Top Things to Do in Cape Town

Cape Town is the beautiful coastal capital of South Africa. Known for its beautiful scenery located beneath Table Mountain, there’s much to explore in the area. In this guide to Cape Town, I’ll cover everything you need to know to plan a perfect trip based on my experience.

Let’s get started!

Cape Town Basic Information

Cape Town is one of the two main cities travelers fly into when visiting South Africa and has a wider variety of things to do as compared to Johannesburg. A few key things to know before visiting are:

Visa and MasterCard credit cards are widely accepted in Cape Town, but some of the smaller vendors will only accept cash. The official currency is the South African Rand, and you should plan on getting some Rand to bring with you before departing on your trip.
Visas are not required for American or British citizens but check with your local embassy before departing in case policies change.
Tipping in South Africa is at your own discretion, but a general rule of thumb is to tip 5-10% for restaurants and $1-2 USD for other services such as porters or maids.
South Africa uses a variety of outlet types and can use either a type D, M, or N. Plan to bring an international adapter with you that has a variety of plug types.
Uber is very popular in Cape Town and an easy way to get around the city. You should only have to wait a few minutes to get an Uber and trips across the city can cost less than $5.
Load shedding is very prevalent in Cape Town because of the city’s strained electrical grid. During times of load shedding, power will be discontinued for certain areas for a given length of time according to a schedule. You can view current load shedding through Cape Town’s government website. I found the app helpful in determining when load shedding would be in place depending on where we were in the city on a given day. Plan ahead as hotels might lose power if they do not have generators, restaurants may be unable to prepare hot food, and some attractions may be closed during load shedding.

Trekker Tip: Pack an external battery so you can charge your electronic during load shedding.

Things To Do in Cape Town

Explore Cape Town

Take some time to explore all that Cape Town has to offer. A popular place to explore is the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront (also known as the V&A Waterfront). Spend some time walking around the various shops, check out the local sculptures, and stop at one of the numerous restaurants. This is probably the best place to find that perfect souvenir to take home. On a clear day, you’ll also have a great view of Table Mountain from this area.

A short walk from the V&A Waterfront is the Old Biscuit Mill. Here you will find local boutiques, restaurants, and food stalls. If you are visiting on a Saturday or Sunday the Neighbourgoods Market sets up outside the Old Biscuit Mill and offers even more local vendors to check out.

If the weather is poor or if you’re interested in learning more about marine life in South Africa, a great place to explore is the Two Oceans Aquarium. Tickets cost between R110-R235 for children and adults. Plan on spending a couple of hours here looking at the fish, turtles, sharks, and more. My favorite part was seeing the penguins. When we were there the staff was moving the penguins from one exhibit to another so we got to watch the penguins walk right in front of us.

Another popular place to walk through is the Bo-Kaap neighborhood. Here you can check out the colorful houses and stop by the Bo-Kaap Museum. This area does not take long to explore so you can pair this with a walk through the V&A Waterfront. However, if you plan on visiting at night, I’d recommend taking a short car ride through the neighborhood instead of walking around.

Cape Point and Peninsula Tour

One of the top things you must do when visiting Cape Town is to explore the southern cape. We took a private full-day tour when visiting and this is probably the best way to explore the region. A short drive from Cape Town we stopped at Clifton and Camps Bay where we had beautiful views of the beach with mountains in the distance.

Our next stop was at Hout Bay where we boarded a boat and took a short trip to Seal Island. During our short boat ride, we saw a couple dozen seals taking in the sun by lying on rocks.

We continued our drive along Chapman Peak and stopped at a couple more overlooks that had great views of the ocean and large cliffs. We then took a short break at Noordhoek Farm Village. At the village, there was a pastry shop where we bought some coffee and snacks we could enjoy on our drive. There was also a great ice cream shop here that you won’t want to miss. We were planning on having a late lunch so it was nice getting some food so we wouldn’t be too hungry by the time we ate lunch.

On the road again, we headed towards False Bay. It was named False Bay because sailers used to sail around South Africa and reach False Bay thinking they had finally reached the Cape of Good Hope. Here we took a quick stop for more spectacular views of cliffs and the ocean. Back in the car we drove a bit further and reached the Cape of Good Hope. We took the funicular to the top of the lighthouse for fantastic views of the ocean.

Trekker Tip: When load shedding is in effect the funicular may not be running. Take note of the load shedding times so you arrive when there is power to the funicular.

