What should I pack for Cape Town?

The single thing visitors underestimate is wind. Not rain, not cold — wind. The southeaster blows from October through March, sometimes hard enough to knock a phone out of your hand on Signal Hill. Even in the dead of summer, Table Mountain manufactures its own weather: you'll leave Sea Point in shorts at 28°C and step off the cableway into 14°C fog and a 40 km/h gust. Three thin layers beat one thick jacket every time. A packable windproof shell — not a rain jacket, something that blocks wind without making you sweat — is the single most useful garment you'll carry. Fleece midlayer for the mountain. Quick-dry base layer underneath. You'll cycle through combinations two or three times a day.

Walking shoes with decent grip are not a suggestion. They're a requirement. Lion's Head's chain-ladder section has polished granite that gets slick with morning dew. Table Mountain's Platteklip Gorge is loose rock and uneven steps for about 600 vertical metres. Even the V&A Waterfront boardwalk has enough cobblestone stretches to punish flat-soled shoes by day two. If you're planning Cape Point, the trail down to Dias Beach involves sand-over-rock footing where ankle support actually matters. Bring shoes you've already broken in. Cape Town will test them.

The sun here is deceptive. Cape Town sits at 34°S with thin atmospheric filtering, and the UV index hits 11+ in summer — that's skin-damage-in-15-minutes territory. Locals know this. Visitors learn it the hard way on their first Camps Bay afternoon, when the breeze off the Atlantic feels cool enough to forget you're cooking. Pack SPF 50+ for your face and a separate sport formula for hiking days. A hat with a full brim, not a baseball cap — the back of your neck burns first. Sunglasses with real UV protection aren't optional when the Atlantic throws white glare at you from every west-facing beach. The water itself? Atlantic side rarely breaks 14°C even in February. If you're swimming at Clifton, a rash guard helps with the cold shock more than it helps with sun.

Skip packing these — they're cheaper or better bought here. Sunscreen is widely available at Dis-Chem and Clicks pharmacies, though prices run close to American ones, so bring your preferred brand if you're particular about it. Adapters: South Africa uses Type M plugs — the big three-round-pin kind that almost nothing else in the world uses. You can grab one at Cape Town International's arrivals shop for about R80 (roughly $5 USD), but packing one saves the scramble. A universal adapter won't fit Type M sockets without a dedicated South African insert, and most don't include one. Wine from any Checkers or Pick n Pay runs R60-120 per bottle for Western Cape labels that would cost $15-25 back home.