Cape Town Travel Itinerary

This Cape Town travel itinerary is intended to help you plan your first visit to this incredible city.

I recently spent an entire week exploring all the best places to see in Cape Town and had the best time. Cape Town is a city I have wanted to visit for many years, so I was thrilled when I finally got the opportunity.

I recommend spending at least four to five days in Cape Town if you want to see all the biggest Cape Town attractions. But no matter how much time you have, a visit to Cape Town is always worth it.

Down below I’ll share all the best destinations to place on your Cape Town travel itinerary, including some tips for helping you plan your visit.

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Cape Town Travel Itinerary

In a city jam packed with unique and incredible things to do, a Cape Town itinerary can be easily customized.

I broke this Cape Town travel itinerary up by days, starting with what I’d recommend on your first day in Cape Town.

This Cape Town itinerary includes five days filled with the city’s mot important and popular attractions.

That being said, I recommend using this multiple day itinerary to create your own unique trip based on your personal interests.

How to get around Cape Town

I recommend using Uber to get around Cape Town. Uber here is safe, affordable, and easy to use.

As you begin to explore the city you’ll quickly realize Cape Town is not a walkable city. It’s a big place and you’ll need a car to get around. Since Uber is so affordable here, I think it’s the best option.

The only places where you’ll find it difficult to get an Uber are when visiting Boulder’s Beach, Simon’s Town, and Cape Point. For those destinations I would just book a Cape Point day tour anyway.

Cape Town Travel Itinerary – Day One

On your first day in Cape Town, I recommend spending this day learning about Cape Town’s history by visiting important museums and local neighborhoods.

Robben Island

I recommend starting your visit in Cape Town with a visit to Robben Island.

You can only visit Robben Island on a guided tour, which must be booked in advance. I recommend booking your reservation for Robben Island as soon as you secure your travel dates.

The Robben Island tours are popular and sell out. I didn’t book mine before I arrived and was lucky to get one on my last day in the city. If I did this same trip over again, I’d move the Robben Island visit to the start of my trip.

Robben Island is the famous prison off the coast of Cape Town where Nelson Mandela was held. However, while the prison is well known because of Nelson Mandela, there were many other notable and important people that were held here as well.

On the Robben Island guided tour you’ll learn about the history of the prison, who was held there, and what conditions were like.

The section of the tour that takes place inside the prison is led by a former prisoner held on Robben Island. It’s incredibly interesting to hear their stories.

The reason I recommend visiting Robben Island at the start of your trip is because this tour gives you lots of information on the history of the city.

As you’ll learn, that history has a significant impact on the lives of Cape Town citizens today. What you learn on the Robben Island tour will give you perspective as you continue exploring the city throughout your time in Cape Town.

District 6 Museum

The District 6 Museum tells the story of a diverse community’s destruction under apartheid.

The apartheid era in South Africa formally took place from 1948 to 1994, but racist policies and treatment existed long before then and in many ways continue to this day.

According to the District 6 Museum, District 6 used to be a community diverse in culture, language, religion, economic class, and geographical origin. The neighborhood was considered an example of how a diverse community could be a strengthening characteristic, and not one to be feared.

The residents that formerly made up District 6 were merchants, artisans, laborers, immigrants, and freed slaves.

On February 11, 1966, District 6 was declared a “white area” and its 60,000 residents were forcibly removed from their homes. Shortly after, their homes were bulldozed so they could not return.

Visitors to the District 6 museum will learn about the history of the District 6 neighborhood from its early days all the way to its destruction in 1966.

The museum exhibits feature personal items left behind when the residents were forcibly removed. There are also many stories shared of individuals who once called District 6 home.

Tickets for District 6 can be purchased at the front desk of the museum at the time of your visit.

Bo-Kaap

Bo-Kaap is a residential neighborhood situated on Signal Hill and recognized by its brightly painted pastel houses and cobblestone streets.

The neighborhood was formerly segregated but today is a multicultural community with a predominantly muslim population.

If you’d like to dive a little deeper into what makes this community so special, consider booking this local Malay Cooking Class and tour. This tour comes highly rated and is an excellent way to learn the history of the community and people who live.

Malay cuisine combines African cooking with that of the Malaysian and Indonesian slaves brought over by the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The tour is a short 3 hours and is a great way to combine lunch with a quick visit to the area.

Whether you decide to join the tour or not, don’t skip out on visiting Bo-Kaap. I think exploring these local neighborhoods gives you a better understanding of what life is truly like in Cape Town.

Not to mention the history lessons you’ll learn along the way.

Cape Town Travel Itinerary – Day Two

With two days in Cape Town I recommend heading south on your second day to see the famous penguins at Boulder’s Beach. Afterwards head down to see Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.

These attractions are further from the city than most of the other top things to do in Cape Town, so I’d get these destinations checked off your list early in your trip.

Boulder’s Beach Penguin Colony

You cannot miss your chance to see the iconic penguins at Boulder’s Beach during your Cape Town visit.

I was so excited to see the penguins that I booked an overnight stay at Tintswalo Boulder’s Beach, which is a luxury boutique hotel. The hotel overlooks the ocean and Boulder’s Beach. They even have a special penguin door that leads right to the boardwalk to see the penguins.

You can also see the penguin’s at Boulder’s Beach and visit Cape Point on a guided day tour from Cape Town, which is the easiest and most affordable way to see both these sites.

For those wishing to visit on your own, I recommend arriving at Boulder’s Beach first thing in the morning when they open. This will give you time with the penguins all to yourself.

Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope

Cape Point is located at the southeast corner of Cape Peninsula and offers dramatic views of the rocky cliffs and Cape of Good Hope.

This is where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet and a place you don’t want to miss.

When you arrive you’ll be able to see the lighthouse and take a picture with the famous Cape Point sign.