From the Cape of Good Hope, we had about a 45-minute drive to get to Boulders Beach. This was my favorite part of the trip because the beach is home to a breeding colony of African penguins. We took a nice walk along the boardwalks next to the beach and saw at least 100 penguins. We even saw quite a few extra fluffy baby penguins!

From Boulders Beach we had a 5-minute drive to the Harbour House restaurant for lunch. The restaurant had panoramic views of the ocean and we were able to watch huge waves come into the harbor. However, we were only able to enjoy the views for a few minutes as it then started pouring down rain.

After lunch, our final stop was supposed to be at Kirstenbosch Gardens which is a large botanical garden at the base of Table Mountain. However, because it was raining extremely hard we decided to skip this stop. But if you have good weather it seems like it would be a nice place to take an afternoon stroll.

Table Mountain

One of the most iconic sites in Cape Town is the towering Table Mountain. You can see the mountain from almost anywhere in the city when the weather is nice. However, it is common in Cape Town for the clouds to come in and cover the top of the mountain obstructing your view. So if you want to see Table Mountain, plan to spend a few days in town in hopes that one day provides clear weather.

The best way to see Table Mountain on a clear day is from the top! From the top, you’ll have spectacular views of the city, beaches, and ocean. There are 2 ways to get to the top of Table Mountain: hike or cable car.

Only plan on hiking Table Mountain if the weather is good as it is quite a steep hike. The most popular trail is the Platteklip Gorge hike which is a 1.8-mile hike to the top. It is quite a steep trail so plan on wearing good shoes and bring plenty of water with you. It takes about 2 hours to hike to the top of the mountain where you’re rewarded with incredible views. You can plan on taking the same trail back down or hop on the cable car.

We chose not to spend half a day hiking and instead took the cable car to the top so we could see more of Cape Town during our trip. The weather was pretty poor when we visited so we only had one day where it wasn’t windy and the cable car was able to run. We visited after lunch and there was no line for the cable car. However, we saw a long roped-off area that looked like it gets used to control lines when many people are visiting. When we got in the cable car we were surprised to find out the floor of the cable car turns so no matter where you’re standing you get views of Cape Town and Table Mountain. At the top, there was a cloud covering the mountain, so we had a better view from the cable car than at the top of the mountain. But we had a nice time walking around the short trails and checking out the souvenir shop. If you’re hungry there’s also a little restaurant you can stop at at the top.

Robben Island

Another can’t miss thing to do in Cape Town is take a ferry to Robben Island. The island is a short distance off the coast of Cape Town and was used as a prison for political prisoners during the reign of apartheid. Most notably, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for 18 years before he later went on to become the President of South Africa.

You can take a ferry from the Robben Island Museum in the V&A Waterfront to Robben Island at 9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, and during peak season from September through April, another ferry runs at 3 pm. Plan on spending about 4 hours on the tour including the half-hour ferry ride each way. On the ferry, videos play explaining more of the history of Robben Island from the 1600s to the present.

On the island, you will board a bus that will take you around the island and will have a guide that will talk about the history. One of the places the bus stops at is a quarry where prisoners were forced to do hard labor each day without any protection from the sun. The bus also makes a short stop at a lookout point where on a very clear day you can see Table Mountain off in the distance. At this stop, there’s an opportunity for a bathroom break and to buy some snacks and drinks.

The final stop was at the prison itself where the tour guides are all former political prisoners who were imprisoned at Robben Island. Hearing first-hand experiences from these prisoners is extremely moving and gives you a better understanding of what all they went through. Our tour guide told us how he became a prisoner after staying late at his high school one night with other teenagers discussing how they could attempt a peaceful protest. He took us around the prison and we were able to see how the prison looked at different points in time and the “improvements” made to the prison over the years such as allowing prisoners to have beds to sleep on. In the cells, there are stories about the prisoners who lived there and why they were imprisoned. We then got to see Nelson Mandela’s cell and walked the courtyards where prisoners were allowed time outside.

After visiting the prison, you’ll get back on the ferry and return to Cape Town. The ferry drops off at the Robben Island Museum, and if you have a few extra minutes, plan on looking around the free museum to learn more about the history of Robben Island.

Shark Cage Diving

One of the things we were most looking forward to when visiting Cape Town was the opportunity to go cage diving with great white sharks. About a 2-hour drive from Cape Town is the city of Gansbaai which is one of the top places in the world to go cage diving with great whites. We booked a tour that picked up in Cape Town and drives you to Gansbaai, which given the distance meant an early morning wake-up call. Unfortunately, when we visited the weather was quite poor, and was unsafe to go out on a boat so we were unable to go on the tour. However, if we go back to Cape Town, this will definitely be on our list to try again!

