Cape Point & Boulders Penguins Full-Day Tour from Cape Town

Maiden's Cove and the Twelve Apostles

The day starts gently. After pickup we drive along the Atlantic Seaboard to Maiden's Cove, a small rocky point between Clifton and Camps Bay with tidal pools and a clear line of sight along the whole bay. Behind the white sand of Camps Bay the Twelve Apostles mountain range rises in a row of buttresses, and to the north Lion's Head stands on its own. It is the classic first photograph of any Cape Town tour.

Our guide uses this first stop to explain the geography you will follow all day: the Atlantic side of the peninsula to the west, False Bay to the east, and Cape Point at the far southern tip. Plan on about fifteen minutes here. From Maiden's Cove the route continues along Victoria Road through Bakoven and Llandudno, with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other.

Hout Bay harbour

Hout Bay is a working fishing harbour tucked into a bay ringed by mountains, about twenty minutes south of Camps Bay. The waterfront has fishing boats, a small craft market and a colony of Cape fur seals that haul out on the harbour wall, close enough to photograph from the quay. The tour allows about an hour here, which is enough to stroll the harbour and, if you wish, join the optional boat trip to Duiker Island, known locally as Seal Island, where thousands of seals crowd the rocks.

The Seal Island boat ride takes roughly forty-five minutes and is paid on the day; it runs in reasonable sea conditions only. If you prefer to stay on land, the harbour cafés and the view across the bay to the Sentinel peak make the stop worthwhile on its own. Hout Bay is also where Chapman's Peak Drive begins, so the most scenic part of the day follows immediately.

Chapman's Peak Drive

Chapman's Peak Drive links Hout Bay with Noordhoek along nine kilometres of road cut into the cliff, with more than a hundred bends and the sea directly below. It was built between 1915 and 1922 and is one of the most photographed roads in South Africa; the toll is included in this tour. Our driver stops twice at the viewpoints so you can take in the whole sweep of Hout Bay behind you and the long white Noordhoek beach ahead.

The road occasionally closes after heavy rain or rockfall, in which case we take the inland route over Ou Kaapse Weg, which has its own mountain views over False Bay. Either way, this is the moment many guests remember most from their Cape Point day trip from Cape Town. Keep your camera ready: the light on the cliffs is best in the morning when we pass.

Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point

The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve is the southern section of Table Mountain National Park, a wild expanse of fynbos, rocky coast and empty beaches at the tip of the peninsula. The Cape of Good Hope itself is the most south-western point of the African continent, marked by the famous wooden sign where everyone poses. Nearby, Cape Point rises in sheer cliffs topped by two lighthouses: the old one from 1859 high on the summit and the newer, lower light from 1919 that still guides ships today.

Entrance to the reserve is paid at the gate and is not included; the gates open from early morning and close in the late afternoon. You can walk up to the old lighthouse in about fifteen minutes or ride the Flying Dutchman funicular, which is an optional extra. Watch for ostriches, bontebok and baboons along the road, and never feed the baboons. Our guide explains the reserve's biodiversity and the history of the sea route round the Cape while you take in the views across False Bay.

Boulders Beach penguin colony

Boulders Beach, just south of Simon's Town, is one of the few places in the world where you can watch African penguins at close range on the mainland. The colony began in 1982 when a couple of breeding pairs settled among the granite boulders, and it has grown into a protected colony with wooden boardwalks that lead you through the bush to Foxy Beach, where the birds nest, preen and waddle down to the water a few metres away.

The colony is part of Table Mountain National Park, so a conservation fee is paid at the entrance; it is not included in the tour. The tour spends about an hour here, which gives you time on the boardwalks and a look at the sheltered beach itself. The penguins are present year-round, with chicks most visible in the breeding months. Is Boulders Beach worth visiting? For most guests it is the highlight of the day, especially for children.

Simon's Town and Muizenberg

Simon's Town has been a naval harbour since the early nineteenth century and still houses the South African Navy. Its main street is lined with Victorian buildings, small shops and seafood restaurants overlooking the harbour. We stop here for about seventy-five minutes so you can have lunch at your own pace; lunch is not included, which lets you choose anything from fish and chips on the quay to a sit-down meal in a historic building.

The last stop is Muizenberg on the False Bay coast, famous for its row of brightly painted Victorian beach huts and its gentle surf, where many Capetonians learn to surf. The beach is watched over by shark spotters on the mountainside above, a local system that keeps swimmers safe. We take a short photo stop here before the forty-five-minute drive back to Cape Town, arriving in the late afternoon.