The Robben Island Museum (RIM) may be temporarily closed due to coronavirus (COVID-19) and the nationwide lockdown, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t experience its history from the comfort of your couch.
Cape Town tourism hit hard by lockdown
The museum is just one of many Cape Town tourist attractions that have been forced to postpone events and close up shop until further notice.
This decisive action was forced on the tourism industry after President Cyril Ramaphosa implemented a 21-day nationwide lockdown in response to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in South Africa.
When will the Robben Island Museum reopen?
The museum has indicated that it hopes to reopen business on Thursday 16 April, the day the lockdown protocol is expected to be lifted.
However, this can’t be guaranteed. The lockdown will only be lifted once the curve of infections has been flattened. Currently, South Africa has registered more than 1 200 known cases of COVID-19, two of which escalated into deaths.
How ticketholders can process refunds
The museum is an important part of South Africa’s history and the fact that it isn’t able to welcome guests from around the world has hampered operations.
Ticketholders have been advised to use the following methods if they wish to process refunds:
- self-refund or re-schedule tickets on their Webtickets profile to the next convenient date (this is dependent on availability and the status of the suspension of tours);
- cash refunds will only be processed at the Nelson Mandela Gateway ticket sales office once operations resume.
Access the Robben Island Museum virtual tour
In the meantime, to bring the RIM experience to the comfort of your home, the museum has launched a virtual tour.
There are two ways in which virtual visitors can gain entry into the museum and get a realistic experience of what life was life in Robben Island.
Those interested in the virtual tour can:
- download the ‘Robben Island Museum’ app on your respective smartphone’s App Store and follow the prompts; or
- use this link.