Just note, that on these tours, there is no guarantee that you will see a great white shark. Populations of great whites in the area have been decreasing over the years and there are now only a few hundred that live in this area. Either way, I think it would still be a fun experience seeing all the marine wildlife.

Stellenbosch Wine Region

We are not big wine drinkers so we did not visit the Stellenbosch region when we traveled to Cape Town, but if you enjoy tasting some new wines, you’ll definitely want to take a trip to Stellenbosch. This area is the most famous wine-producing region in South Africa and is home to over 150 wineries. The Stellenbosch area is only about 40 minutes from Cape Town so you can easily take an Uber to visit the region.

While you’re here plan on visiting a winery or two for a wine tasting and grab a bite to eat. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can take a hot balloon tour over the area and enjoy your wine with a spectacular view. Plan ahead though, while some wineries let you walk in others will require you to make a reservation in advance.

Where to Stay

We stayed in Cape Town at both the beginning and end of our trip to South Africa, so we tried staying in two different hotels in different areas of town.

The first place we stayed was at the Cloud 9 Boutique Hotel off Kloff Nek Rd in the Cape Town City Center. This hotel is located between Table Mountain and the waterfront and offers great views all around. The hotel offers a restaurant, rooftop bar, and a plunge pool. There are also plenty of restaurants within walking distance if you want to try some local food. Breakfast was included in the hotel and is made to order. However, there was only one person working in the restaurant for breakfast so service was quite slow. So unless you have an hour for breakfast you might want to eat somewhere else.

The second place we stayed was at the Commodore Hotel in the V&A Waterfront district. This is a more upscale hotel that is situated only a block away from the ocean. The hotel offers a restaurant, pool, gym, spa, concierge service, and more. Because we had an evening flight out of Cape Town, the hotel was happy to provide us with secure bag storage after we checked out of our room. Breakfast was included in the price of the hotel and had an enormous breakfast buffet with options for everyone. We also enjoyed a drink at the lounge as we had some time to relax before getting transferred to the airport. The proximity to the restaurants and shops in the V&A Waterfront was great as we could safely walk around.

While both options were great locations to stay, if we returned to Cape Town, I would probably stay at the Commodore again because of its ideal location and amenities even though it was more expensive than the Cloud 9 Boutique. But if you’re traveling on a tighter budget, you won’t go wrong staying at the Cloud 9 Boutique Hotel.

Where to Eat

For an unforgettable experience, you must go to GOLD Restaurant. Located in the V&A Waterfront district, GOLD offers an immersive African dining experience. They offer a pre-set meal of 14 dishes of traditional African food. If you visit for dinner, you’ll also be treated to local entertainment consisting of dancing, singing, and puppetry. They also had someone come by each table and offer traditional African face painting. At the end of the night you could also join the entertainers on stage and learn a traditional African dance. This restaurant is extremely popular so make sure to book a reservation in advance, and trust me you definitely won’t want to miss this.

If you’re looking for more familiar food, you can check out Kapstadt Brauhaus for some burgers, pizza, milkshakes, and beer. The restaurant is located in the V&A Waterfront district across from the Robben Island Museum, so we decided to stop here for a bite to eat after returning from Robben Island as we were looking for a nice quick meal.

Next to the Cloud 9 Boutique Hotel is Miller’s Thumb restaurant. This was a quaint little restaurant that had the best tomato soup I think I’ve ever had. They offer a variety of food options from chicken, steak, and fish to pasta and Asian dishes. If you stay at the Cloud 9 Boutique Hotel, definitely make a reservation to eat here and you won’t be disappointed.

If you’re visiting Boulder’s Beach and looking for a nice spot to eat, plan on checking out the Harbour House. It is located right on the ocean just a few minutes away from Boulder’s Beach and offers spectacular panoramic views. Most of the food offered is seafood and they also have a large sushi menu. They do also have a few non-seafood options such as steak and lamb and a couple vegetarian options as well.

What to Pack

Bring some South African Rand to pay local vendors since not all places accept credit cards.
Pack a universal power adapter so all your electronics remain charged.
Pack an external battery so your electronics can remain charged during load shedding.
Sunscreen is a must as you’ll spend a lot of time outside.
Always bring a water bottle so you stay hydrated.
Take a camera so you can capture every moment!