Travel to Cape Town, South Africa

Discover Cape Town 's Wonders

Cape Town is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city located on the southwestern tip of South Africa. It is known for its stunning natural beauty, diverse culture, and rich history. Visitors to Cape Town can take a cable car up to the top of Table Mountain for panoramic views of the city, explore the colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood, visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years. Discover Stellenbosch wine country to sample South Africa's finest vintage, and Boulder's Beach, famous for its colony of African Penguins. Cape Town is also famous for its beaches, such as Clifton and Camps Bay, which are popular with surfers and sunbathers alike. Foodies will love the city's diverse culinary scene, which offers everything from traditional Cape Malay dishes to world-class fine dining. With its mix of culture, natural beauty, and urban energy, Cape Town is a must-visit destination for travelers seeking an unforgettable experience.

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Description

You cannot help but be impressed by the splendour of Cape Town’s location, with the cloud-capped crag of Table Mountain overlooking the skyscrapers and historic buildings of the compact city centre. For many visitors, the cable-car trip to the top and the view from the summit is the high point of a Cape Town holiday. For others, the focal point of the city is the V&A Waterfront, a rejuvenated area of docklands that is now home to some of Cape Town’s best hotels, restaurants, bars and shopping. Here you can see families of seals sunbathe within a few feet of smart café terraces. The city rises from the waterfront to the slopes of Table Mountain, with posh residential suburbs — including the ultra-exclusive enclave of Constantia — overlooking the downtown area. Cape Town has much more to offer than city life. There are excellent beaches just a short distance from the city centre, at spots such as Clifton, Camps Bay and Hout Bay south of the centre and Milnerton and Sunset Beach to the north. Only a short distance to the south lie the wilds of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve — home to a range of wildlife — culminating in the dramatic scenery of Cape Point. Meanwhile, just a short drive from the city and its airport lie the lush vineyards and pretty colonial-era towns of the Winelands region, where some of South Africa’s finest vintages are produced. Cape Town also has a mellow climate that makes it attractive all year, with plenty of sunshine during the winter months making it particularly attractive to visitors from the Northern Hemisphere.

Useful information

Population:

4.7 million (2021)

Currency:

Rand, R1 = 100 cents

Emergency Info:

Emergency: 107
Police: 10111
Ambulance: 10177

Opening Hours:

General: Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–1pm Shopping malls: Daily 9am–7pm Banks: Mon–Fri 9am–3:30pm, Sat 9am–11am

Do & See

Bo Kaap

The colourful Bo Kaap of today is a far cry from its tumultuous beginnings — in the 16th and 17th centuries, slaves brought from Malaysia and Indonesia by the Dutch were forced to reside here. Each house received a fresh coat of bright paint following the end of apartheid, as an act of defiance, expression of individualism and a celebration of freedom at long last.

Bo-Kaap Museum

This excellent museum in the colourful Bo Kaap district (formerly the city's Malay quarter) traces the history of Cape Town’s Islamic culture and heritage. The museum is furnished and decorated to depict the lifestyle of a 19th-century Muslim family.

BOS 400 Shipwreck

This rather secluded wreck is only accessible via a long trek along the coastline, but the scenic walk alone is already worth the drive to the suburb of Hout Bay in Cape Town. The ship broke loose while being towed in 1994 — it was later deemed unsalvageable and left to rust at that very spot, gaining eerie appeal in the years since. Admire the ship wreck from shore. Climbing onto rusted metal is extremely dangerous.

Camps Bay

Camps Bay is a prestigious area and one of Cape Town's most popular beaches. The area houses a number of fantastic restaurants, hotels, sports clubs and entertainment venues, as well as the white sandy beaches and blue waters that keep people coming back for more.

Cape of Good Hope & Cape Point

Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point are two of the most famous and popular tourist spots in Cape Town. There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the most southern tip of Africa, which is not true, as in fact Cape Agulhas is the southernmost point. Both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point are sections of the Table Mountain National Park, where you can see cape lions, spotted hyenas, jackals, elephants and zebras.

Chapman's Peak Drive

Chapman's Peak Drive lures in with stunning views over the Atlantic Ocean, provided that you can handle the steep descents that start immediately off the roadside. Along the trip, there are observation points for stop-overs where you can also buy souvenirs from locals and admire the views without having to constantly keep your eyes on the road.

