1. Camps Bay
Camps Bay is an affluent neighborhood situated on the west coast of South Africa. The place is popular among tourists and locals. Camps Bay has some of the most expensive real estate in South Africa. Most houses situated at Camps Bay are sea facing.
There are direct bus services to Camps Bay from Long street and Waterfront area. The journey takes about 45 minutes and you will pass through Table Mountain and Lions Head on the way to Camps Bay beach.
Camps Bay beach is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the foot of majestic Twelve Apostles Mountain range. I will strongly recommend to spend at least a day if you are visiting camps bay. You can take a day to explore Camps Bay and Hout Bay area. You will pass through beautiful Chapman’s peak drive on the way to Hout Bay from Camps Bay.
I visited Camps bay morning time and the weather was very bad. The mountain was covered with cloud and the visibility was very bad. I waited at the beach for almost 6 hours and the visibility was perfect during afternoon time. Camps bay beach is usually crowded during weekends. The beach is very well maintained compared to other beaches of Cape Town.
You can also play beach volley ball at the beach. If you want to try something different then you can always swim at the tide pool situated near the beach. Camps bay beach is a perfect place to take some nice drone shots. The beach is surrounded by 12 Apostles and Lions head on side and the other side of the beach is surrounded by beautiful blue ocean. Barbeque areas are situated towards the southern side of the beach and during weekend locals come to the barbeque area to enjoy food & drinks.
There are lifeguards on duty at the beach but you have to be a good swimmer if you are planning to swim near the beach. You can also rent some of the apartment situated at Camps Bay on Air Bnb but be prepared to spend a fortune. You will find some of the best seafood restaurants at the Camps Bay beach. Afternoon time is probably the best time to visit camps bay beach.
2. Muizenberg Beach
Muizenberg is a small beach town located outside Cape Town. Muizenberg beach is one of the most visited beaches in Cape Town. The beach is popular among surfers. If you are staying near Long street or V&A waterfront then you can take train from Cape Town station till Muizenberg station. Muizenberg beach is located by just 5 minutes walk from the station. The train runs from Cape Town station every 30 minutes and it takes about 45 minutes to reach Muizenberg station from Cape Town. The train ride was absolutely beautiful because you will pass through some of the beautiful landscape on your way to the beach. The train compartment was in very bad condition. The train was moderately crowded and there was enough seats for everyone.
There are plenty of surf rental shops, coffee shops & restaurants located near the main beach of Muizenberg. The beach looks very beautiful because it is surrounded by towering mountain on one side and beautiful blue ocean on the other side. Compared to Milnerton beach and Kite beach the water around Muizenberg Beach is much warmer. The water is calm and it is ideal for swimmers.
The colorful bathing boxes situated at the beach gives you great opportunity to take some nice Instagram shots. Sharks love warm waters and there has been lot of shark sightings at the beach. There is a shark spotting program at the beach and they give color coded warnings if they spot sharks near the beach. The day before my visit to the beach there was a black flag at the beach and the swimmers were asked to leave the beach immediately.
You can easily spend half day at the beach. You can have lunch at one of the restaurants situated near the beach. If you have more time during your visit then you can head over to boulder’s beach. Boulder beach is famous for African penguins.
3. Milnerton Beach
Milnerton beach is a popular beach for Kite surfing. The sand quality of the beach is not that great. If you are planning to go out for jogging then you must visit Milnerton beach. If you are staying near long street or Waterfront area then you can catch bus T01/T02 to Cape Town Woodbridge 1 stop. The beach is just 5 minutes walk from the bus stop. The ride takes about 30 minutes and the bus runs every 5 mins from Civic center. The beach is known for light house and beautiful views of Table Mountain. The water stays usually cold at the beach and because of the presence of the bodyguard milnerton beach is safe to swim. The beach is not that crowded compared to other beaches of Cape Town. It offers great opportunity for Cape Town people to go out for energetic runs on the beach. The beach is located far from the center of Cape Town and Table Mountain so you get great view of Table Mountain from the beach. You can easily spend couple of hours at the beach. I will strongly advice to visit the beach during morning hours.
