Discover Cape Town and the Cape

Set on the south-western tip of South Africa, the city also makes a wonderful starting point to explore further along the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts, down to the tip of Cape Point, following the Garden Route or discovering one of the Cape’s national parks and game reserves.

Exploring Cape Town

This buzzing city is a vibrant fusion of culture, cuisine and scenery, whether you’re hoping to uncover history or culture, not to mention designer shops and local markets plus a string of stylish bars and restaurants serving some of the best food and drink in the region.

Explore the colourful Bo-Kaap neighbourhood, the traditional centre of Cape Malay culture and cuisine, with minarets peeking out between the rainbow shades of the houses. Don’t miss a few local dishes, developed by the descendants of enslaved people brought from Dutch colonies in south-east Asia. There’s more history to be found at the District Six Museum too, covering the years of apartheid.

Or wander the Seafront Promenade which hugs the coast, while the city’s four beaches are to be found behind Signal Hill at Clifton – expect the water to be bracing as it comes straight from the Antarctic.

The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

One of the highlights of your time in Cape Town is a visit to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, home to the Two Oceans Aquarium, a string of boat trips (including to Robben Island), an observation wheel and a series of waterfront bars and restaurants.

At one end you can wander through Nobel Square with its statues of Nelson Mandela and other South African Nobel Prize winners, before browsing the Watershed craft market. At the other, head to the Zeitz MOCAA (Museum of Contemporary Art Africa), home to 500 separate works, ranging from canvas to photos, sculptures, video and other installations, featuring artists from across Africa and the African diaspora.

Watch out for the pedestrian swing bridge too, which opens as boats pass between the Victoria and Alfred Basins.

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town

Robben Island

The Dutch East India Company were the first to turn Robben Island into a prison, after previously using it as a supply station, before it later became a leper colony. But it’s the island’s 20th century role that’s most famous, when it was used as a maximum-security prison for political prisoners during the Apartheid Era, most famously Nelson Mandela.

Since the prison’s closure in 1996, it has been turned into a museum and place of remembrance and named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with tours introducing visitors to the various historic locations on the island, from buildings and walls created by prisoners but also other places from the island’s 500-year history, including a graveyard for those who died from leprosy and quarries where prisoners were forced to labour. There’s also a chance to see Nelson Mandela’s cell.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is one of the world’s greatest botanical gardens, home to over 7,000 species of plants from southern Africa, and located at the foot of Table Mountain.

Part of the UNESCO-protected Cape Floral Region, it’s a wonderful place to stroll even if you’re not a gardening aficionado, with forests and grassy lawns, little streams and some of the area’s most interesting flora, including proteas.

You can head up to the canopy walkway, nicknamed the ‘Boomslang’, which snakes through the treetops in the arboreum, or head to the valley of cycads, along the fynbos walk or through the sculpture garden.

Table Mountain

Table Mountain

Looming above Cape Town, this flat-topped mountain is often spotted with its ‘tablecloth’ of cloud on top, and for a chance to discover one of the best natural attractions in Cape Town – along with some spectacular views – you shouldn’t miss a chance to venture to the top.

There’s a revolving cable car to whisk you up if you don’t fancy hiking, with walking trails to explore the surrounding area, including up to Maclear’s Beacon, the mountains’ highest point.

The protected area is rich in wildlife, including the Table Mountain ghost frog, found only here, as well as rare chances to spot porcupines, various reptiles and klipspringer, a type of antelope. Look out too for rock hyrax, or dassies as they’re known, small furry mammals which are unexpectedly related to elephants.

Northern Cape Peninsula

From Cape Town, it’s an easy journey to explore the rest of the Cape Peninsula, especially the northern stretches. Pretty Hout Bay grew up around the need for timber for the first Dutch settlers, before forts were added along the coast for defence, and later a thriving fishing industry developed. Today it’s a picturesque place to stop before heading up the scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive.

Or continue on to the historic naval base of Simon’s Town, another historic spot that’s now home to the South African Navy, as well as to Boulders Beach, home to a colony of African penguins. False Bay, to the east of the peninsula, is one of the best places to spot the Marine Big 5 too - whales, dolphins, seals, Great White Sharks and African penguins.

Hout Bay, Northern Cape Peninsula

Cape of Good Hope

At the far south of the Cape Peninsula, you’ll find the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, where the Cape Lighthouse has guided ships through the once perilous waters for over a century – the area’s other name is Cape of Storms for good reason.

The area isn’t Africa’s southernmost point – that’s Cape Agulhas, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet – but this is where the warmer Agulhas Current from Mozambique and the chilly Benguela Current from the South Atlantic flow together.

With hiking trails to explore the rugged scenery, you’ll also find beaches and shipwrecks to discover along this dramatic stretch of coast; 26 ships are recorded along the coastline, with one in easy walking distance on the Olifantsbos trail.

There’s wildlife to spot too, from baboons to dassies, plus ostriches, Cape mountain zebras, various antelope and birds galore, not to mention the occasional Southern Right Whale to spy off the coast during winter.

