Paraglide at the Western Cape
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Paragliding is on the bucket list of many tourists who come for a holiday to Cape Town. Apart from the adrenaline that a paragliding flight brings, it is also a fantastic way to 'view' Cape Town from above. The view of Table Mountain, Lions Head, the stadium, the sea, Robben Island. It is all very impressive. Paragliding is the best natural rush there is. The moment your feet come off the ground, everything stops. You no longer think about things that worry you, you don’t think about anything at all. Just enjoying and observing.
The starting point of the flight is Lion's Head or Signal Hill, depending on where the wind comes from. You do not make the flight alone, but always with an instructor. We recommend flying with Para Taxi. This is not a fly-by-night start-up, it is one of the most respected paragliding companies in Cape Town. In addition, it is the only paragliding company in Africa that has been certified by Fair Trade Tourism - which means that they treat the staff fairly and their working method is eco-friendly.
The duration of the paraglide depends on the wind, but a standard 'hover' takes an average of 10-15 minutes. 15 minutes to remember for the rest of your life.
Where to stay
One of the best hotels we have stayed in is called Pod Camps Bay. The hotel itself is beautiful, comfortable, calming and has great views of the ocean. The service was special, staff were attentive and introduced themselves and went out of their way to help. It’s so many little things that make this a remarkable hotel.
We also love that it was built following environmentally friendly construction processes, and that they continue to pursue sustainable management. For example by water and energy saving policies throughout the hotel. We really wish we could have stayed here forever. On booking.com they get an average rating of 9.6.
Best time to visit
Cape Town has a Mediterranean climate. This means it experiences hot summers and mild and rainy winters. In winter most months have more than one hundred millimeters (3.9 inch) of precipitation. In summer months (December to March) it is warm, sunny and dry in Cape Town. For many, this is the ideal time to visit the Cape. Also because the heat is combined with relative low precipitation, this means the humidity is not too high.