Historical Attraction of Cape Town, Robben Island

Any experienced tourist will tell you that attractions in Cape Town can be a little too overwhelming for a short vacation. There is so much to see and do in this gorgeous city that a one week vacation cannot encompass all of it. But there are some attractions that you will not want to miss out on no matter how short your stay is in this beautiful city. Table Mountain for example, this magnificent slab of sand right in the center of the city is always on the must see list of any tourist.

Robben Island is another must visit place of Cape Town not only because of its beauty but mainly because of the rich history attached to this offshore island. The island served as a prison for the freedom hero of the South Africa Nelson Mandela and for this reason the island was given the status of UNESCO World Heritage site.

The island was discovered by the Europeans in end of the 15^th century and it soon became the preferred destination for keeping the political prisoners for the colonial powers who controlled the region. The island was also used by the Portuguese and later by the Dutch for refreshment station for the crews of their ships who didn’t want to head to the mainland South Africa. If you have taken a cheap flight to Cape Town then you must have already made your plans regarding a visit to the historical Robben Island. Most tourists prefer using the ferry service that runs between Victoria and Alfred Waterfront and Robben Island.

Trip time is of thirty minutes and the ferry leaves V&A waterfront six times a day. The service is quite famous with the local and foreign tourists alike and for this reason you will find the ferries already booked up for most of the weeks. The best option for getting a place in these ferries is making an advance booking either through the Robben Island Museum website or by asking your tour operators to arrange it for you. The tour price is R220 and is a lot cheaper than traveling by helicopter, the only other way for reaching the Robben Island.

Although a bus tour of the island is available but as the total area of the island is a little more than 4 km so it can easily be explored on foot. The biggest attraction of the island is of course its museum which is located in the prison that held Nelson Mendela and many other famous political prisoners. There are quite a few educational and historical tours available for the museum which can be arranged in advance through the Museum’s website. The museum provides a deep insight into the hardships faced and struggle done by the South Africans to attain their freedom. There are quite a few artifacts from the different eras of the prison and there is quite a lot of information available in the museum regarding different high profile prisoners that spent their captivity years in Robben Island but most of the museum’s information is regarding the famous freedom activist Nelson Mandela.