CAPE PENINSULA

Description

Essentials about the Cape Peninsula in brief

Many tourists limit their trip to Cape Town to the city itself and make a short detour to the Cape of Good Hope. However, if you have a little more time, you should definitely take a closer look at the beautiful Cape Peninsula located between Cape Town and the Cape. For a short visit one day is enough, but ideally you should bring two days for a discovery tour. The Cape Peninsula is full of highlights and insider tips. Here you will find world-famous capes, spectacular viewpoints, breathtaking coastal roads, pristine beaches, picturesque fishing villages and even penguin colonies.

The trip to the Cape Peninsula

The Cape Peninsula offers so many well-known attractions but also insider tips that one could write a separate travel guide about the approx. 40 kilometer long headland. Therefore, only the highlights are briefly mentioned here. Many of the sights have their own pages on smarttravelers (just click on the respective name).

First of all, an important note about the driving direction: It is best to drive around the Cape Peninsula clockwise. This has two simple reasons. First, in South Africa you drive on the left side, so you are always on the sea side. And secondly, the sun accompanies you on the tour from east to west and you can experience the magnificent sunset over the Atlantic Ocean on the way back to Cape Town.

Muizenberg

If you stick to the clockwise tip, you’ll start your road trip across the Cape Peninsula in the surfer town of Muizenberg on False Bay, with its kilometer-long dream beach of the finest powdered sugar. The landmark of Muizenberg are the small brightly colored wooden Edwardian Beach Houses, which are now used as changing rooms. If you want to go into the water in Muizenberg – whether as a surfer or as a swimmer – you should definitely keep an eye on the shark flags. Because off the coast of False Bay white sharks like to splash about in the water. So that there are no unplanned rendezvous between people and sharks, so-called shark spotters are on duty, who keep a watchful eye on the area near the coast and give an immediate warning when a shark is sighted. If all this sounds too dangerous for you, you can simply stay ashore in Muizenberg and enjoy the relaxed-cool “hang loose” surfer attitude in one of the cafés.

Boulders Beach

We continue south along False Bay. After only a few kilometers, the next highlight of the Cape Peninsula awaits you. Boulders Beach with its colony of spectacled penguins, which cavort here on the beach and provide the best entertainment. The small town of Simon’s Town, located right next to Boulders Beach, is also very nice and a good stopover for a bite to eat in one of the restaurants or cafés.

Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope

Continuing south along False Bay, the road leads to the two tourist magnets on the Cape Peninsula – Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. The two mark the most southwesterly point on the African continent (though the Cape of Good Hope is a few meters further southwest). Although the Cape of Good Hope has a higher profile and everyone shoots the obligatory souvenir photo of the Cape of Good Hope sign, Cape Point is actually the better vantage point. From a height of almost 240 meters, you have a magnificent view of False Bay, the Cape Peninsula and the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition, the walk along the cliffs to the new lighthouse offers breathtakingly beautiful views and a real end-of-the-world feeling. Apropos walk: If you like to walk you can also walk the beautiful hiking trail from Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope (keep in mind, then you also have to walk back).

Noordhoek Beach

From Cape Point, as mentioned above, it is best to drive back along the western side of the Cape Peninsula in the direction of Cape Town. There you will reach the small town of Noordhoek, which is best known for its five-kilometer-long, extremely wide, brilliantly white and often deserted Noordhoek Beach. It is one of the most pristine beaches on the Cape Peninsula and a paradise for surfers, beach walkers and riders. Due to the strong currents, swimming here is too dangerous.

Chapman’s Peak Drive

Noordhoek is also the start of the highlight for all drivers on the Cape Peninsula – Chapman’s Peak Drive. It is considered one of the most spectacular coastal roads in the world and many people have certainly seen it in one or another car advertisement. The road winds in many tight curves up to 150 meters above the Atlantic Ocean along the coast and gives breathtaking panoramic views of the ocean. The best time to drive Chapman’s Peak Drive is in the late afternoon, when the sun is slowly sinking into the tides of the Atlantic Ocean and the light at the southwestern tip of Africa is very special.