprisoner to visit the prison who explained vividly life inside it. Robben island south africa history and gripping facts. Robben island, the unique symbol of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity, suffering and injustice with a rich 500 year old multilayered. Robben island is located in table bay, some 6km west of bloubergstrand, and stands some 30m above sea level. Firstly, you tour the island on board a coach on which a guide introduces history and various scenes of the island. Robben island childhood memories of growing up there. Robben island museum is a testament of the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. It includes prison clothing, items manufactured in the prison workshop, workshop tools, prison registers, a music collection of lp records, sporting equipment and furniture.
Dec 10, 20 the low, scrubby oval of robben island, a few miles offshore, can be made out from any of the heights around cape town. Unesco declared robben island in the western cape a world heritage site in 1999. On arrival, we were split into 2 groups, one group did the bus tour of the island, the other the prison visit at the end of each tour, you swap over. Jul 17, 2018 robben island sits in south africas table bay, only 4. Learn how the island was used to seclude freedom fighters and south african presidents such as nelson mandela, kgalema motlanthe and jacob zuma. I did pre book robben island all of the boats were cancelled the day i booked and i was offered an immediate refund, as they had no open spots until weeks after i was leaving cape town. Sep 28, 2015 robben island, cape town, south africa. Visit robben island museum on your trip to cape town central.
Alan had a good sense of humour and gave us an insight into the history of robben island as well as how robben island functions today. The tour includes a return trip, for more info visit. The tour includes a return trip, for more info visit za tickets are not transferable. Tickets often sell out, so its advisable to book in advance or make. A visit to robben island, the brutal prison that held mandela. Since 1997 it has been a museum and a heritage site. To visit robben island, you must book tickets in advance, like a month or two or more for high season. The only way to reach the island is by boat or air.