The possibilities for tours are endless in the breathtaking town of Cape Town, South Africa. Because of its rich and varied landscape, these tours offer all sorts of ways to see the many mountain ranges, the Atlantic Seaboard, and even the unique town of Bo Kaap with its eclectic, colorful neighborhoods. Climb the mountains hiking or ascending slowly in a cable car, see the historic wineries and nature reserves by biking, and even traverse the coast in a sidecar! Along with the stunning scenery, meet the local people and animals! Many of these excursions offer the possibility of encountering the native seals and penguins, so you’ll have the chance to experience the native wildlife! Continue scrolling so you know all about the top day tours in Cape Town, South Africa!
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1. Encounter penguins during this full-day tour
Get picked up right from your hotel in a luxury minibus to spend the entire day cruising up the coastal road of the French Riviera. The route ventures around Cape Peninsula, stopping at various scenic spots with picture-perfect views and animal encounters! The stop Hout Bay has the option of taking a boat out to Seal Island where you are able to get an up-close look at the seal population. Cape Point Vineyards is another popular stop with the option of wine-tasting! And finally, once the bus reaches Boulder Beach, you’ll get to encounter the penguins in their natural habitat!
2. Get a thrill out of the cable car tour to Table Mountain
This totally private tour ensures the undivided attention of your guide and the option of stopping as often as you like to take in the views from your cable car as it roams its way up Table Mountain. Once you get to the top, your guide will give you a tour of the mountain before you continue on to Chapman’s Peak Drive, considered to be one of the world’s most scenic drives. The tour continues on with stops at Boulder Beach and its penguin colony and finishes at the lush Cape of Good Hope where guests can roam through the beautiful vegetation in the rich National Park.
3. Tour all of Cape Town in just one day
This hop-on-hop-off bus tour is perfect for anyone who is in Cape Town for a short amount of time and doesn’t want to miss any of the beauty the Peninsula has to offer. Explore the area in a double-decker, open-top bus for a complete 360-degree view of the coastland. There are four loops which the tour traverses and the popular one-day ticket allows access to all. Visit the highlights of the city via the red loop, the museums and old Cape Town via the yellow, many flora and fauna destinations on the blue loop, and the wine tour route on the purple loop! With up to 14 stops on some of the loops, you won’t miss a thing this gorgeous area has to offer!
4. Take this tour and enjoy all the Instagram-worthy spots
This tour is appropriately named for its promise to stop at all the picturesque locations the island has to offer both in its landscapes and its monuments. On top of having enough pictures to choose from for the next year, you’ll also be able to learn the significance and history behind the different stops on the tour. Stops will include the colorful neighborhood of Bo Kaap at Cape Malay Quarter, the Atlantic Seaboard with the ocean on one side and the Twelve Apostles Mountainside on the other, and the viewpoint of Chapman’s Peak Drive to ensure you get the chance to see and snap photos at the most glorious sights of Cape Town!
Book Tours : Cape Town: The Cape Point Instagram Small Group Tour
Cape Town Tour Guide
Jakes
Jakes is registered and accredited with FET Certificate Tourist Guiding. He is competent to advise clients on all essential aspects of travel in South Africa having passed the SA Specialist course from South African Tourism. As a good story teller, he makes any historical situation or site come to life; and this is what makes him to stand out as a knowledgeable and exciting guide. “I’m always ... Read more
Tours by Jakes
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Cape Town Tour Guide
Santie Gouws
Santie Gouws is a full-time registered and accredited Adventure Guide for Hiking, based in Cape Town, South Africa. A born and bred South African, she is passionate about mountains and the region's magnificent and highly bio-diverse fynbos vegetation, and offers exquisite, tailor-made, professionally guided hiking experiences to private groups, as well as 'open' scheduled group hikes, on Table ... Read more
Tours by Santie
5. Go sightseeing through the Cape Town region
For a tour totally from the perspective of a local, this tour is for you. Paired with a guide native to Cape Town, you’ll be sure to get at a first-hand, authentic taste of the culture and traditions of the city from one who knows it so well. The itinerary for this tour is flexible and can be tailored to your tastes so that you can see and visit the areas of the island most important to you! If you want to experience the uniqueness of Bo Kaap, see the city from the heights of Signal Hill, or walk Cape Town and visit the Castle of Good Hope, be sure to tell your guide so you can fit in everything!
