The Nelson Mandela Gateway To Robben Island — Attraction in Western Cape

We were very excited and interested to go to Robben Island, to see the place where Mandela and so many other freedom fighters were wrongfully imprisoned. It's pretty much a must-go in Cape Town. Unfortunately, the tour company seems to know this: they have a monopoly on tourist trips to Robben Island, and know that tourists (and locals) will pay the expensive price and be subjected to a sub-par experience, because the alternative is just not going to Robben Island.

We arrived to buy our tickets at about 12:15 for the 1 o'clock ferry. The queue didn't seem too long at the ticket office, about 15 people, so we were hopeful that we would get on the ferry. Well, the queue moved at about 5 minutes per person (we counted). This was because every single person had to show their ID, give their phone number and an emergency contact and their phone number. I get why that may be necessary, but this could have been much better organised, and the staff was very slow.

So we missed the ferry and had to wait for the 3 o'clock one. We were told to get there by 14:30, which we did, only to wait for over an hour in a queue. Our boat departed at about 15:45, the second one, as the first one was too full apparently.

The boat trip was okay, nice view, but the windows were very dirty, so we didn't see it that well.

The tour was divided in 2 phases: one bus trip that took us across the island, and then a guided tour through the prison.

The bus drive was...eh, although I'm prepared to forgive that as it was our guide's first day and he seemed very nervous. But I still think the format of the bus trip could have been better. It was organised as a 20 minute trip over the island, with the guide explaining various sites that we came across on the way. In the middle of the bus trip, we had a 10 minute break, which seemed slightly ridiculous as we had only been driving for 10 minutes. But there was a nice view of Table Mountain and even one of those photo frames that are situated in multiple places across Cape Town. Still, the 10 minute break just seemed like they were trying to stretch out the time spent on the island as much as possible, so as to justify the price.

After the bus trip, we came to the prison and had a guided tour with an ex-inmate. THIS was easily the best part of our experience, and the reason why this review is two stars instead of one. Our guide seemed passionate and it was definitely very interesting to listen to his experiences. However, the tour was much too short, only 40 minutes, and as a result I didn't feel like I learned as much as I could have from him or from the prison in general. In fact, I think I learned more about the Robben Island prison in the Apartheid Museum in Joburg than in the prison itself.

We were told that the tour was about 4 hours, so minus the 2 30 minute boat trips, we expected a 3 hour tour. It was actually just an hour and 10 minutes, and the rest of our time was spent on the boat, waiting for other passengers to get back.

Overall, I think Robben Island is a place one should go, even if it's just so one can empathise more deeply with the people who spent years of their lives there. I just hope that the management will improve and that the tour will become worth the money and the time. I for one know I won't be coming back...

A very informative trip for someone wanting to visit the island and learn its history dating back prior to the Apartheid era. We boarded via the Krotoa ferry which was is an A-class ferry. Comfortable leather seating and onboard history lesson delivered via a pre-recorded video. On the island, you may be in a group that has to walk up to the prison, as the larger group is split into smaller groups, led by a designated tour guide. Remaining groups are driven up in buses. Once at the prison complex, your ex-political prisoner your guide will walk you through the different sections if the prison and provide you info on the apartheid era political imprisonments. Your tour ends with a brief but informative bus tour through the islands residential complexes and historic monuments like the 2 churches and leper cemetery. The bus makes a brief 5 minute break at a rest stop midway where you can use the toilet and grab basic snacks I.e. drinks, bottled water, crisps.

TIPS: check the weather in advance. If it's a hot day, carry sunscreen, an umbrella or a wide brim hat. Majority of the tour involves walking in the scorching sun so be prepared. When you immediately reach the island, dont pass the shop without stopping for some refreshments like juice and water. Your next stop will be mid-way the bus tour and that's nearly time to leave the island in any event. You may be told that video and audio recordings and prohibited. Still photos they said where fine. On our trip, I saw absolutely no wildlife except the odd seagul even though we were told that there are multiple species on the island. It could be because of the scorching summer day heat or because we were mainly taken around the...

My first Robben Island experience as a South African, I think they could lower the prices just a little more for us South African, it was very interesting to hear the point of view from the ex political prisoners that do the tour on the island. Get to the entrance of the Robben island boat early, so you can get a good seat on the boat near a flat screen that plays the history of Robben island on it, a very good watch, if you're lucky like us, we got to see Dolphins chasing the boat. When you get to island youll, diembark and make your way to the busses waiting. GET TO THE BUSSES. AND THE TOUR BEGINS WITH THE BUS DRIVER AND THE GUIDE ON A BUS, WHOSE NOT THE SAME AS THE GUIDE YOULL MEET AT THE PRISON.by the way when you book please go directly to the robbenisland museum website, they have the cheapest tickets, South Africans pay less than international visitors. Its is worth the money, R450 for us South africans, you get a boat ride to the island get to see some parts of the prison get a short ride to one side if the island to take some pics. Try to sit in front of the bus because you embark on and disembark a few times, and time is limited. You can take food along as it's three hours, so take snacks and drinks, i.e., water and cool drinks/juice/ sodas. Go into the office and book your tickets close to the swing bridge. Load shedding effects them, so you can't purchase tickets during loadshedding. They do take cards, but sometimes, because load shedding it doesn't work, so cash might be needed. They take pics as you embark, so be the camera ready. You can purchase the pics after coming back for R50 a picture. Not bad, and quality is good, so keep some...