The Best Apps For Exploring Cape Town

There is no better way to see a city than on foot and at your own pace, so this handy app by GPSmyCity is a must-have. Cape Town Map and Walks gives you over 5,500 self-guided walks in over 700 cities worldwide so you can explore the city at a fraction of the cost of what you would normally pay for a guided tour.

On the Cape Town installment, choose from 18 self-guided walking tours of the city bowl, shopping spots, the Bo-Kaap, V&A Waterfront and more. Each walking tour or travel article offers a travel route plotted on an offline map, guiding you to Cape Town’s famous attractions, monuments, interesting sights and hidden gems, so no need to join a tour group! An added bonus: no roaming or data plan is needed.

Founded by two Capetonians in 2014, Voice Map is a nifty travel app which allows you to explore cities through the eyes of local citizens. It works by using your location to play audio stories automatically and find your way around with offline maps. All you need is a GPS-enabled smartphone, a pair of earphones and you’re ready to explore. Voice Map is currently available in over 70 cities, and boasts a fast growing catalogue of audio tours uploaded by bestselling authors, expert correspondents, veteran broadcasters and passionate locals from around the world. In Cape Town alone, there are over 30 tours spanning the city, including gardens and parks, heritage landmarks, townships and coastal towns. The audio tours range between free and $6.99 depending on the tour.

Zomato is a food website and app that takes the work out of finding the best restaurants, cafés and bars in your city. The platform’s vast community of food lovers share their reviews and photos, giving you all that you need to make an informed choice. Zomato is used by millions every day in over 10,000 cities across 23 countries.

The Cape Town Bicycle Map was developed to encourage more people to ride a bicycle in order to reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and to promote a bicycle and people-friendly city. Available as a free print map and app, the initiative has identified a network of safer, connected routes (recommended by experienced local cyclists), bicycle infrastructure, parking and bicycle-friendly venues, as well as mountain biking trails and touring routes for leisure cyclists. The current edition of the map can be found at key bookshops, information centers, bicycle shops and bicycle-friendly venues around Cape Town.

The Culture Trip app is the perfect resource for your travels in a new city or country, or for informing you about places you have yet to discover in your home town. Read informative and fascinating cultural content about food, art, film, books, travel and more, for every single country in the world. Plus, you get fresh, new content daily. What’s not to love?