Robben Island Ferry & Prison Tour from the V&A Waterfront

The Robben Island ferry gateway at the V&A Waterfront

The journey begins at the ferry gateway in the Clock Tower precinct of the V&A Waterfront, where the Robben Island Museum has its departure hall, ticket desks and a small exhibition that sets the scene before you sail. With the pickup option our driver brings you here from your hotel with time to spare; with the meeting-point option you make your own way and check in at least thirty minutes before the ferry.

If you are wondering how to get to Robben Island, this ferry is the only way: the island is a protected museum and there is no other public access. Robben Island tickets are limited and sell out days ahead in high season, which is why booking through us in advance matters. The ferries depart several times a day, and the island's opening hours follow the ferry timetable, roughly from morning to mid-afternoon.

The crossing of Table Bay

The ferry leaves the harbour past the breakwater and crosses Table Bay to the island, about eleven kilometres away, in roughly thirty minutes. Looking back you see the whole Cape Town skyline framed by Table Mountain, Lion's Head and Signal Hill, the view that prisoners could see from the island and that made their isolation so painful. Seals, dolphins and seabirds are sometimes spotted on the way and never guaranteed.

The bay can be choppy, especially in winter and when the south-easter blows in summer, so take seasickness medication beforehand if you are sensitive. In rough seas the museum may cancel sailings for safety; in that case we help you rebook another day or arrange a refund. The ferry has indoor seating and an open deck for photographs.

The guided bus tour of the island

On landing you board a bus with a museum guide for a tour of the island that lasts about forty-five minutes. Robben Island was used over the centuries as a place of banishment, a leper colony, a military base during the Second World War and, from the 1960s to 1991, a maximum-security prison for political prisoners. The bus passes the lime quarry where prisoners did hard labour in blinding white light, the leper graveyard, the small village where staff lived and the lighthouse built in 1864.

You also see the house where one of the leaders of the struggle was held in isolation for years, and the shoreline looking back at Cape Town. Is Robben Island worth visiting? For most travellers it is the most moving experience of the Western Cape, and the bus tour gives the context that makes the prison visit afterwards so powerful.

The maximum-security prison

The second part of the island programme is the tour of the former maximum-security prison, led by a former political prisoner who was held there. Walking through the gates, the communal cells, the courtyard and the narrow isolation cells of the B section, you hear first-hand how the prisoners lived, worked, studied and organised, and how the island became a symbol of the struggle against apartheid and of reconciliation after it.

The prison tour lasts around forty-five minutes and is conducted on foot inside the buildings; it is wheelchair accessible with notice. Photography is allowed in most areas. The whole island programme, from landing to re-boarding the ferry, takes about two and a half hours, after which the return crossing brings you back to the Waterfront gateway, where our driver is waiting if you booked the transport option.

Planning your Robben Island day in Cape Town

The best time to visit Robben Island is the morning, when the sea is usually calmest and the light on Table Mountain is clearest for the return crossing; the first departures are also the least affected by afternoon wind. Allow four and a half to five hours door to door with transport, and combine it with the Waterfront's shops, the aquarium or a harbour cruise for a full day without leaving the area.

A Robben Island tour from Cape Town works in any season, though winter sailings are cancelled more often. Dress in layers, bring a windproof jacket and comfortable shoes, and carry only what you need; there is a café on the island and at the gateway but lunch is not included. Children are welcome and older children in particular take a great deal from the visit.