When in Cape Town as tourist one of the things to consider is the Hop On-Hop Off bus tour that has many stops in the city including Long Street, close to Long Street Hotel. From there it is easy to explore Hout Bay.

Residents proudly call it ‘the Republic of Hout Bay', partly because there are only three roads in to this charming seaside resort, but also because of its unique quirky character and laidback bohemian atmosphere. Just twenty minutes west of the centre of Cape Town and Long Street, Hout Bay was originally a sleepy little fishing village. Today, while still a working harbour for the tuna and crayfish industries, it is also a vibrant destination of choice for both day and night time activities.

When Dutch East India Company Governor Jan van Riebeeck first ‘discovered' the area in 1652, he described it as having the most beautiful forests he had ever seen. The timber was used to help build the first fort and earliest dwellings in Cape Town, and the name of the town means ‘Wood Bay'.

One of the three routes in to the picturesque village is the renowned nine-kilometre Chapman's Peak Drive with its hundred and fourteen curves and breathtaking views of some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the world. First opened in 1922, the drive is an engineering masterpiece and a memorable experience.

Once in Hout Bay, the Museum offers impressive exhibits on the early hunter-gatherers who lived in the Cape for up to a thousand years before the first European settlers arrived, as well as interesting memorabilia relating to the fishing industry. Main Road is lined with interesting shops, galleries, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, and fish-and-chip outlets, and there's an excellent outdoor craft market on the village green every Sunday. The popular harbour-front Mariner's Wharf opened in 1984 as the first emporium of its kind in South Africa; today it includes a premium seafood restaurant specialising in crayfish, prawn, and calamari; a fast-food seafood bistro; fish market; sushi bar; bakery; and nautical-themed gift, curio, and antique shops. The Wharf's own wine, in a fish-shaped bottle, makes a very special souvenir or gift. At the far end of the harbour, the popular Bay Harbour Craft Market is housed in a refurbished fish factory and hosts more than a hundred stalls offering food and drink and an impressive array of diverse eclectic arts and crafts, all to the accompaniment of live performances from up-and-coming local musicians.

Daily boat cruises from the harbour take you around the dramatic Sentinel outcrop to Seal Island where you can see a large breeding colony of Cape fur seals, and the beautiful long sandy beach at Hout Bay is ideal for walking, sunbathing, or swimming, and as a base for water sports like sea kayaking, surfing, sailing, jet-skiing, and fishing.

Just outside the town centre you'll find World of Birds, the largest bird park in Africa. You can take an easy landscaped walk through four hectares of more than a hundred enclosures housing over three thousand indigenous and exotic birds and four hundred different species of small mammals, and you can meet and interact with delightful little Squirrel Monkeys and tiny marmosets. World of Birds also functions as a sanctuary, hospital, orphanage, and breeding centre for birds and small animals.

When you're planning what to do in Cape Town, be sure not to miss out on a visit to Hout Bay.