District Six Museum

This evocative and moving museum commemorates the more than 60,000 non-white inhabitants of District Six who were expelled from this once multi-ethnic neighbourhood when it was declared a ‘whites only’ zone in the 1960s by the Apartheid government. It tells the stories of the forced removals and aims to help reconstruct the community of District Six.

Franschhoek

Franschhoek is a rather small but nonetheless impressive province to the east of Cape Town and, as part of the community of Stellenbosch, also portrayed with idyllic wine farms and lovely landscapes within a great natural reserve. As to its meaning of 'French Corner', this is where the Huguenots came to in the 17th centuries, and both culture and architecture show off a rich history of cultural and (wine)industrial happenings.

Dining

Kloof Street House

Kloof Street House is set in a beautiful old house that perfectly blends elements of Victorian and Colonial decor and design. It is a colonial inspired restaurant but even if you are not hungry their cosy lounge is highly recommended, as are the open-air deck and veranda.

Pigalle Restaurant

Pigalle offers fantastic lunch and dinner menus in a classy and elegant environment, with the sounds of live jazz music in the background. They are renowned for their fresh seafood, tender steaks and extensive wine list, showcasing South African cuisine with a Portuguese twist.

Quay Four Restaurant

Quay Four Restaurant is one of Cape Town's oldest and best restaurants, known all over the world. They serve excellent seafood brassiere, which can be enjoyed on the outdoor tables with harbour views. Quay 4 is also a tavern with a good selection of draught beer.

The Famous Butcher’s Grill

The Famous Butcher’s Grill is a meat-lover's paradise, located in the Cape Town Lodge Hotel’s lobby in the city centre. They specialise in high quality steak, but offer other interesting options, such as ostrich, which can be enjoyed over nightly live music.

The Farm Eatery @ Diemersdal

Located a bit of a ways outside the city of Cape Town, in the area of Durbanville, the Diemersdal Estate is a fantastic winery and restaurant. Spend a lovely afternoon at this countryside farm and enjoy their award winning wine and delicious food. Their lunch menu changes daily and they offer a varied tapas menu.

Cafes

Bean There Coffee Company

The pleasant smell of fresh coffee that hits you as you enter the Bean There Coffee Company is unmistakable and irresistible. They use only fine ethically sourced fair trade coffee, grown exclusively in Africa, to prepare their drinks. You can purchase some of their beans to take home with you.

Bootlegger Coffee Company

Whereas the food served at Bootlegger Coffee Company is all locally sourced, offering burgers, ribs and other filling meals using only products from Cape Town, the coffee is brought from countries all over the world, including Guatemala and Costa Rica guaranteeing the best quality available anywhere.

Café Mojito

Open from 11 in the morning until well after midnight, this Cuban-themed restaurant and bar has an extensive cocktail list and a casual atmosphere. The menu, which features such delights as goat curry and jerk chicken, also has a Caribbean flavour. Enjoy your meal on the sunny street terrace.

Manna Epicure

Manna Epicure, located on Kloof Street, is a superb bakery and restaurant with a seasonal menu that offers a wide variety of dishes. Their bread is baked on site and includes interesting varieties, such as coconut bread, rye with macadamia and cranberries and much more.

Tribe Coffee Roasting & Café

Tribe Coffee Roasting is another sleek and modern cafe, representing devotion to coffee and barista skills. Beans are always freshly roasted and drinks are expertly prepared. Tribe has several locations around the city, offering exquisite coffee for everyone.

Truth Coffee Roasting

Truth Coffee Roasting has topped numerous lists from publications around the world, including being named the World's Best Coffee Shop in 2015 by the Telegraph and "probably the coolest cafe in the world". And it's not hard to see why, with their sleek design and fabulous coffee.

Bars & Nightlife

Asoka

Infinitely stylish and elegant, boasting sleek Asian-themed decor and dim ambient light, Asoka is an intimate lounge bar and restaurant with plenty of character. The menu features Asian fusion cuisine and legendary cocktails, expertly prepared by the resident mixologists.

Bascule

The Cape Grace Hotel’s trendy whisky and wine bar Bascule is the perfect place to watch the sun set over Table Mountain from the waterside terrace. It boasts an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere, and over 500 varieties of whisky and wine from all over the world.

