Western Cape Attractions

Cape Town and Western Cape

Western Cape Attractions

View of Table Mountain

Cape Town's Attractions are plentiful and varied. The Western Cape is one of South Africa's premier tourism destinations and for good reason.

The Cape province is renowned for the world-famous landmark Table Mountain, its vast Cape Winelands and the most exquisite coastline.

The Western Cape is made up of 10 distinct regions, 3 popular tourist routes and offers many 'must-see' attractions.

Western Cape Attractions and Destinations

Destinations / Regions of the Western Cape

Cape Town and Peninsula

With its majestic icon Table Mountain backdrop and pristine beaches, Cape Town is considered one of the most beautiful, culturally diverse cities in Africa. Between the high-rise office blocks, Edwardian and Victorian buildings have been meticulously preserved ... cape town attractions and destinations

Cape Helderberg

The Cape Helderberg includes Somerset West, Strand and Gordon's Bay. The region is comfortably close to Cape Town and the Cape Winelands, and is the perfect stop-over for tourists visiting the Cape Overberg or Garden Route. Famous for its seaside resorts ... cape helderberg information

Cape Overberg

The Overberg includes Swellendam, Arniston, Caledon, Hermanus and L'Agulhas. It is the most southerly region in Africa and is surrounded by mountains and ocean. The holiday-friendly Cape Overberg shoreline is famed for whale watching, shipwrecks, lighthouses ... cape overberg information

(includes) Cape Agulhas

Cape Agulhas, or the place where two oceans meet, lies at the furthest tip of Africa, a region that includes the towns of Arniston, Bredasdrop, L’Agulhas, Napier, Elim and Struisbaai. Historically, the cape has been known to sailors ... cape agulhas information

Cape West Coast

The Cape West Coast area includes Darling, Langebaan, Saldanha, St Helena Bay and Yzerfontein. The beautiful coastal wild flower reserves unravel across green hills. Famous for seaside resorts, flower displays, the West Coast National Park, fynbos, watersports ... cape west coast information

Olifants River Valley

The Olifants River Valley includes the towns of Clanwilliam, Lamberts Bay, Citrusdal and Vredendal, and comprises one of the largest citrus producing areas in South Africa. It is also known for its awe-inspiring scenic beauty and the fascinating distorted rock formations of ... olifants river valley information

(includes) The Cederberg

The beautiful Cederberg, a wilderness area dominated by a craggy mountain range and a nature reserve that stretches from the Middelberg Pass at Citrusdal to just north of the Pakhuis Pass at Clanwilliam - over 70 000 hectares of ... cederberg information

Cape Winelands

The rich, fertile soils along the Breede River and especially the areas of Somerset West, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl, have become world famous for their whites, reds, sherries, ports and brandies. It is the Mediterranean climate and winter rainfall of the south-western ... cape winelands information

Breede River Valley

An area of panoramic landscapes and towering cliffs which provide magnificent views of its valleys. It is the largest fruit and wine producing region of the Western Cape and includes Montagu, Ceres, Bonnievale, Worcester and Tulbagh. The wineries and cellars of the ... breede river valley information

The Swartland

The main town of the Swartland, Malmesbury, lies at the centre of one of the country's most important wheat-producing areas. Lush fruit plantations, expansive protea farms and indigenous veld flowers complete the picture. The region is also known for its Khoi-San rock art ... swartland information

Klein and Central Karoo

The principal towns of the little Karoo are Oudtshoorn, Calitzdorp, De Rust, Uniondale, Beaufort West and Prince Albert. Famous for the Cango Caves, ostrich farms, the Karoo National Park, hiking trails, the Voortrekker Monument, Swartberg Pass, Gamkaskloof ... karoo information

Garden Route

The Garden Route runs between Heidelberg and Storms River, parallel to a coastline featuring lakes, mountains, tall indigenous forests, amber-coloured rivers and golden beaches. Meandering trails are followed by hikers, the forests invite leisurely drives, and lakes and rivers ... garden route information

Western Cape Attractions and Destinations

Popular Tourist Routes

Cape Wine Routes

When one reflects on the splendours of the Cape - lush green valleys, rugged mountains, azure seas and sky - then the Cape’s winelands are usually top of the list. Visitors pour into the Western Cape to experience our viticulture, restored Cape Dutch farmsteads with their distinctive gables and thatched ... more information

Route 62

Travelers headed for the Garden Route will find that Route 62 offers a better alternative to the dull N2 motorway between Cape Town and George, being more scenic and slightly shorter. This well-maintained blacktop highway meanders from Worcester, by way of the Breede River Valley and the Klein Karoo, on to George and ... more information

Cape Whale Coast

The coming of the whales to the Western Cape's southern coastline, also known as the Cape Whale Coast, every year between June and November, not only creates a stir, but brings to our shores a large, intelligent and remarkable giant of the sea and the only mammal to have adapted to life in the open oceans ... more information

Western Cape Attractions and Destinations

"Must See" Attractions in the Western Cape

Table Mountain

Since the first person laid eyes on Table Mountain, it has exerted its powerful and charismatic pull, enchanting and drawing any and all who fall under its spell. The way to the top has never been easy, and for many centuries only a handful of bold and enterprising people could say ... more information and photo gallery

Robben Island

For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, 12 kilometres from Cape Town, was a place of banishment, exile, isolation and imprisonment. It was here at Robben Island that rulers sent those regarded as political troublemakers, social outcasts and the unwanted of society. During the apartheid years Robben Island ... more information

Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is world renowned for the beauty and diversity of the Cape flora it displays and for the magnificence of its setting against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain. Kirstenbosch grows only indigenous South African plants. The Kirstenbosch estate covers 528 hectares ... more information

Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

One of Cape Town's biggest tourist attractions, the Waterfront evokes images of the early activities of the harbour. Much of its charm lies in the fact that this busy commercial harbour is set in the midst of a huge entertainment venue with pubs, restaurants, specialty shops, craft markets, theatres and movies ... more information

Cape Point

Bartholomeu Dias, the Portuguese seafarer, was the first to sail around the Cape. This was in 1488. On his return voyage, which must have been particularly stormy, Dias stopped at the south-western tip of Africa, and named it Cabo Tormentoso, or Cape of Storms. King John of Portugal later gave it the name ... more information

Cape Town Beaches

The Mother City has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and something to offer everyone. It is no surprise that South Africa was one of the first countries outside of Europe to earn blue flag status for some of her beaches - there are three on offer in and around Cape Town. The blend of ... more information

Cango Caves

Almost 30 kilometres outside of Outshoorn in the Klein Karoo, and certainly one of the main reasons for placing this little town on your itinerary, other than the prospect of riding an ostrich, lie the Cango Caves, some of the biggest stalagmite formations in the world set in Precambrian times ... more information

Western Cape Attractions and Destinations