Stellenbosch vineyards, near Cape Town

The winelands

Almost as soon as the Dutch East India Company had landed at Table Bay, they started planting vines, realising that the area’s Mediterranean climate was ideal for growing grapes. Today it’s the oldest wine industry outside Europe, and an easy day trip from Cape Town to some of the best-known towns, such as Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

To see more, drive Cape Route 62, the longest wine route in the world, which passes vineyards in the lush valleys as well as a string of pretty towns. You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to tastings (although you may need to book these in advance) and there’s even hop-on hop-off tram routes around Franschhoek to enjoy a few vintages, often accompanied by local cheese.

If you can’t make it into the winelands, Cape Town’s leafy suburb of Constantia offers a taste, with its own vineyards and wineries to discover.

Hermanus

One of the world’s best whale-watching destinations, you don’t even have to get out onto the water to see these marine mammals, as Southern Right Whales swim into the area’s sheltered coves to mate and calve.

The whale-watching season runs from June to November, although the best months to see the whales are between August and October. During this time, Southern Right whales migrate from Antarctica to the comparatively warmer waters around South Africa, giving you the chance to spot their young as the season goes on, as well as unforgettable displays during the mating season.

Between June and August, Humpback Whales also join the sightings as they pass through on the migration to their own breeding grounds in the Indian Ocean’s warmer waters. There’s the chance to see huge pods of dolphins and Bryde’s whales year-round too, along with Cape Fur Seals.

Arniston

Arniston

Travel back in time at Arniston, a Dutch colonial fishing village which has been declared a national monument. With pretty thatched and whitewashed cottages, as well as dunes lining the rugged coast, it’s also popular with artists and photographers, who come to capture the timeless views.

Originally known as Waenhuiskrans – which translates as “wagon house cliff”, named after a cave in a seaside cliff large enough to accommodate an ox-wagon – it later became known as Arniston after a ship which was wrecked offshore in 1815. Although the original name was never officially changed, Arniston stuck and today both are used.

Tsitsikamma National Park, Garden Route

The Garden Route

One of the world’s great drives, the Garden Route is the perfect way to explore the Cape coast, taking you 190 miles from Mossel Bay, Western Cape to Storms River, Eastern Cape. Along the way, you’ll pass Tsitsikamma National Park, the sparkling lagoon of Knysna, and the arid plains of the Karoo, three of the Cape’s best-known national parks.

There’s also a chance to explore traditional Dutch settlements, including Swellendam and Oudtshoorn (known for having the world’s largest ostrich population) as well as some eye-catching scenery, such as the Huis River Pass, the Breede Valley and the Langeberg Mountain Range. There’s also a chance for more whale-watching at Plettenberg Bay, with whales to be seen from May to February, particularly between June and November.

National Parks

The Cape is home to a string of national parks and game reserves, whether you’re looking for natural beauty, such as around Table Mountain, or a chance to tick off some of Africa’s Big Five.

Addo Elephant Park

The third largest national park in South Africa, there’s a chance to spot not only the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) at Addo Elephant National Park but also the Big Seven, which includes the Southern right whale and great white shark off the coast.

What helps Addo stand out is its elephant population, as the name suggests, with more than 600 living in the park. So you’re not only guaranteed some fantastic sightings, there’s a chance to see larger herds and elephants at all ages of life. It’s also home to more than 400 Cape Buffalo, along with lions and spotted hyena.

Tsitsikamma National Park

One of the highlights of a drive along the Garden Route, Tsitsikamma National Park is all about the scenery; its name means ‘place of abundant water’, and it’s not hard to see why, with the Storms River running through its heart and the park lined with coast, including a marine conservation area.

There’s plenty to explore on land, such as the wonderful Otter Trail to hike, and a chance to discover to cascading waterfalls and forests filled with Outeniqua Yellowwood trees.

Keurbooms River Nature Reserve

Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site of mountain valleys, forests and quiet river beaches, the area is a haven for plant and animal life. If you’re lucky, you might spot a Cape clawless otter in the river, while bird-lovers will be in heaven with a whole string of species making their home here, including giant kingfishers and orioles.

It’s easy to head out onto the water too, whether you prefer to soak up the views on a boat trip, or get closer by kayaking along the river.

Kariega Game Reserve

This family-owned, malaria-free reserve in the Eastern Cape is another great place to spot the Big Five and a perfect location for a classic African safari experience without needing to visit the larger reserves further north.

There’s the option to spot lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard from a cruise along the river here, as well as on traditional game drives in the morning and late afternoon, as the animals become more active.

The Great Karoo

This vast, unforgiving landscape is also known as the ‘Place of Thirst’, but despite the harsh conditions in the Great Karoo, you’ll also find a surprising array of wildlife in the semi-desert region, including a wide variety of birds.

The Karoo National Park in the Western Cape is a small part of the whole Great Karoo, with a chance to join game drives, as well as hiking, biking or heading off on 4x4 trails.

West Coast National Park

Also found in the Western Cape, West Coast National Park is unique in South Africa for its large lagoon, making it popular with birders and watersports-lovers alike. You can also walk and cycle through the wetlands and fynbos shrubland, as well as following the guided hike known as Eve’s Trail, following in the ancient footsteps of ‘Eve’, a woman thought to have been alive around 117,000 years ago, and whose footprint was discovered preserved in rock in 1995.

Discover Cape Town and the Cape on one of our escorted tours of South Africa, including our tour Contrasts of the Cape, which includes time in Cape Town and the Cape's winelands, national parks and game reserves.