Café Mojito

GrandWest Casino & Entertainment World

Vast and glitzy, the GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World complex boasts multiple bars, restaurants and cinemas, Las Vegas-style cabaret shows, and a luxury hotel. If you do not know where to go or what to do, this is always an option as they have it all.

Long Street

Long Street is an avenue of Georgian and Victorian architecture in central Cape Town that houses many bars of different kinds, restaurants, hotels, and smaller hostels. While a drink at one of the many bar balconies is highly recommended, since this area is considered to be one of Cape Town's hot spots, strolling through the street for admiring the architecture only is also worth the time.

The Dubliner

Two venues in one: Kennedy’s, upstairs, is a stylish, upmarket jazz venue which attracts well-known local and international performers. The Dubliner, downstairs, is a middle-of-the-road Irish theme bar with a resident folk band playing all the old foot-tapping favourites.

Shopping

African Arts & Crafts

African arts and crafts can be found at Greenmarket Square, in the city centre on the corner of Shortmarket Street and Berg Street, which is packed with stalls selling authentic crafts, and at Green Point Flea Market, held every Sunday in the Green Point Stadium car park.

Clarke’s Books

Readers will find a huge range of new and second hand fiction and non-fiction, including rare editions, at Clarke’s bookshop at 199 Long Street. Opened back in 1956, Clarke's has established itself as the best place in the city to find unique and out-of-print publications.

Kloof Street & Long Street

Kloof Street is lined with off-beat fashion boutiques, antique clothes shops, kitsch items and collectibles. On Long Street you'll find the Long Street Antique Arcade, a collection of small antique stalls and shops specialising in smaller objects, jewellery and ceramics, prints and paintings.

The Woodstock Gin Company

The Woodstock Gin Company was founded in 2012 and, since then, produces small batches of premium gin with carefully chosen ingredients and a fully controlled distillation process. While you will get a small insight into their well guarded secrets during a gin tasting, where you try pure gin, gin with herbs and gin with tonic to fully understand these variation of flavours, you can also buy a bottle of your favourite kind to bring home.

Tyger Valley Centre

Adjacent to the Willowbridge Shopping Centre you can find the Tyger Valley Centre. This modern shopping centre offers over 250 stores, including high fashion boutiques and casual clothing outlets, with brands such as Swatch, Zara, Cotton On and Levi's.

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, also known as A&F Waterfront, is a hotspot for tourists as well as locals. It is a harbour with exciting architecture that offers a magnificent view of the sea and the mountain range. The area has more than 250 shops, restaurants, pubs, hotels and cafés that will most likely keep you busy all day.

Victoria Wharf Shopping Mall

The Victoria Wharf Shopping Mall, also at the Waterfront, is the largest mall in the city centre and is a good place to shop for books, local and international newspapers and magazines, casual clothes, sports equipment, safari and beach wear, as well as more mundane necessities such as food, drink, stationery or medical and dental requirements.

Waterfront Craftmarket

Up-market, elegant and contemporary arts and crafts, such as traditional South African textiles, carvings, prints and pottery can be found at the Waterfront Craftmarket on the V&A Waterfront. Boasting a great location by the water, it can be one of many stops on a day of shopping in the area.

Tourist Information

Best Time to Visit

Seasons are reversed in Cape Town as opposed to the Northern Hemisphere (i.e. Europe & the USA). The most popular time to visit is summer, from December to February, when prices are the highest and it's advisable to book in advance. These months are perfect for a beach holiday, and offer the hottest weather (around 22 °C). For lower prices, the shoulder seasons are also good. In March-May it's autumn, the wine season, when you can seize the opportunity to try out the best from Cape Town's wineries. In September-November it's spring, which is the perfect season for a hiking holiday, with flowers in bloom everywhere. Winter comes between June and August and is the low season, with colder temperatures (around 15 °C), but it still has something special to offer: from July to September, you can admire migratory whales on the coastline.

Passport & Visa

Citizens of multiple world countries do not require a visa for stays of up to 90 days. These include: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Citizens of a further 28 countries do not require a visa for stays of up to 30 days: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Eswatini, Gabon, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Jordan, Lesotho, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Peru, Poland, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey. For nationals of countries not listed above, visa requirements apply. Please contact your local consulate for further details on required documentation. Passport holders of Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Uganda can apply for eVisas online provided they will land at O. R. Tambo International Airport. Travellers aged less than 18 years old must provide a birth certificate complete with both parents' details and, if flying with only one of the parents, a parental consent statement signed by the other parent.