You’ll want to wear comfortable walking shoes to explore Cape Point so you can enjoy the trails and viewpoints.

The drive from the Cape Town city centre to Cape Point is about 90 minutes depending on traffic.

The guided day tour to Boulders Beach and Cape Point is a full day tour but also includes stops at other areas of the city you will likely want to see.

The additional stops include Bo-Kaap, Hout Bay Boatyard, Chapman’s Peak Drive, Simon’s Town and Muizenberg Beach. With these additional stops, I think this is a great way to see a lot of Cape Town in one day.

Cape Town Travel Itinerary – Day Three

With a three day Cape Town itinerary, I would start the third day early at the iconic Table Mountain. Afterwards, I would end the day in the late afternoon at Camps Bay Beach.

Table Mountain

Table Mountain is easily one of my favorite stops on this Cape Town travel itinerary.

It is located inside Table Mountain National Park and stands at over 3,500 feet tall.

From the top of Table Mountain you get views across the entire city all the way out to the surrounding oceans.

By best tip for enjoying your visit to Table Mountain is to book your cable car ticket ahead of time to avoid the longer lines. I also highly recommend booking your arrival time for first thing in the morning so you can beat the crowds.

The first car up is at either 8:00 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. depending on the season. Plan to arrive at least 20 minutes before the first cable car goes up so you can be closer to the front of the line.

The lines here get VERY long. You do not want to waste three hours standing in line, so plan to arrive early.

Once at the top, you can walk along the paved walkways and enjoy the 360 views. There’s plenty of room to spread out, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to get great photos.

For those of you feeling more ambitious, there are also some hiking trails you can climb up to the top of Table Mountain.

According to my research, there are four different trails that lead to the top of Table Mountain. The most direct route is via the Platteklip Gorge Trial.

This is an intense hike that will take about two hours to complete, one way. I’m told the views make it worth it, but I wouldn’t know. I was happy taking the cable car.

Camps Bay

Camps Bay is an upscale ocean front community in Cape Town known for it’s trendy cafes and white sandy beaches.

If I did this trip over again, this is where I would stay during my visit. The neighborhood is walkable and has plenty of great food and drink options.

The Bay Hotel is a popular place to stay and is walking distance to the beach.

I recommend visiting Caps Bay in the late morning and sticking around for lunch. Start out at the beach and just enjoy the views for a while.

Afterwards, head over to Cause Effect Cocktail Kitchen for an afternoon cocktail. This is a famous bar known for its unique drink presentations and innovative menu.

Once you’ve had a cocktail or two, make your way over to Cafe Caprice for one of their delicious sandwiches or burgers. You can sit on their patio and enjoy an ocean view with your lunch.

Cape Town Travel Itinerary – Day Four

With four days in Cape Town I would start off early with a walk around the Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens.

Afterwards enjoy a quick visit to Muizenberg Beach, then spend the rest of the afternoon wine tasting in the Franschhoek Wine Region.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

The Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden spans over 1,300 acres and is one of 10 national botanical gardens covering five of South Africa’s 6 different biomes.

The garden was founded in 1913 to preserve the flora native to South Africa.

Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden is considered one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world. Situated at the base of Table Mountain, the garden offers stunning views in nearly all directions.

Today visitors can explore the vast garden via a series of paved walkways. The walkways wind through various types of trees, plants, flowers, and shrubs.

It’s a beautiful place to spend a morning and the perfect location to get some nice photos.

Muizenberg Beach

Muizenberg Beach is home to the colorful beach huts you’ve seen all over Instagram.

This is a popular beach for surfing lessons as the waves are small. If you’re not interested in surfing lessons, this can be a short stop.

I recommend walking along the beach to get some photos then heading across the street for coffee.

There are several cute coffee shops and cafes in the neighborhood. I would take a short stroll and stop in to one of your choosing.

Cape Winelands

If you enjoy wine, you must go wine tasting while visiting Cape Town.

As someone from California, I wasn’t sure what to expect from South African wine.

Though don’t get me wrong, I am in no way a wine expert. I just wasn’t sure what to expect from the region or from a tasting experience here.

The Franschhoek Wine Region is one of six wine regions that make up the Cape Winelands.

One of the most popular ways to enjoy wine tasting in Cape Town is to take the Franschhoek Wine Tram. The tram is a hop on hop off trolley that runs through the Franschhoek Wine Region.

There are five lines to choose from, each visiting a different group of wineries. You can pick up any of the five lines from one of two terminals. From there, you curate your own experience visiting any of the wineries you like.

If you prefer, you can also just take an Uber to each winery, which is what I did. My friend and I stopped at Muizenberg Beach for photos, then took an Uber to Groot Constantia.

From there we visited Constantia Glen, which was my favorite of the two. If you’re looking to just visit one winery, make it this one.

They have incredible service, great wine, excellent food, and offer gorgeous views of the surrounding vineyards.

Cape Town Travel Itinerary – Day Five

With five days in Cape Town I would tackle the city’s most famous outdoor adventure, Lion’s Head.

Lion’s Head

Lion’s Head is one of Cape Town’s most iconic sights and is one of the city’s greatest attractions.

The hike up to the top of Lion’s Head takes about 90 minutes. It takes about three hours to complete the hike.

While this is a relatively short hike, sections of the trail are quite steep. There is also a section near the top with chains and ladders. There is an alternative route along the trail that avoids this section.

Standing at 2,194 feet tall, the views from the top of Lion’s Head are the best in the city. If you have the fitness level to do this hike, I highly recommend making time for it.

If you have additional time in South Africa I would consider a day or two in Kruger National Park. It’s one of South Africa’s most notable destinations and would be an incredible experience.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Cape Town travel itinerary and that I’ve inspired you to book a trip of your own. As always, thanks for reading.