DRIVING THE CAPE PENINSULA – SOUTH AFRICA

Driving the Cape Peninsula from Cape Town in South Africa is something that everyone should really do! The scenery is beautiful and will give you the opportunity to explore all the little towns, go for a swim or indulge yourself in amazing food along the way.

Hiring a car in Cape Town it’s easy, there are numerous rental services around the city so you don’t have to rush and do it straight from the airport. I recommend you to book the service as soon as you arrive for the days you want, because if you just leave it for the day before, you may not have a lot of choice.

🚗 How long does it take to drive the Cape Peninsula?

The usual amount of time to drive the Cape Peninsula is one day.

Off course we can take it slow and go for as long as you want but I did it one day and managed to see all the main towns around.

We left at about 7am from Cape Town and return around 10pm.

We took our time along the way, had nice meals, stopped to go to the beach and enjoyed the views. This is why it’s a good option to rent a car, you can just follow your own pace and if you want to stop somewhere you just do it.

We never paid for parking along the way in South Africa, even at Cape Point we managed to just park for free. There were a few places, more close to the beach areas, where there were some people with yellow vests helping to park the cars but they did not ask for any money.

The route around Cape Peninsula

The route it’s really easy to follow with a simple map (even without GPS) because it’s just goes around the coast– as seen on the map below.

The simplified version of the route with the main stops is like this:

Cape Town > Camps Bay > Hout Bay > Chapman’s Peak > Cape Point > Simons Town > Kalk Bay > Muizenberg > Constantia > Cape Town

What to see along the Cape Peninsula?

[highlight]STOP 1[/highlight] Camps Bay

Some of the most picturesque views not far from Cape Town are in Camps Bay. It’s also one of the best trendy places to visit. There you can relax on the beach or enjoy breakfast while looking at the palm trees, Miami style. Don’t miss the views of the Twelve Apostles.

[highlight]STOP 2[/highlight] Hout Bay

This small fishing village is buzzing with locals surfing and tourists enjoying the beach. In here it’s possible to see the Sentinel Mountain Peak and get a boat to Seal Island, where you can play with the Cape Fur Seals. We skipped this last one because the seals are really everywhere, even in Cape Town waterfront.

There are also nice shops and restaurants around, it was a shame it was still early for lunch as I would have gone for a big plate of seafood!

[highlight]STOP 3[/highlight] Chapman’s Peak

The drive continues to Chapman’s Peak where there are several viewpoints to see the magnificent panorama over the bay and the mountains. If you’re lucky you can also spot the Southern Right Whales. Unfortunately we went to South Africa in February off the ‘whale spotting’ season. The chance to see them is higher between July and November.

[highlight]STOP 4[/highlight] Cape Point

To visit Cape Point there is an entrance fee of R105 p/adult. It’s part of the Table Mountain National Park, together with Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa.

The park is known by the diversity of plants, birds and other animals like baboons and the Cape Town Mountain Zebra, which I did not spot while there.

There is a funicular that takes you up to the top with a cost of R49 p/adult for a return ticket. Once you arrive from the funicular you have to climb the stairs that will take you up to the lighthouse which has an amazing view of the bay and the nature reserve.

We decided to have lunch in the Two Ocean’s Restaurant because of the views over False Bay. The food was delicious. There is a cheaper snack restaurant just around the corner selling pizzas, sandwiches and other quick snacks.

After lunch we headed over to the Cape of Good Hope. It was known in the old days by the sailors as a reference point to navigation.

Contrary to what I thought, this is not the southernmost point of the African continent like advertised (that’s in Cape Agulhas) but anyway, it’s well worth for the views!

[highlight]STOP 5[/highlight] Simons Town and Boulders Beach

We drove through Simon’s Town and it was really nice to go along the coast and see all the Victorian style houses. At this point we were getting really excited to see were the penguins in Boulder’s Beach!

In the area there is a large colony of African penguins, also known by Jackass Penguins that walk along the beach and swim along with people. They were so cute and gracious, jumping from the rocks to swim and are clearly used to be in the middle of people. Even if you don’t come for the drive along the Cape Peninsula, do come and see them anyway, it’s not far from Cape Town.

[highlight]STOP 6[/highlight] Kalk Bay

Kalk Bay is a fishing village with a lot of beautiful colourful houses where you can see a strong fishing community actively working in the harbour.

We had to spot there for an ice cream and enjoy the ocean breeze! We also had a look on the fascinating fish markets. Kalk Bay is another place to spot the Southern Right Whales during their season.

[highlight]STOP 7[/highlight] Muizenberg

Either this is your last stop before Cape Town or not, don’t miss it! It was one of my favourite places as the town is really cheerful with its colourful beach huts.

Deep your toes in the water in St. James Beach because the water is warm and there is a pool made up in the ocean which is great for a swim!

[highlight]STOP 8[/highlight] Constantia

Our last stop was Constantia, not the most usual one, but we really wanted to have dinner outside Cape Town that day.

The Constantia Wine Route includes some of the oldest wine estates in South Africa, great for a quick trip from Cape Town. We decided to skip this activity as we had already planned to visit Franschhoek.

We spotted Simon’s Restaurant with an outdoor space and little candles and we just thought it was so romantic that we stop there for dinner. The food was excellent, we both had steaks, and of course a bottle of wine from the area.

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Are you planning a drive around Cape Peninsula? Tell me your plans, maybe I can help you with planning!

 

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