The Cape Peninsula is an area of dramatic natural beauty and huge ecological significance, which manages to retain a wild feel despite its huge popularity with visitors.
As you drive south from Cape Town, you pass through the exclusive suburbs of Camps Bay and Clifton before continuing onto Hout Bay and through Constantia, where the road meanders behind Table Mountain and down onto the coast. After passing through a succession of small towns and villages perched on the edge of the False Bay, you arrive at the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. This reserve has a huge variety of flora and fauna, and is a significant part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, the smallest and most diverse of the world's seven floral kingdoms.
The principal vegetation of the Cape Floral Kingdom is fynbos, low-lying bushes and heathers that thrive in the sandy soil of the peninsula. Also in the reserve are several species of antelope including bontebok and eland and lots of baboons, whilst off the shoreline are kelp forests where seals and penguins frolic.
The very rare African black oystercatcher can be seen on the shoreline, as can the Cape cormorant. For a place of such fierce reputation among sailors, the Cape of Good Hope itself is quite unassuming; Cape Point fulfils expectations far more impressively. From the car park and restaurant, a funicular railway runs to the end of the continent (or if you are feeling more active, you can walk). Here a lighthouse stands sentinel over one of the most breathtaking views in the world. Waves crash against the foot of the cliffs hundreds of feet below, and the sea stretches to a vast curved horizon, its surface rippled and whitened by winds that have blown unhindered from the Antarctic.
Returning north you come to Simon's Town, for many years a British naval base and a showcase of Victorian urban architecture. Boulders beach, nearby, is home to a large colony of jackass penguins, to be found nesting beneath the boardwalks or surfing waves into the shore.
Finally your day concludes with a visit to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. This houses a huge number of indigenous plants, flowers and trees, as well as exotics such as the camphor trees planted by the founder of Kirstenbosch, Cecil Rhodes, in 1895. Paths lead in among the beautiful flora, with benches in shady and secluded spots if you wish to take a rest. The gardens eventually dissolve into the upper slopes of Table Mountain, which provides the perfect backdrop to your time here.
Start planning your tailor-made trip by contacting one of our South Africa specialists
These activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences around where you're staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident's eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can suggest tours and activities that will introduce you to the local ways of life.
A journey aboard The Blue Train
Travel between Pretoria and Cape Town aboard the Blue Train to experience one of South Africa’s finest rail journeys. You’ll pass through mountains, farmland, and vineyards, pausing to explore old diamond-mining towns en route.
A journey on Rovos Rail
Travel across Southern Africa in the restored trains of Rovos Rail. With several luxury journeys to choose from, you can explore the regions that most interest you in both comfort and style.
Cape Town city tour
Take a guided tour of the “Mother City”. You’ll visit the Castle of Good Hope, the Parliament Buildings, and the brightly painted Bo-Kaap district for a grounding in the city’s history and culture, as well as riding the rotating cable car up to Table Mountain’s summit.
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden occupies a large swathe of beautiful land on the lower slopes of Table Mountain. It houses a huge collection of indigenous flora, such as heathery fynbos, flowering proteas and dramatically coloured strelitzias.
Museums of Cape Town
Cape Town boasts a variety of museums that help tell the story of the city’s multi-layered past, as well as that of South Africa as a whole and the wider continent. We share a few that we particularly recommend visiting during your stay.
Robben Island tour
Led by a former inmate, you’ll tour Robben Island’s old prison buildings, from the communal cells to the tiny solitary cells of B-Section, where Nelson Mandela spent much of his incarceration. You’ll also explore the wider island and find out more about its uses over the years.
Table Mountain Tour
Guests are taken to the lower terminal for the cable-car up Table Mountain. The cable-car is a very modern affair, and completes a 360º rotation during the ascent, affording you fantastic views over the city.
You can enjoy this activity as part of the suggested tours below, or we can weave it into a trip shaped entirely around you.
