How to See Cape Town Beaches in One Day

I have been extremely lucky during my time in Cape Town weather-wise. Winter here can be a mixed affair but is not as bad as many tourists think. You can have brilliant sunshine and in fact I only had 2 rainy days, and 4 foggy days, which also made for some spectacular photos – especially on and around Cape Town beaches. Here’s the scoop.

This trip was sponsored by Escape to the Cape, who kindly took me on a private tour around Cape Town to show you the best Cape Town beaches.

Cape Town Beaches Do Not Mean Bathing

Cape Town beaches are pretty amazing. Since they are located at the ocean (actually two oceans), beaches can be found everywhere. Sandy beaches, stone beaches, rugged beaches, all of those are found with Cape Town beaches. But one thing you maybe won’t be tempted to do, be it winter or summer, is having a dip. It is freezing cold! More so in the Atlantic than the Indian ocean.

If amazing coastal scenes and Cape Town beach walks are alright with you – and they should be once you’ve seen them – then you might consider the following stops on a day trip out along the Cape. You can rent a private tour like I did or opt for a cycling tour around South Africa.

For instance, everyone can and should do the Cape Point Drives or Wineland Tours and all the other day trips but beaches are not so much on the list. Possibly for the reasons mentioned.

A photo posted by @travelonthebrain on Jun 8, 2015 at 12:21am PDT

Best Cape Point Views Possible

Screw this, I say, let me show you the spots which tourists don’t put on their map. I was lucky that Escape to the Cape“>Escape to the Cape offered me a private driver for a day to tour Cape Town and so I could tweak the normal itinerary a bit and do my own thing.

First stop was Camps Bay with all the super fancy and posh beach houses with the rooftop serving as a parking spot and the ground floor being the beach. How amazing is that? Amazing and unaffordable. But you can certainly enjoy a cocktail while watching beautiful sunsets over the Cape Town beaches!

Driving on towards the lookout over the 12 Apostles, you definitely need to stop here if only for that view. And the second time I came here, a film crew had taken over the parking lot, so that underlines it. Get here!

Now head back to the car and get on scenic drive to the new hot spot Hout Back. Here’s a fun fact for you, they call themselves Republic and you can even buy fake passports at souvenir shops just for the heck of it.

Harbour Does not only Mean Fish

Speaking of souvenir shops, at the Harbour front you can stock up on hand crafted items while you tour Cape Town. My personal favourite among the many markets and foodie spots in my Cape Town tour was the Hout Bay market on weekends – especially because of the food.

It is easy to spot after you pass the handicraft market and follow the colourfully painted walls towards another parking lot.

Having scoured unique finds and tasteful food, I headed over to Kalk Bay, where the in crowd of Cape Town hangs out (outside of the Cape Town beaches, of course).

There is a nice beach but my ultimate favourite is just a little off in Muizenberg. But before I discovered it, we drove up to a little outlook of the whole bay and watched the shark spotter watch out for sharks. There are actual people employed staring out to sea, looking for suspicious shadows. Day in day out and in all kinds of weather.

A photo posted by @travelonthebrain on Jun 11, 2015 at 11:32pm PDT

My Personal Favourite of the Cape Town Beaches

Down at the beach I saw the shark spotter headquarters but most of all, I found rows upon rows of the most colourful changing huts, which reminded me of Brighton Beach in Melbourne.

They certainly make for wonderful pictures on a sunny day and if you are not entranced by them you might be hypnotised by the surf action going on in the ocean. It is one of the surfing hot spots in Cape Town throughout the whole year.

Here’s a little insider secret: Just a little bit Western, past the station, you can even find more boxes but with basically no tourists and a sheltered tidal pool.

After that, you can enjoy untouched beach of 26km length all the way towards the Strand, another top beach place. It is one of the more classier ones as it is a beach resort with a white beach and modern resort buildings as a skyline behind it.

The Dutch and the Wine

If you are feeling like treating yourself, refrain from the usual ice cream cone and make Stellenbosch your next destination. It is very near and you can easily see it on when on a Cape Town tour.

Not only is this now student town uber pretty with its heritage white Dutch buildings but you can find many cafes and restaurants as well as great wine. Cape Town grows a lot of wine and Stellenbosch is one of the most known areas for it. So maybe even knock on a cellar door if you have time.

That done, you must be pretty exhausted from all these impressions of beauty falling on your synapses and you can make your way back to Cape Town in a sunset drive towards Signal Hill, which will look just like your African dreams with the gold-red sun orb.

And this is the conclusion to a perfect day. And if you need some more Cape Town inspiration and day trips, make sure you stop by Escape to the Cape“>Escape to the Cape to pick one or more of the many day trips, spanning scenic, child friendly and adventure tours, to name just a few. Highly recommended!

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Would you spend a day just chasing beaches? Or would you rather just look for local seafood restaurants and vinyards? Shoot me a comment.

Contact

Escape to the Cape
Stone Fountain Terrace, Suite 102
95 Klipfontein Road
Rondebosch, 7708, South Africa
Phone:+27 21 686 3492
Email: shaheed@escapetothecape.co.za
Skype: escapetothecape

A photo posted by @travelonthebrain on Jun 13, 2015 at 10:27am PDT