For destinations not near the minibus routes, phone Rikki's (423-4888), which will load you into its teeny pickups (bakkies) and take you anywhere in town, including the Table Mountain cableway station, for $1.25 to $1.90. Taxis flag at $.75  and cost $1.50 per kilometer ; reliable companies include Sea Point Taxis $1.25/kilometer (434-4444) and Marine Taxis (434-0434). Use them at night when the streets become less safe.

Which brings us to crime. It's true that theft occurs here more often than in many American cities. Counter it by taking the same precautions you'd take in any new city. By keeping my appearance neutral, my wallet light, and not wandering around on foot at night, I spent six months here without even a hint of trouble. The bombings splashed all over the media are overplayed; usually targeted at gay bars and police, in the last three years they've led to three deaths - no different than tourist-thronged London. Simple street smarts should see you through quite nicely; don't let scare stories cheat you out of the eye-opening, mind-expanding experience that is Cape Town.

A Cape crusade

South African Airways (800/722-9675, flysaa.com) and Delta (800/221-1212, delta.com) fly direct to Cape Town from Atlanta (15 hours); SAA returns via Fort Lauderdale.

Specialty travel vendors such as Magical Holidays (800/228-2208) and 2Afrika (877/200-5610, 2afrika.com) can often cut you a deal for $1,090 or so round-trip, usually via Europe. You may pare costs slightly by flying into Johannesburg (served by more airlines, and by SAA from New York) and taking a two-hour connecting flight (about $150 round-trip). Recently, Iberia Airlines (iberia.com) has been slashing rates down to the $500 level; we have no idea how long that will last, however. Air France (airfrance.com) is one final source to check.

2Afrika also offers air/hotel packages that in the October/November shoulder season, for example, can mean $995 plus taxes for extendable round-trip airfare and five nights' hotel in town.

To book B&Bs in the Western Cape area try the Portfolio Collection (portfoliocollection.com), which lists nearly 300.

For more information, call 212/730-2929 or visit gocapetown.co.za. When dialing Cape Town, use the prefix 011-27-21.