Jaunted

Long Street Backpackers is the perfect place to stay for first-time visitors to this continental city. Sure, the rooms aren't the cleanest--we had a few cockroaches in ours--but the vibe is great and the location is tough to beat. R100 ($12) a night gets you a dorm bed in one of Cape Town's hottest areas--think SoHo in New York City--and a chance to pick the brain of Kev, the friendly bartender, about all the place has to offer. The people are young and fun, and the bar serves stiff drinks fast. Yes, we were given shots of tequila upon arrival.

Long Street is within walking distance of most everything in Cape Town (except, as we learned, Table Mountain), including Mama Africa (famous for its cuisine of the continent), funky shops and loads of bars. There's even a 24-hour Internet place one block away. And the streets are safe--even late at night--thanks to non-stop guards patrolling.

Long Street offers nightly specials, too. We liked Wednesday night mojitos for cheap at Café Mojito becaues if you're traveling alone, hitting up a bar with your entire hostel is a quick way to make friends.

And while Cape Town is probably the culinary capital of the country, there's still plenty of fine (or at least delicious) dining that can be done on a dime. We recommend early risers hit up the KwikSpar supermarket before 8 am, when expert bakers pull piping hot cheese, chocolate and plain croissants from the oven. (Egg and bacon from the take away complete the meal).

And Seattle Coffee, South Africa's answer to Starbucks, offers every espresso beverage you can imagine at roughly half the cost as you'd pay in the US. Plus, soy milk is available at no extra charge.

For the budget conscious, Tong Lok offers all-you-can-eat sushi for R110 ($14) on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. The meal comes with miso soup, and the sushi chef will even take special requests.

Those looking to splash out for the night would be wise to check out Fork, a trendy tapas place a 10-minute walk from Long Street Backpackers. The mood is dark and relaxed, with big leather couches at the entrance and tiny candle-lit tables upstairs. Service is impeccable and while bottles of wine run upwards of R100 each, tapas are a more reasonable R20 to R45 ($2.50-5.50) each and usually serve four. We recommend the fried goat cheese toasts, artichoke salad and grilled salmon. And to finish? The flourless chocolate cake, of course.

Related Stories:
· Long Street Backpackers [Official Site]
· South Africa Field Trip [Jaunted]
· South Africa Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Yuen-Ping]