Boat Tours Cape Town

If you are looking for a boat tour Cape Town can offer, the first thing to know is that the choice splits by place. Close to the V&A Waterfront it is mostly 90-minute sunset sailings and private yachts. In False Bay it is snorkeling from the shore. The whale trips are different again: they are day trips by road to Hermanus or Gansbaai, a long way from the city. I compared 12 boat tours in Cape Town on GetYourGuide, a mix of Cape Town boat tours, day trips and charters, with prices from $39 to $6,664 and ratings from 4.3 to 4.9.

My short answer: if I had one evening, I’d book the Waterfront Charters luxury sunset cruise on a catamaran. It costs $56, lasts 1.5 hours, includes two glasses of Prosecco and scores 4.7 from 740 reviews, which makes it my first boat tour in Cape Town for a visitor. If the budget is tight, the Wild Horizons schooner at $39 (4.6 from 959 reviews) is the cheapest boat tour in Cape Town I found. Prices are in US dollars from the listings, checked in October 2026, and the links to GetYourGuide are affiliate links, which I explain on my about page.

I’ve grouped this boat tour Cape Town comparison by the way people search: trips, cruises, the harbour, Robben Island, prices, private charters, rides and waterfront options.

Cape Town Boat Trips

Boat tours in Cape Town range from a budget sunset sail to a full day on a private motor yacht, and the two I’ve put first are the two extremes of the data. The sunset sparkling wine cruise from Waterfront Charters costs $45 for 1.5 hours and has the most reviews of any boat tour in Cape Town in my comparison, 1,152, averaging 4.6. The listing says the sailboats Esperance and Serenity One follow the wind, so the route depends on the day, and on some evenings a motorboat is used instead. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours ahead.

Night tour

Waterfront Charters

Sunset Sparkling Wine Cruise

• ★ 4.6 (1,152 reviews)
• 1.5 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The most-reviewed sail in the city: $45, 1.5 hours, 4.6 from 1,152 reviews, two glasses of sparkling wine.

from

$45

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At the other end of the Cape Town boat tours I compared, the 8-hour private charter on the 65-foot motor yacht The Only One is $6,664. It is a closed group booking with a captain and a stewardess, and the listing says the route can run past Sea Point, Clifton and Camps Bay, towards Hout Bay, or out towards Robben Island, with a stop to swim and a positioning for sunset on the way back. It has no reviews yet, so I’m judging it on the listing alone. I wrote up all three charters on my page about yacht charter in Cape Town.

Only One Yacht

8-Hour Private Yacht Charter with Drinks & Snacks

• 8 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The full-day option: 8 hours on a private 65-foot yacht with drinks and canapes, $6,664 for the group, no reviews yet.

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$6,664

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Cape Town Boat Cruises

When people search for Cape Town boat cruises they usually want something with a drink in hand and the mountain behind the water. The Wild Horizons sunset cruise is the one I’d choose for atmosphere among the boat tours in Cape Town. The boat is a 58-foot gaff-rigged schooner, and the listing says she is easy to spot in the bay by her red-brown sails. It costs $39 for 1.5 hours, includes two glasses of sparkling wine and scores 4.6 from 959 reviews.

The listing names the stops: V&A Waterfront, Table Bay, Milnerton lighthouse, Granger Bay and Table Mountain, with a loop back to the Waterfront. Additional drinks are on your own account. For the evening-by-evening detail on these sailings, including sunset times for each month, my page on the sunset cruise in Cape Town goes further.

Night tour

Wild Horizons Waterfront Adventures

Sunset Cruise from V&A Waterfront with Bubbly

• ★ 4.6 (959 reviews)
• 1.5 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The cheapest boat cruise I found: $39 on a classic schooner, 4.6 from 959 reviews, bubbly included.

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$39

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Cape Town Harbor Cruise

A Cape Town harbor cruise is not a separate product in my data, but the harbour matters on every V&A Waterfront departure. The Waterfront Charters listing says that when the sea is too high or the wind unpleasantly strong, the boat does not go into Table Bay. Instead it stays in the Cape Town harbour, which the listing describes as an alternative with views of Table Mountain and the city lights, and in extreme conditions the skipper may stay dockside. So a harbour cruise is also the fallback version of a sunset trip, and no Cape Town boat tour is sold as a harbour tour only.

