If you have a car while you’re visiting Cape Town, I highly recommend spending a day on a little road trip through the Cape Peninsula, the southernmost tip of South Africa just outside Cape Town. It’s a stunning mountainous region that wraps along the coast, offering breathtaking views of the Atlantic, Table Mountain, Table Bay, and the city of Cape Town. It was easy to do the whole drive in a day, and it was a fantastic way to take advantage of having a car rental while in the city.
Tips Before You Go
- Bring cash for parking. This was a bit of a strange cultural thing in Cape Town, but it seems the norm that there are “car guards” in many public areas that expect a small cash payment in exchange for watching your car. I’d bring small bills of rand to have on hand to leave them a bit when you park.
- Fill up on gas beforehand. Not only will this just make the whole day smoother, there were a few stretches where we didn’t see a gas station for awhile.
- Bring good walking shoes. There are many great places to stop and go for a walkabout or a hike.
- Route your drive beforehand. We did lose service in the national park but thankfully had functional offline maps to direct us to where we needed to go.
- Don’t bring any valuables you’ll have to leave in the car. Unfortunately crime is common in South Africa, and car break ins on popular tourist roads are very likely to happen if you leave belongings in sight in the car.
Stop #1 — Muizenberg Beach
The first stop of the day was at Muizenberg Beach, a surfer’s beach known for its brightly colored beach boxes, charming restaurants, bars, and cafes, and relaxed vibe. It’s free to visit the beach and there was ample public parking — just come prepared with some small bills of Rand to tip the parking attendants. We spent some time walking on the soft sand and snapping some pictures in the various beach boxes. Just be aware this beach is very windy! It’s easy to see why it’s popular with surfers and other wind sports.
Brunch at Hans & Lloyd Coffee Co
This was a fantastic coffee and breakfast place. Located right off the beach, they had ample seating and great food and drink options. My eggs benedict, coffee, and green juice were just what I needed to start off our day of driving and exploring the Cape Peninsula. Hans & Lloyd also had very friendly service and the prices were reasonable considering the prime location right off Muizenberg Beach.
Stop #2 — Kalk Bay
Just a 10-minute drive down the road from Muizenberg was our next stop, Kalk Bay. This beach town has some great waterfront shopping and bars, and is known for having resident Sea Lions in the harbor, and is home to a famous fish and chips shop. It’s great for some vintage shopping, I found some really cool knick-knacks at Kalk Bay Trading Post, and we also had a nice visit to Kalk Bay Books where I picked up a new book for the plane ride home.
Drink at Cape to Cuba
We just stopped here for a beverage and to marvel at the cool decor — Cape to Cuba is a fantastic Cuban restaurant with an amazing interior and a great selection of beverages. It was a nice relaxing stop before carrying on our adventures down to the Cape of Good Hope.
Kalk Bay Books
The staff at this bookshop were super helpful and friendly, and the store had a great selection of books to choose from. I’d highly recommend it as a stop if you want to support a local small business and pick up some reading material for the (presumably) long flight home from Cape Town.
Stop #3 — Boulder’s Beach & Penguin Colony
If you only have time for one stop on a day trip exploring the Cape Peninsula, visiting Boulder’s Beach to see the penguins is a must. Pay your entrance fee of R190 to get access to the boardwalks along the beach and through the brush to see this amazing African penguin colony. They are so cute, swimming in the waves and sunbathing, many will waddle close to the path so keep your eyes peeled!
Just note they are quite stinky!
Cape of Good Hope Old Lighthouse
The last major stop on our day trip was at the Cape of Good Hope Old Lighthouse. This is a stunning feature of the National Park, well worth the hike up to the top for some amazing views. There is a Funicular cable car to ride if you’re not as mobile or don’t want to hike, but I found going for a nice walk was a good break from sitting in the car. There are public bathrooms here, and plenty of parking spots outside the main walk-up to the lighthouse. The views are really spectacular, just be prepared that it is VERY windy at the top!
Overall, our day road trip on the Cape Peninsula was a fantastic way to explore beyond the main city of Cape Town. It’s a gorgeous National Park full of nice sights with plenty of charming beachfront towns along the way to stop in. I could totally see spending more time in each of the towns, even spending a night or two to really get the full feel of the area. Pencil in this road trip if you have time on your Cape Town adventures!
[…] We also explored Table Mountain National Park on our Cape Peninsula road trip — you can read more about that here. […]