With Aida from South Africa to Mauritius

Travel via Doha to Cape Town

South Africa had been on my to-do list for several years. As a solo traveler, however, I faced the question of how to explore the country?

I have taken several cruises in the past. Therefore, I was immediately thrilled when I stumbled upon this offer from Aida. The following ports were to be visited: starting in Cape Town, Gheberra (Port Elizabeth), East London, Durban in South Africa, Maputo in Mozambique, La Reunion, and Mauritius. This promised a great first impression of the country and its people. So, I booked the cruise with about a year of lead time. The anticipation was huge.

However, 6 weeks before the trip, Aida informed me of the flight times, leading to some disappointment. My arrival in Cape Town was scheduled for around 5 PM. Since the ship was set to depart the same evening at 9 PM, any activities in Cape Town were effectively 'dead'.

But finally, it was time to go. The outbound flight started in Berlin with Qatar Airways. Everything at Berlin Airport went smoothly. It wasn’t a holiday, so it was relatively quiet. Within 15 minutes, I had completed all the formalities.

The flight to Qatar lasted 6 hours. There, I had a 2.5-hour layover and some time to explore the airport, which I found impressive. Everything was well-signposted, and there was a great green area indoors. I then continued with Qatar Airways to Cape Town, which we reached after an 8-hour flight. The immigration process was hassle-free.

Aida staff were on site, and transport to the port was provided via bus. Unfortunately, not without problems. The exit from the airport parking lot was supposed to be done at the parking gate using a parking card. Apparent issues arose with that. So after the long flight, we spent about another hour on the bus waiting to go to the ship. Very frustrating. This dashed any hopes of making a quick detour from the ship to the waterfront.

After a half-hour bus ride, we finally arrived at the port and the Aida Stella. The check-in process went quickly, and after a brief refreshment in the cabin, I enjoyed the incredible view of Table Mountain and Lion's Head from the upper deck. Meanwhile, the sun was setting, which was a fantastic moment!

The evening concluded with a late dinner and a cocktail after departure.