Best Day Trip From Cape Town 2023

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Greetings, Internet Stranger! I’m Stella Jane and welcome to the best day trip from Cape Town! Tell me if this story sounds familiar. Every day you get up in the morning and see the same thing. The same miserable commuters, cantankerous coworkers, and gloomy next-door neighbors. Don’t you get sick of it?

But if you go to Cape Town South Africa, you can live it up and go on a day trip from Cape Town to see Cape Point and the famous South African penguins. I recommend taking a guided tour in order to see as many of the Cape’s wonders as possible.

The tour I took was a real once in a lifetime experience full of penguins, seals, rare plants, beautiful ocean waters, and penguins.

Lucky for you, you can book the exact same tour I took!

Check rates and availability right here!

That way you’ll be able to follow in my footsteps on this fantabulous day trip from Cape Town!

Best day trip from Cape Town

Where to Stay?

Cape Town is a stunning city, and no matter where you stay, I’m sure you’ll love your day trip from Cape Town

But arguably the best hotel in Cape Town is the lovely Cape Heritage Hotel, which has the perfect location. The location is busy enough to be safe, but not too noisy, and the staff is on call 24-7. It’s also in a central location, so the guide for your day trip from Cape Town will have no trouble picking you up for this tour.

I haven’t convinced you to stay here yet? Fine, here’s more! The free breakfast every morning was scrumptious and decadent, and the staff couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful.

There was turndown service every evening, and the toiletries in the room all smelled delicious and were locally made. Plus the hotel is home to the oldest vine in Cape Town!

Click here for a great deal on this hotel for your day trip from Cape Town.

Or if it’s out of your price range and you want to explore other amazing hotel options in Cape Town within your budget, click here!

This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay for your time in Cape Town. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

Best day trip from Cape Town

Morning and Afternoon: Explore Nature!

Cape Town, despite its tragic history, is a city of remarkable beauty containing stunning flowers, penguins, mountains, architecture, and penguins.

An ideal trip would combine exploring the countryside and drinking wine with seeing penguins, taking a day trip from Cape Town, visiting penguins, lying on the beach, looking at penguins, climbing Table Mountain, and gawking at penguins.

Also, don’t forget the penguins.

But before we get to the penguins, it’s important to take the time and explore the other natural beauties that you can experience on the day trip from Cape Town. That’s why I recommend…

Approximately Top 5: Best day trip from Cape Town

1) Duiker Island

Our first stop on our full day Cape Peninsula tour was Duiker Island, which is an island entirely coated in living seals. We were going to get on a little boat and sail past the island because apparently there were too many seals for even one human to set foot on the island.

This trip to seal island is much easier when you go with a guided group because it’s harder to arrange buying the tickets and getting to the ticket booth on your own.

I’ve actually taken this tour twice, and the second time went off without a hitch. The first time, the island and the seals were just as fabulous as the last. The only problem was that we were running late, so our tour guide, whom I shall call Charlize Theron, called the men running the boat to ask them to delay it for us.

Ms. Theron kept pleading with them to hold it as our tour bus sped along closer to Duiker Island. It was such an adventure! Either we were going to get our seal watching, or Charlize was going to cry. I, for one, would be satisfied either way.

Anyway, we made it just in time, and I think in the long run I am happier having seen all the seals than I would have been watching Charlize’s tears. Be warned, the boat ticket costs a few bucks extra because it’s not including with the price of the tour, but I think those seals are worth it.

Just be sure to wear a light rain jacket because you’ll get wet if you stand outside the boat and take pictures of the seals. Not that I would know from bitter experience. Ahem.

2) Penguin Colony at Boulder’s Beach

After the lovely views of the seals, we traipsed along to see the Boulder’s Beach penguin colony. Keep in mind that you might have to pay an extra fee to enter the penguin colony, but once again I think it is worth it.

I mean, what is the point of paying to fly all the way to South Africa if you’re not willing to toss in a few extra bucks to see the cutest things on the entire planet?

It’s so amazing to see these sharp-dressed men and women in the wild! I’ve just seen them in aquariums like the one in Melbourne! They look much happier than the penguins at the Central Park Zoo. And look how many of them there are!

There will probably be lots of crowds there looking at the penguins, so just be patient and wait for a space to open up so you can take your photographs.

I was traveling with an Irish couple on their honeymoon, and the lady hopped over the fence to get a better photo with the penguins. Everyone rightfully booed her. Do not hop the fence! It’s very bad for the penguins.

This type of penguin used to be known as the Jackass penguin, and I think that’s very mean. They looked extremely well behaved to me. Now penguin scientists call them African penguins, which is much more civilized.

If you are lucky, you will not only see penguins, you will also meet an exotic South African creature known as the dassie. The dassie, aka the rock hyrax, is a special kind of mammal with sharp incisors that roams around Table Mountain and other South African parks.

Apparently the dassie’s closest relative is the elephant, which confuses me because it looks like a Rodent of Unusual Size, except that the dassie is of Usual Size. Are elephants really rodents in disguise? That might explain why they pretend to be scared of mice.

3) Eat Something

You’ll be ravenously hungry at this point, so your guide will drop you off at Simon’s Town to get lunch on your own time.

I suggest stopping at the incredibly friendly former Monocle & Mermaid café, which is now called Due South Bistro. They’ll give you neither eye-wear nor singing fish-women, but they will give you a delicious seafood salad, and that’s enough for any reasonable person.

4) Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope Preserve is probably the most Can’t Miss Destination on your day trip from Cape Town. It’s home to many wild animals, such as the baboon. Charlize warned us that though the baboons are furry, they are not friendly, and we shouldn’t attempt to approach them.

She didn’t need to warn me twice because as we left, we passed a car that was getting savagely jumped on by an angry baboon. I choose to believe that those passengers did something foolish to provoke the beast.

One time I also saw some baboons stealing luggage. Don’t leave your suitcases out in front of wild baboons! That should go without saying.

Fortunately, there are no baboons by the Cape of Good Hope sign. Just a whole bunch of people who want to get their photo taken with this sign marking the most South-Western point of Africa. Is there also a sign marking the most South-Eastern point of Africa? We should all get our pictures taken there too.

PS. You can see from my hair in the photo above that the wind is No Joke.

5) See Cape Point

Our next stop after the Cape of Good Hope Nature Preserve was Cape Point, the meeting point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. This is an essential stop on every day trip from Cape Town. One of the best things to do here is just hang out and take gorgeous photos of the water.

You can also take the Flying Dutchman funicular up To The Lighthouse. You can pay for a round-trip ticket or just a one way. I suggest taking the funicular up and then walking down for more photo ops.

Don’t miss the post near the lighthouse that shows you how far you are from many major cities. Of course finding the sign for New York City made me feel a little homesick.

They have a lot of penguin items for sale in the gift shops near the lighthouse, even though there are exactly zero penguins at Cape Point. I feel like I’m making Cape Point sound not that exciting, but it really is! Allow my camera lens to speak instead of my fingers.

See! You really feel like you’re on the edge of the world, which you sort of are. (You might have heard that Cape Point is the southwestern tip of Africa.)

6) Visit Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Here we come to the last stop on our full day trip from Cape Town. Kirstenbosch is the prettiest botanical garden I have ever seen. It specializes in local South African plants, which are called fynbos.

Fynbos look like shrubbery of varying heights, but their flowers come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors. Here was one fynbos (fynbo?) that I spotted in its natural habitat.

Even if you are not interested in fynbos, you will still get extraordinary views of Table Mountain, so it will be worth the trip.

Also, it has a magical wishing well shaped like a key that will supposedly grant you any wish. That sounds like one of those ridiculous fun facts I am always making up, but I promise you this one is real. After all, my one wish was that you would read this blog, and look! My wish came true!

24 Hour Tip

Those are all the secrets of the tour that I can share with you for now. You’ll just have to book the tour for yourself if you want to experience the wonders of the Cape Peninsula for yourself.

Check rates and availability right here!

Best day trip from Cape Town

Evening: Dinner and a Movie

Our day trip from Cape Town is over, and it’s time for the festivities to begin! If you want a casual dinner before seeing a movie, you can’t do better than Saigon, located right near the Company’s Garden back in Cape Town.

It has tasty and authentic Vietnamese food with great views of Cape Town. The service is crazy efficient so you won’t miss your showtime.

I recommend the light prawn crystal spring rolls for an appetizer and the steaming hot pho for the main course. But the next time I go, I want to try the Angry Duck. What is the duck so angry about? (Probably about being killed, covered in sauce and eaten.)

Just remember that in South Africa they use the French word for eggplant: aubergine. So you won’t need to ask what it means if you see it on the menu. I hope this makes up for not exactly knowing what a fynbos was. My French is a lot better than my Afrikaans.

After a day trip from Cape Town, you’ll want to rest your feet at the movies. The extremely unfortunately named Labia movie theater is the oldest art-house theater in South Africa. It was named after an Italian count, but I really think they should have named it after anyone else in the world, except for Cecil Rhodes.

The concession stand also sells delicious baked goods–I especially recommend the brownies. There are some tables out in the open air where you can sit and watch the sunset.

This made for a delightful evening except for one night when the sunset seemed to frighten a flock of birds who all flew up suddenly and hit me in the face. So if you have TippiHedrenphobia and are scared of birds, I suggest staying inside the Labia to eat.

Best day trip from Cape Town

Tools For Travel

• A portable cell charger so that your phone won’t die a miserable death during your day trip from Cape Town
• The best international travel adapter because if you’re American like I am, you’ll need one to be able to plug in electronics during your day trip from Cape Town
• My favorite travel guide to South Africa, including Cape Town
• The most reliable travel umbrella that is small enough to fit in my purse, but strong enough to stand up to powerful winds.
• These great TSA approved clear toiletries bags, so I can always keep spare toothpaste and travel sized toiletries in any carry-on.
• My book Get Lost, that I wrote myself with all my best travel tips. This book will show you how travel can take your life from blah to AMAZING!

That’s a Perfect day trip from Cape Town

If you thought this article was funny, check out my hilarious travel guide Get Lost.

What would you do on a day trip from Cape Town? Would you ever considering jumping on a penguin just to get a photo op? And could there possibly be a movie theater with an odder name than the Labia? Please email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should ONLY spend 24 hours in Cape Town or ONLY do one day trip from Cape Town while you’re there.

You can also try the best wine tour in Cape Town! You can try 24 hours in Cape Town. You can take a Robben Island in South Africa tour. You can also experience the best food tours in Cape Town. Finally, try the Cape Town top things to do. Learn about the best Cape Town weather South Africa.