Cape Town

Cape Town sits where Table Mountain meets the Atlantic at the south-western tip of Africa. The Dutch East India Company founded it in April 1652, it is now South Africa’s legislative capital, and it is the obvious place to start a first trip to the country. People come for the mountain, the beaches, the wine farms within an hour’s drive and the ferry to Robben Island, and most wish they had booked more days.

Getting there

Cape Town International Airport is about 20 km east of the centre. The MyCiTi A01 bus runs to the Civic Centre station in town every 20 to 30 minutes and takes about half an hour; you need a myconnect card because the bus takes no cash. Most visitors use Uber or Bolt from the signed pick-up zones.

If you are driving a hire car, the UK Foreign Office advises staying on the N2 and M3 and using the airport approach road (exit 16) rather than letting a navigation app route you through Nyanga.

When to go

Summer, December to March, is dry and warm with highs around 26°C, and the city is at its fullest from mid-December to mid-January. The south-easter, known locally as the Cape Doctor, blows hard through spring and summer. It is far stronger on the mountain than at street level, and the cableway shuts when it picks up. Winter, June to September, brings most of the rain and nights in single figures. Regulars rate October, November and March to May as the best balance of weather and crowds.

What to do

Ride the cableway up Table Mountain, whose highest point, Maclear’s Beacon, is 1,086 m, or walk up Platteklip Gorge in about two hours if the cable car is closed. Buy cableway tickets online; they are valid for seven days, so you can wait for a clear, still morning. The cableway also closes for annual maintenance, usually for about two weeks in late winter.

The Robben Island ferry leaves from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00, and the tour takes about three and a half hours. Book ahead. Walk the painted streets of Bo-Kaap. Clifton and Camps Bay are the Atlantic beaches. Keep a full day for the peninsula loop to Boulders and Cape Point.

Good to know

Crime is real. Do not walk after dark in areas you do not know, keep phones out of sight and use ride-hailing apps rather than street taxis. Hikers have been mugged on Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Signal Hill; go in groups of four or more, stay on busy marked paths and avoid early mornings and evenings.

The 2015 to 2018 drought nearly emptied the dams and the Foreign Office still warns of water shortages in parts of the region, so do not run taps carelessly. Eskom reported almost a year without load shedding by April 2026 and expected none for winter 2026, but cuts can return and knock out ATMs and petrol pumps. Book December stays months ahead.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikivoyage, Wikipedia, UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, Time Out Cape Town, Robben Island Museum, The Traveler, FreshPlaza.