Eoin O'Keeffe
Google
Underwhelming and wasted opportunity.
A little conflicted writing this as it should be a humbling and educational experience…BUT…honestly, this feels like a tourist trap and a real lack of effort put into the visitor experience.
Be aware that the whole time is essentially split into 6 parts:
1) 30-40 mins queuing to get on the ferry and have your ticket & photo ID checked.
2) 30 mins sitting on a ferry
3) 1 hour sitting on a bus being driven round the island looking at frankly not very interesting sights, no option to get off and walk and difficult to follow the guide (no clear narrative or structured approach to telling the history).
4) Meeting an ex-prisoner who talks about life in the prison. While this man was clearly genuine and heartfelt, the structure was poor. There is nothing to read, no supporting content or material, and very difficult to follow the narrative. At one point we sat in a blank room being talked at for 40 mins which was not good and very difficult for both children and people who english is not their 1st language - many people looked very bored.
5) Walking pas the old cells and Nelson Mandela’s cell. Again, no other supoorting material or content shared about Mandela himself or his contribution to the world.
6) 30 mins waiting on the ferry before leaving.
Overall I cannot at all recommend this at all, it feels like such a wasted opportunity to educate people about apartheid, Nelson Mandela’s contribution to South Africa and the world and the real life of the prisoners on Robben Island…such a shame that this is actually a bit of a waste of time 😔