4. Kite beach/ Dolphin Beach
Kite Beach is located about 15 minutes bus ride from Milnerton beach. You can take bus T01/T02 from Milnerton Beach to Kite beach. The beach is located about 5 minutes walk from Cape Town Table View 14 stop. Kite beach is a popular beach among Kite surfers and every year Kite surfing festival is organized at the beach. The beach is located really far from Table Mountain. Table mountain and Lion’s Head looks completely different from the beach. The beach is very windy and the water has very strong currents. Only advance swimmer should swim in the cold waters of the beach. There are lots of restaurants situated near the beach which serves delicious fish & chips. I did my lunch at kite beach and returned to Civic center by 1 pm. Cape Town is a very windy city so be prepared to carry windproof jacket if you are visiting there. The beach was not that crowded and mostly kite surfers come to the beach for surfing. The view of Table Mountain was absolutely stunning from the beach and I was really excited to capture amazing photos of Table Mountain from the beach.
5. Cliffton 4th beach
Cliffton 4th beach is located about 20 minutes walk from Camps Bay beach. The beach is far smaller than Camps Bay beach. The beach is not easily accessible from the main road. The beach is located near a cliff and you have to go down the cliff in order to access the beach. The beach is located very close to the Lions Head mountain. Clifton 4th beach is the most southernly beach of the series of small beaches around the bay. During my visit the entire beach was almost empty. I visited the place on Sunday but I only saw two surfers at the beach. The beach is popular among surfers and you will also find a surf rental shop at the beach. The view of lion’s Head was absolutely spectacular from the beach.
6. Boulder Beach
I joined a group tour for visiting the Cape Point peninsula region of Cape Town. Boulder beach was one of the stops during our trip. If you are going to Boulder beach from Cape Town then you can take southern line to Simon Town station. Simon Town station is the last station on this line and it takes about 1 HR to reach Simon Town from Cape Town. Muizenberg station to Simon Town section of the journey was absolutely breathtaking. You will cross some of the beautiful landscape of southern cape during your trip. Boulder beach is located about 20 minutes walk from Simon Town station. Boulder beach is famous for African Penguins. African penguins are endangered species and their numbers are decreasing because of overfishing & pollution. You have to pay R65 environment fee in order to enter the beach. Foxy beach situated near Boulders beach and it is the best place to view penguins. They have constructed broadwalks around the beach for the perfect viewing of the African Penguins. During my visit the entire beach was full of African Penguins. People are restricted to enter the beach around the main penguin Colony. The main boulders beach is a popular beach among tourists and locals and you can also spot some small number of African penguins near the main beach. You will find lot of granite boulders around the beach. There is a parking facility around the beach and people mostly come to see the beautiful penguins situated at the beach. Penguins look very adorable but it is strongly advised not to touch them because penguins have sharp beaks which they can use against anyone if they feel threatened.
7. Hout Bay Beach
Hout Bay beach is located by about 30 minutes bus ride from Camps Bay beach. The beach is located adjacent to a pier. Hout bay is famous for seal island tour. Seal island is located by just 20 minutes boat ride from Hout Bay beach. Most boats parked near Hout Bay do the seal island excursion in 1 hour time. You can also take touristy photographs with seals at the beach. We visited Hout bay during our Cape Peninsula day tour. We stopped at the bay for 2-hours before heading towards Cape Point light house.
The beach was completely empty during the morning time. The beach is surrounded by tall mountain range and chapman peak drive starts just after Hout Bay beach. The beach is located far from center of Cape Town so you might need at least half day if you are planning to visit the beach. The frequency of public transport buses is not that great and I will strongly advise to visit Hout Bay if you are planning to visit Cape Point or Chapman’s peak area.
You can check out my complete guide to visiting Cape Town here.
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