The Cape of Good Hope was a beautiful day trip from Cape Town, as the farthest point was only 1.5 hours away. This was a great sightseeing drive and apparently ranks with the most scenic drives in the world. We rented a car and planned on doing the Cape Peninsula our last day in the Cape Town area, so that we could drive onwards toward wine country and the Garden Route after.

It looked like there were trains to various towns on the way, but not all the way down to the Cape of Good Hope. We first stopped in Muizenberg, where the beach was one of the best we’d visited in the area. The water was much warmer here, and the beach not as windy; plus, although the water was calm, there were great surfing waves. This is where the famous colored houses – which are simply changing rooms/beach huts – are along the beach.

From here, our next stop was Boulder’s Beach, passing by many other small cute towns (Simon’s Town was a particular picturesque one) on the way. M was super excited to see the penguins! We didn’t follow the signs for the viewing platform, which was apparently much more crowded; rather, visit the Visitor’s Center, which takes you to a beach full of the penguins and boulders where you can wander and crawl to hidden corners to your heart’s desire.

The next stop was the main attraction: visiting the Cape of Good Hope national park. Bring cash to get through the entrance gate faster! Entrance fee was around $20, which was pricier than anything we’d paid for in South Africa but worth it if you think about the fact that you’re visiting a National Park. Once you’re in the park, there are plenty of places to visit and hike (you could probably spend a whole day there!); we opted to hike the South-Western most point of the continent.

On the way back, we took Chapman’s Drive, which was an experience in itself! People had mentioned that this was one of the scariest drives they’ve ever done, but while it was very windy and full of fun turns, at no point did it feel unsafe (compared to somewhere like the Amalfi Coast!).

Our last stop was Hout’s Bay, close enough to Camp’s Bay, but much different in vibe. The beach was white and sandy, and it was more of a traditional fishing village. Most importantly, there were SEA LIONS. After a wonderful day on the Cape, we geared up for our next stop: wine country!