3 days in Cape Town

Day by day

1. Day 1: Table Mountain and the Aerial Cableway and Robben Island

   Table Mountain and the Aerial Cableway, Robben Island and Boulders Beach penguin colony, then V&A Waterfront in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Table Mountain and the Aerial Cableway

      The flat-topped mountain rises about 1,085 metres above the City Bowl.

   2. Late morning

      Robben Island

      Sit on the left side of the ferry heading out for the classic view back to Table Mountain.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Bobotie

      Cape Malay restaurants in Bo-Kaap and on many traditional South African menus in the City Bowl.

   4. Afternoon

      Boulders Beach penguin colony

      A colony of endangered African penguins lives among the granite boulders near Simon's Town, about 45 minutes south of the city.

   5. Evening

      V&A Waterfront

      Take a short harbour cruise at sunset for a view of Table Mountain from the water.

2. Day 2: Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden and Bo-Kaap

   Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Bo-Kaap and Lion's Head hike, then Signal Hill in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden

      Bring a picnic; the lawns below the mountain are one of the best places in the city for a long afternoon.

   2. Late morning

      Bo-Kaap

      The brightly painted houses on the slopes of Signal Hill are home to the city's historic Cape Malay community, descended largely from people brought to the Cape from Southeast Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Cape Malay curry

      Bo-Kaap eateries and cooking classes on Wale Street and nearby lanes.

   4. Afternoon

      Lion's Head hike

      If you go for sunset, carry a head torch for the descent and walk down with other hikers.

   5. Evening

      Signal Hill

      Arrive at least 45 minutes before sunset on summer evenings, when the parking area fills up.

3. Day 3: Chapman's Peak Drive and Zeitz MOCAA

   Chapman's Peak Drive, Zeitz MOCAA and District Six Museum, then Bree Street in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Chapman's Peak Drive

      This toll road carved into the cliffs between Hout Bay and Noordhoek has around 114 bends above the Atlantic, with lay-bys for photographs of Hout Bay harbour and the Sentinel.

   2. Late morning

      Zeitz MOCAA

      Look up from the centre of the atrium, then take the stairs rather than the lift to see the carved tubes up close.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Gatsby

      Takeaway shops in Athlone, Salt River and the CBD; one roll easily feeds two or three people.

   4. Afternoon

      District Six Museum

      Housed in a former Methodist church on Buitenkant Street, the museum remembers the mixed inner-city district whose 60,000 or so residents were forcibly removed under apartheid from the late 1960s.

   5. Evening

      Bree Street

      The city's best concentration of wine bars, cocktail bars and restaurants, with a slightly older, food-focused crowd.

Before you go

• Table Mountain and the Aerial Cableway: Buying cableway tickets online lets you skip the ticket queue, which is long in December and January.
• Robben Island: Tours sell out in summer and are cancelled in rough seas; book online several days ahead and keep a backup day free.

If it rains

• Swap in Two Oceans Aquarium (V&A Waterfront): Time your visit for one of the scheduled feeds listed at the entrance.
• Swap in Iziko South African Museum (City Bowl): Combine it with a planetarium show on a rainy afternoon with children.

Where to stay for this itinerary

With 3 nights, City Bowl and Gardens keeps most of this route within easy reach. For a calmer or cheaper base, V&A Waterfront ($$$$) suits families, luxury, first-timers and shopping. Compare every area.

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 20–28 hours of visiting over 3 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 9.9 hours in June to 14.4 hours in December, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

More or fewer days

• One day in Cape Town
• 2 days in Cape Town
• 4 days in Cape Town
• 5 days in Cape Town
• 7 days in Cape Town

Questions travellers ask