Cape Town Travel Guide
The Cape Peninsula Drive
How to plan the great Cape Town road trip: the best direction, Chapman's Peak status, timing at Cape Point, Boulders and Kalk Bay, park fees, baboons, car safety and whether to drive or take a tour.
The loop around the Cape Peninsula is one of the great drives of the world and the single best day out from Cape Town. In about a hundred and fifty kilometres it takes in the glamorous beaches of the Atlantic seaboard, the cliff road of Chapman's Peak, the wild national park at the tip of the peninsula, the lighthouses of Cape Point, the penguins of Boulders and the fishing harbours of False Bay. Done well, it fills a long, unforgettable day. This guide explains how to plan it.
Which way round? Most people drive clockwise: down the Atlantic side in the morning, through Camps Bay and Hout Bay and over Chapman's Peak, then on to Cape Point, returning along False Bay via Boulders, Simon's Town and Kalk Bay in the afternoon. This puts the sun behind you on the Atlantic coast in the morning, gets you to Cape Point before the heaviest crowds if you start early, and leaves Boulders and Kalk Bay for the late afternoon, when the penguins are active and the harbour restaurants are ready for dinner. The reverse direction works too, especially if you want to reach Boulders early before the coaches, and it saves Chapman's Peak for sunset; but check the road's opening hours and status if you plan to drive it late.
Stage 1: the Atlantic seaboard. Leave the city via Sea Point and Bantry Bay, past the coves of Clifton and the palm-lined beach of Camps Bay, then follow Victoria Road along the coast beneath the Twelve Apostles, the series of buttresses on the back of Table Mountain. Llandudno, a small, beautiful beach between granite boulders, is a short detour down a steep road. Continue over the nek into Hout Bay, a fishing harbour in a wide valley, where boats leave for Duiker Island and its Cape fur seal colony, a short trip that is popular with families.
Stage 2: Chapman's Peak Drive. From Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak Drive climbs and winds for about nine kilometres around the cliffs to Noordhoek, with sheer drops to the sea and views back across Hout Bay to the Sentinel. It is a toll road, and there are viewpoints and picnic spots along the way. The road is protected by catch fences and nets, but it closes from time to time for rockfall clearing, high winds, heavy rain and maintenance, and it was closed after a rockfall in late April 2026; on the day of your trip, check the road status on its official channels. If it is closed, drive from Hout Bay over Constantia Nek and down through the southern suburbs, then cross to Noordhoek or go straight down the False Bay side. Note that pedestrians are not allowed on the main section of the road, and runners and cyclists have restricted hours.
Stage 3: Noordhoek to the park. From Noordhoek, with its long beach and farm village, the road runs through Kommetjie, with its lighthouse and surf, and the small towns of Scarborough and Misty Cliffs to the gate of the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park. Here you pay a daily conservation fee, with separate rates for South Africans, SADC nationals and international visitors, adjusted every 1 November; in the 2025 to 2026 year the international adult fee was roughly five hundred rand. The gate opens early and closes in the early evening in summer, earlier in winter, and you must leave by sunset.
Stage 4: Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. Inside the park, a road runs through fynbos and past beaches to the car park at Cape Point. Walk up the steep path, about fifteen to twenty minutes, to the old lighthouse on the summit for views over the cliffs and ocean; the Flying Dutchman funicular closed for maintenance on 26 October 2026 and a shuttle runs in its place, so check whether it has reopened. A path leads further to a viewpoint over the newer lighthouse at the tip. There is a restaurant and shops at the car park. Then drive to the Cape of Good Hope, the rocky headland with the famous sign, the most south-westerly point of Africa; a walking trail links it to Cape Point along the cliffs, with steps down to Diaz Beach, a wild cove that is dangerous for swimming. Look for ostriches, bontebok and eland, and keep away from baboons: keep food out of sight, close car windows and never feed them.
Stage 5: Simon's Town and Boulders. Leaving the park, drive north along False Bay to Simon's Town, a naval base since the nineteenth century, with a Victorian main street, a harbour and cafes. Just south of the town is the Boulders penguin colony, where a daily SANParks fee covers the boardwalks to the viewing platform at Foxy Beach and the sheltered swimming cove of Boulders Beach. In the 2026 count, the colony had about 790 breeding pairs, its best numbers in years. Stay on the boardwalks, do not touch the birds, and arrive in the late afternoon for fewer people and softer light.
Stage 6: Kalk Bay and Muizenberg. Continue along the coast through Fish Hoek to Kalk Bay, a bohemian village with a working fishing harbour, where boats land their catch and Cape fur seals wait for scraps, and a main road of antique shops, galleries and cafes. It is the best place on the loop for dinner, whether fish and chips on the harbour wall or a seafood restaurant overlooking the waves. Beyond, St James has its colourful bathing boxes and tidal pool, and Muizenberg its famous beach huts and gentle surf. From Muizenberg, the M3 takes you back to the city in about thirty minutes, outside rush hour.
Drive or tour? A rental car gives the most freedom, and the roads are good. Start early, carry water and a windproof layer, use official car parks, and never leave anything visible in the car, as smash-and-grab theft occurs at popular viewpoints. A private tour with a driver-guide, such as the one linked from our Cape Point page, removes the stress of navigation and parking and fits everything into about eight hours; shared tours are cheaper but less flexible. Cyclists and e-bike tours do sections of the route, and the train along False Bay to Simon's Town is a scenic way to reach Boulders without a car.
Timing. Allow at least eight to ten hours for the full loop with stops, and do not try to add anything else to the day. In summer, a strong south-easter makes Cape Point bracing, but the Atlantic side can be calm; in winter, the light is beautiful but the weather changeable. Whatever the season, it is the day most visitors remember as the highlight of their trip.