The best match for a Cape Town harbor cruise is the luxury sunset cruise on a catamaran, $56 for 1.5 hours with two glasses of Prosecco and a 4.7 rating from 740 reviews. The listing says to look out for dolphins, whales and penguins, but sightings are never promised. It meets at the booking office next to Sevruga Restaurant, and the listing is unclear about hotel pickup, so check that on the booking page and allow time to reach the Waterfront yourself.

Waterfront Charters

1.5-Hour Luxury Sunset Cruise with Prosecco

• ★ 4.7 (740 reviews)
• 1.5 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: My overall pick: a catamaran at sunset for $56, 4.7 from 740 reviews, two glasses of Prosecco.

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$56

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What You See From the Water

Most of the shorter boat tours in Cape Town stay in Table Bay, in the shelter of the mountain, and what you see is the same handful of landmarks. The map shows the waterfront sights and the places the boats and trips reach, in the order I’d think of them. From the V&A Waterfront the entrance to Granger Bay is only about 0.8 km, Clifton about 5.6 km and Robben Island about 12.5 km, in a straight line from my calculation with the Google Maps coordinates.

On a Cape Town boat tour at dusk, Granger Bay is where the sunset sailings turn to watch the light go down, according to the listings. Table Mountain is behind you on the way back. The Atlantic side of the peninsula, with Clifton and Camps Bay, is where the private yachts go. The snorkel trips and the Simon’s Town sights are on False Bay, on the other side of the peninsula, about 32 km from the Waterfront in a straight line.

Boat Trip Cape Town Robben Island

A boat trip from Cape Town to Robben Island is one of the most-asked questions, and the answer is that none of the 12 boat tours in Cape Town I compared is a Robben Island tour. The island is run by the Robben Island Museum, and the museum’s own site says its ferries leave from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront and that the tour takes 3.5 hours including the crossing. I haven’t compared those tickets because they are not on my GetYourGuide list, so check availability with the museum.

What the data does show is that the 8-hour private yacht lists a cruise out towards Robben Island as one of its route options, which is a way to see the island from the water on your own schedule. The island lies about 12.5 km from the Waterfront, in a straight line. Please note it is a route option on a private charter, not a landing.

Boat Cruise in Cape Town Prices

Here is how the price of a boat tour in Cape Town breaks down. All figures are per person unless the booking is a private group, and all come from the listings.

Type of trip	Price	Duration
Sunset sailing and cruises	$39 to $56	1.5 hours
Guided snorkel from the shore	$71 to $73	2 hours
Whale watching day trips	$120 to $242	7 hours to a full day
Mola Mola snorkel by boat	$325	3.5 hours
Private yacht, whole boat	$3,574 to $6,664	3 to 8 hours

The card in this section is a leftover and not the lowest price. The African Ocean Adventures guided snorkel in Simon’s Town is $71 for 2 hours, with a group of up to 10, and it has no reviews yet. The listing says you enter the water from a sheltered beach, so it avoids a boat trip altogether: it is a shore snorkel, not a boat tour, and I’d book it only if you want to be in the water and not on it. A wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins and a hot shower after are included.

African Ocean Adventures

Simon’s Town: Guided Snorkeling Adventure with Equipment

• 2 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: A leftover here and not a boat: a $71 shore snorkel in Simon's Town for beginners, equipment and hot shower included.

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$71

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Best Boat Cruise in Cape Town

The best boat tour in Cape Town depends on what you want to see. If it is whales, the top-rated one in my data is the Ivanhoe Sea Safaris trip from Cape Town. It scores 4.5 from 451 reviews, costs $215 and takes 7 hours, which includes the drive. The listing says the boat launches from the fishing harbour of Gansbaai, along the cliffs of De Kelders, and that you may see southern right whales, dolphins and Cape fur seals. Hotel pickup, drinks, snacks and food are included.

This is a road trip with a boat in the middle, not a cruise from the city. Hermanus is about 94 km and Gansbaai about 114 km from the V&A Waterfront in a straight line, and further by road. The whales are seasonal: Cape Town Tourism says southern right whales arrive in June and stay until November. I wrote up the three whale trips in my guide to whale watching in Cape Town.

Ivanhoe Sea Safaris

Hermanus Whale Watching Boat Trip

• ★ 4.5 (451 reviews)
• 7 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The best-rated whale boat trip I found: $215, 7 hours with hotel pickup and food, 4.5 from 451 reviews.