Cape Town International Airport (CPT)

Cape Town International Airport is located 20 kilometres (13 miles) from the city centre and is easily accessible from all parts of the city. Shuttle buses connect the airport with the city centre and the trip takes about 45 minutes. Tickets are sold at kiosks inside the terminal. Licensed taxis operate from a rank outside the terminal and take 25-30 minutes to central Cape Town. Luxury hotels also offer chauffeur-driven transfers to and from the airport, bookable through the hotel. Airport shuttle bus tickets are also available from the Cape Town Tourism Visitor Centre in the arrivals hall.

Public Transport

The safest and easiest way to get around town by public transport is the Cape Town Explorer, the city’s official sightseeing bus services, which stop at all the city’s main attractions. You can get on and off as often as you wish, and tickets can be bought on board or at the Cape Town Tourism Visitor Centres in the city centre and the V&A Waterfront. First bus leaves the V&A Waterfront. Public buses, privately-run minibuses and commuter trains operate in and around Cape Town but if you value your comfort, safety and security using them is not a good idea. Minibus safety standards are poor, petty theft is common on buses and trains and violent crime is not uncommon on trains.

Taxi

Taxis are plentiful and affordable. They cannot be flagged down on the street, but operate from ranks at the V&A Waterfront and elsewhere in the city centre or can be booked by phone from any hotel, café, restaurant or bar. A list of recommended companies is available from all Cape Town Tourism Visitor Information Centres. Blacklane, Talixo, Bolt and Uber rideshare apps are used in Cape Town, too.

Electricity

You might encounter four types of power plugs in South Africa: types C, D, M and N. The power grid operates on a 230V supply voltage and 50Hz. Plug type C is the plug which has two round pins. Plug type D is the plug which has three round pins in a triangular pattern. Plug types M and N both have three round pins.

Pharmacy

Popular and trusted pharmacy chains in Cape Town are Dis-Chem and Clicks.

Post

Postal services within and from South Africa are cheap and efficient. Valuables or important documents should be sent by registered post.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best time of year to visit Cape Town?

The best time to visit Cape Town is from late January to April, when the weather is warm and dry. This period offers ideal conditions for outdoor activities and exploring the city's attractions.

What are the must-see attractions in Cape Town?

Must-see attractions in Cape Town include Table Mountain, Robben Island, the V&A Waterfront, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and the Cape of Good Hope. Each offers a unique glimpse into the natural beauty and history of the area.

How can I get around Cape Town efficiently?

Cape Town has a reliable public transport system, including MyCiTi buses and minibus taxis. Renting a car is also a popular option for exploring the city and surrounding areas at your own pace.

Which local dishes should I try in Cape Town?

In Cape Town, try local dishes like bobotie, a spiced minced meat dish, and biltong, a type of cured meat. Also, don't miss sampling Cape Malay curries and fresh seafood like snoek and kingklip.

What are some good neighborhoods to stay in Cape Town?

Popular neighborhoods to stay in Cape Town include the City Bowl for its central location, Camps Bay for its stunning beaches, and Sea Point for its lively atmosphere and ocean views.

How many days should I plan to spend in Cape Town?

Plan to spend at least 4 to 5 days in Cape Town to fully explore its main attractions, enjoy its beaches, and take day trips to nearby areas like the Cape Winelands or the Cape Peninsula.

Are there any day trips worth taking from Cape Town?

Yes, consider day trips to the Cape Winelands for wine tasting, the Cape Peninsula for scenic drives and wildlife, or Hermanus for whale watching during the season.

Trips

Cape Town Discovery

South Africa Explorer

Victoria Falls and South Africa Explorer

Cape Town and Winelands Escapade

South Africa Vacation for Families

Cape Town Pre or Post Cruise

Cape Town Discovery

South Africa Explorer

Victoria Falls and South Africa Explorer

Cape Town and Winelands Escapade

South Africa Vacation for Families

Cape Town Pre or Post Cruise

Cape Town Discovery

South Africa Explorer

Victoria Falls and South Africa Explorer

Cape Town and Winelands Escapade

South Africa Vacation for Families

Cape Town Pre or Post Cruise

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