6. Enjoy biking through the gorgeous landscapes
This eight-hour bike tour travels gently along the coast to give guests the time to take in the beautiful landscapes and even the wildlife of the region. Your tour guide will pick you up at your hotel the morning of your scheduled tour and will provide you with bikes for the tour which is experienced on both bike and shuttle. Highlights of this tour include Signal Hill for a unique view of the Atlantic Seaboard, a hike to the lighthouse in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, and a journey past the Twelve Apostles Mountain Range. Meals and admissions to parks and attractions are also included for guests during this tour so you have nothing to do except revel in the exquisite beauty around you.
Book Tours : Cape Peninsula by Bike: Full-Day Tour
7. Enjoy the stunning views during a Cape Point hike
Sometimes the best way to experience an area is to get out into it and not stare at its behind the glass of tour bus windows. For those wanting to feel the mist of the ocean, smell the fresh air, and see up close the lush vegetation of the peninsula, this tour is your best option. With admission fees and lunch provided, you can enjoy wandering through the coastland without any concerns! Your tour will start at Cape Town Nature Reserve and see the shimmering False Bay stories below. The hike continues through the Cape of Storms and ventures to the Phyllisia Trail where you will see the legendary Buffels Bay! This tour is ideal for that completely up-close and unique way of becoming familiar with Cape Point.
Book Tours : Cape Town: Full-Day Cape Point Hike & Nature Walk
8. Indulge in a foodie's dream tour
This tour is everything you need if you love authentic cultural foods. The morning starts with freshly roasted coffee accompanied by “koeksisters,” or the South African version of donuts. Continue on to Honest Chocolate and indulge in the purest cocoa you’ve ever tasted. Follow this up with a stop at Frankie Fenner Meat Merchant for all your meat needs, Atlas Spice Trading for some authentic additions to the spice cabinet, and then wrap it all up by sampling locally distilled gins at the hidden Gin Bar. This tour is truly the best way to get a taste of all South American cuisine has to offer!
Book Tours : Private Cape Town City Foodie Tour
9. Experience touring in a sidecar
Tours are fun, but tours in a sidecar? Now those are worth documenting! Enjoy the beautiful views and fresh air of Cape Peninsula by hopping into one of these and cruising down the coastline in style! This tour journeys through Hout Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Point Nature Reserve, as well as many other destinations with beautiful views and picture-worthy backdrops. Because this tour doesn’t have to stick to the strict schedule of a bus, pick-up and drop-off times are flexible to make sure you have plenty of time to take in everything on this adventure.
Book Tours : Full-Day Cape Peninsula Tour by Sidecar
10. Go biking across the historic wineries of South Africa
This tour takes you, via the leisurely method of biking, through the historic vineyards of Constantia Wine Valley. Dating back to 1685, Groot Constantia is commonly referred to as “the birthplace of South African wine” and is where the tour begins with details of the history of the winemaking of the region, a tour through the grounds and museum, and of course a tasting. The tour continues with three more stops at different wineries, all reached via bike, with a gourmet lunch provided to guests at the third winery. For a truly historic tour of the wine traditions of South Africa, be sure to keep this one as a top option!
Book Tours : Constantia Wine Valley Bike Tour in Cape Town
The possibilities of adventure are endless
Cape Town’s varied geography and views of both the ocean and the mountains lend itself to not only a huge amount of picture-perfect locations but also a wide assortment of tours and encounters! With so many different things to see and do and so many different ways to do them, there is sure to be a perfect way for you to experience Cape Town!
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