Table Mountain Cable Car & Hop-on Hop-off Bus Combo, Cape Town

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway

The cableway has carried visitors to the top of Table Mountain since 1929, and the present rotating cabins, in service since 1997, turn a full circle during the five-minute ascent so that everyone sees the city, the ocean and the cliff face without moving from their spot. The lower station sits on Tafelberg Road at about 360 metres; the upper station stands on the summit plateau at just over a thousand metres, with paved paths, viewpoints, a café and a small shop.

Your combo ticket includes the return ride, and the bus drops you at the lower station. The cableway opens from about 08:00 in the morning, with the last car down in the late afternoon in winter and the evening in summer. It closes whenever the wind is too strong, so check the live status before you ride up and go early in the day when the air is usually calmer. Note the annual maintenance closure at the end of July and start of August.

The summit plateau of Table Mountain

Once on top, allow at least an hour. Three marked loop paths lead from the upper station to viewpoints over the City Bowl, Robben Island, Lion's Head and the Atlantic Seaboard; the longest reaches Maclear's Beacon, the mountain's highest point, in about forty-five minutes each way. Rock dassies sun themselves on the boulders, sunbirds feed on the fynbos, and on a clear day you can trace the whole peninsula to Cape Point in the south.

Is Table Mountain worth visiting on a cloudy day? Usually not: when the 'tablecloth' cloud sits on the summit there is nothing to see, so keep your cable car ride for a clear window and use the bus for the rest of the day. Take a warm layer even in summer, as the plateau is several degrees cooler than the city and the wind picks up quickly.

The Red City Tour route

The red route is the backbone of any Cape Town hop-on hop-off day. From the V&A Waterfront it loops through the city centre past the Castle and the Company's Garden, climbs to the lower cableway station, then runs down to the Atlantic coast through Camps Bay and Clifton, along the Sea Point promenade and back to the harbour. The open upper deck gives uninterrupted views of the Twelve Apostles on one side and the sea on the other.

Buses run from the morning until the late afternoon at regular intervals, and the commentary explains each neighbourhood as you pass. Popular stops include Camps Bay for the beach, Sea Point for the promenade and the stop at 81 Long Street, from which the short guided strolls through Bo-Kaap and the historic centre depart on set times. Check the departure board at the stop to plan your afternoon.

The Blue Mini Peninsula route

The blue route heads south from the city over Kloof Nek and along the back of Table Mountain to the southern suburbs, stopping at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, one of the world's great gardens, laid out on the eastern slopes of the mountain with lawns, indigenous fynbos, a treetop canopy walkway and views back to the peaks. From Kirstenbosch the bus continues to Hout Bay, where you can see the fishing harbour, the seals and the craft market, then returns to town via the Atlantic coast.

Because the blue route takes longer to complete, most guests ride the red route in the morning and switch to the blue route after lunch, or save the blue route for a second visit. Kirstenbosch charges its own entrance fee, paid at the gate. Your pass is valid on all routes for the day, so you can combine them freely; a third shorter loop covers the inner city and the Waterfront.

V&A Waterfront and the historic centre

The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront is the most convenient place to start and finish: the main bus stop is next to the Two Oceans Aquarium, the harbour is full of seals and working boats, and there are hundreds of shops and restaurants around the old basins. Robben Island ferries also leave from here, so many guests combine this combo with an island visit on another day.

In the city centre, Long Street and Greenmarket Square are the heart of the old town, with Victorian balconies, markets and cafés. From the Long Street stop you can join the short guided strolls to Bo-Kaap, the brightly painted former Cape Malay quarter on the slopes of Signal Hill, with cobbled lanes and the oldest mosque in South Africa. These strolls are included in the combo and are the best way to understand the city's history before you climb back on the bus.