What to Expect on Robben Island
No trip to Cape Town is complete without a visit to Robben Island, a political prison turned national monument. Unesco declared Robben Island in the Western Cape a World Heritage Site in 1999. Robben Island is located in Table Bay. Robben Island has been used as the prison and a scary place where people were isolated, banished and exiled to for around 400 years.
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Getting there :
Ferries depart for Robben Island from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront. You can expect the tour to last about 3 hours. You can buy your Robben Island Tickets in Advance Online. The tickets are available the same day as well. Some tours and travel agents sell it in advance also. Your tickets can be printed out at the museum or with the reference number they can be printed upon arrival at the museum.
Inclusions
There are 3-5 different types of excursions are offered per day. A $24 ticket includes boat passage to and from Robben Island, a guided tour of the whole island, and also the chance to speak with a former political prisoner on the island.
Even if you book in advance expect a bit of wait time as there are a lot of tourists. You can catch a boat from a jetty which is 30 mins walking from the bus stop. The ride over was smooth and short. 
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The Robben Island Tour
When you arrive on the island you are split into two groups. To manage the tourists and timings, one group goes on a bus tour of the island first at the same time the other groups sees the prison cells and meets a former political prisoners
On the bus tour, a very energetic guide was appointed. He pointed out various interesting points like officers quarters, a church, cemetery, all the departments, and various wildlife. They stopped at the snack stop. Where you can just explore the place by yourself and wait for the next prison cell tour.
As soon as all the others finish their tour they start their bus tour. We were very excited about what is coming next.
In the Prison
The guided tour was very interesting, we found a lot of facts about previous time. They had put each prisoner in solitary confinement. Nelson Mandela did stay in solitary confinement. It was thrilling to see the cell where he spent his most time and grew old.
Critics call Mandela a terrorist while the followers call him a freedom fighter, but whatever you think about Mandela, his transformation on Robben Island is an inspiring story of eternal hope and forgiveness.
There was one Islamic look building which then was explained by the guide, Moturu Kramat and was built in 1969 to commemorate Sayed Abdurahman Moturu. He was the Prince of Madura and one of Cape Town’s imams. H was exiled in the 1740s to Robben Island and later died there.
The buildings on the island are a reminder of its sad and cruel history and because the same buildings also show the power of the human spirit, freedom, courage and the victory of democracy, it was entitled as World Heritage Site.
The tour was 4 hours long, it was relaxing and exciting. Surely a worth visit.