Hout Bay

Hout Bay is a fishing harbour and a long beach in a valley of its own on the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula, 20 minutes from central Cape Town. Jan van Riebeeck named it Wood Bay in 1652 for the timber cut here. People come for boat trips to the Cape fur seals on Duiker Island, the weekend Bay Harbour Market and Chapman’s Peak Drive, which starts at the south end of the bay. Residents call it the Republic of Hout Bay because just three roads get in.

Getting there

Those three roads are all mountain passes: Suikerbossie from Llandudno and Camps Bay along the coast, Constantia Nek from the Southern Suburbs, and Chapman’s Peak Drive from Noordhoek. The coastal road through Camps Bay is the pretty way in. MyCiTi buses 108 and 109 run from the Civic Centre station through Sea Point, Clifton and Camps Bay; route 108 serves Hangberg and the harbour, route 109 serves Imizamo Yethu and the beachfront. There is a car park at the harbour.

When to go

Summer is for the beach and for sitting outside at the harbour. Winter brings the big swells that make Dungeons, just outside the bay, one of the world’s serious big-wave surf spots; swells of up to 14 m have been recorded. Chapman’s Peak Drive closes in bad weather, after rockfalls and for maintenance, and the operator posts the live status, wind and visibility on its website. It was showing closed when this page was checked on 6 October 2026, so look before you plan a loop around the peninsula.

What to do

Seal boats leave the harbour daily between about 09:00 and 16:00, weather permitting, for the short run to Duiker Island. The Bay Harbour Market at 31 Harbour Road runs Friday 17:00 to 21:00 and Saturday and Sunday 09:30 to 16:00, with food stalls, crafts and live music. Walk the harbour early to watch boats unload; tuna, snoek and crayfish are the main catches.

World of Birds on Valley Road has over 3,000 birds and a squirrel monkey enclosure with set feeding times, open daily 09:00 to 17:00. The East Fort, one of three the French built in 1781, is claimed as the oldest operating gun battery in the world. Chapman’s Peak Drive, cut into the cliffs with convict labour and opened in 1922, is a toll road to Noordhoek; sunset is the time to drive it. A day pass covers repeat trips.

Good to know

Hout Bay is not all holiday homes. Imizamo Yethu, an informal settlement of around 20,000 people on 18 hectares, sits on the valley side above the main road, and Hangberg climbs the slopes above the harbour; many of the people working the boats live in them. The market only runs Friday evening and weekends, so a midweek visit is about the harbour, the beach and the seals. Check the Chapman’s Peak status on the morning you drive, not the night before.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Chapman's Peak Drive, Come to Cape Town, Map My Way, SA-Venues.