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$215

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If you want a longer boat and a guide for the drive, the Ivanhoe Sea Safaris tour to Hermanus and Gansbaai is $242 and scores 4.7 from 117 reviews. The itinerary has 75 minutes in the van to a break at Grabouw, then 85 minutes to Gans Bay and a 2-hour whale-watching boat trip. Entrance fees and a guide are included, lunch is not. It starts in the city centre, so it is a road trip with a boat and not a waterfront departure.

Ivanhoe Sea Safaris

Whale Watching Tour in Hermanus and Gansbaai

• ★ 4.7 (117 reviews)
• 2 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The longest whale boat time of the three: 2 hours on the water after a drive to Gansbaai, $242, 4.7 from 117 reviews.

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$242

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The cheapest whale day trip is the African Eagle Daytours full-day tour at $120, with 4.3 from 128 reviews. It passes through Gordon’s Bay, Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay and includes lunch, hotel pickup and the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens entrance, but the Hermanus whale boat is an optional extra fee, so the price does not include a boat. One reviewer saw no whales on a rough day, so treat the season and the weather as real factors.

African Eagle Daytours

Full-Day Hermanus Whale Watching Tour

• ★ 4.3 (128 reviews)
• 24-hour ticket
• Free cancellation

My pick: The budget whale day out at $120, but the boat is an optional extra and one reviewer saw no whales on a rough day.

from

$120

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Cape Town Private Boat Tour

A private boat tour in Cape Town means The Only One, a 65-foot Princess motor yacht that the listings say takes up to 12 guests on day charters. Both trips here depart from the V&A Waterfront Marina, behind the Cape Grace Hotel, with a captain and stewardess, drinks, snacks and canapes included. The 3-hour charter is $3,574 and the 5-hour one is $5,634. Neither has reviews yet, and the 3-hour listing says it is not suitable for people prone to seasickness or with mobility impairments.

If you are splitting the cost among a group, a private boat tour in Cape Town can come out well against several sunset tickets, but the listings do not say whether the price is per boat, so I’d check the booking page before dividing it. My page on yacht charter in Cape Town compares all three lengths. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours ahead.

Only One Yacht

5-Hour Private Yacht Cruise with Drinks & Canapés

• 5 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: Five hours on the Atlantic side with drinks and canapes, $5,634 for a private group.

from

$5,634

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Only One Yacht

3-Hour Private Luxury Yacht Charter with Drinks

• 3 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The shorter private option: 3 hours from the marina, $3,574.

from

$3,574

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Boat Rides Cape Town

If you read boat rides in Cape Town as in-the-water time, the top-rated option is the Cape RADD guided snorkel in the Great African Sea Forest. It is $73, lasts 2 hours, is limited to 8 people and scores 4.9 from 141 reviews, the highest rating of any Cape Town boat tour in this comparison. You meet inside the Cape RADD Dive Center on the shore of False Bay. The listing does not mention a boat, so I’d treat it as a shore snorkel with a marine biologist guide who explains the kelp forest.

The listing says you need to swim or at least be comfortable in the water, but not a high fitness level. It is not for children under 10, pregnant women or people with mobility impairments. Wetsuit, mask, snorkel, fins and photos are included. My page on snorkeling in Cape Town compares it with the other two snorkel trips.

Cape RADD

Great African Sea Forest Guided Snorkel

• ★ 4.9 (141 reviews)
• 2 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The best-rated trip of all 12: $73, 2 hours, small group, 4.9 from 141 reviews. A shore snorkel, not a boat.

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$73

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Waterfront Cape Town Boat Rides

For waterfront Cape Town boat rides with a difference, the Mola Mola snorkel is the most unusual boat tour in Cape Town on the list, and it does not start at the Waterfront. It leaves from Mykonos Marina in Langebaan, about 97 km from the V&A Waterfront in a straight line, on a Stingray RIB. It costs $325 for 3.5 hours (the description says 4 to 5), the group is limited to 8 and you need to be 16 or older and under 95 kg.

The listing says the fish are found from November to May, with up to 2 hours spent searching and 1 to 2 hours snorkeling, and visibility between 2 and 20 m. Transport to Langebaan is not included and there are no reviews yet. It is the most expensive per person of all the boat tours in Cape Town I compared, so I’d book it only if the mola mola is the point of the trip.

Expert-Tours

Mola Mola Snorkeling – Deep Sea Giant, Cape Town-Langebaan

• 3.5 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: The unusual one: a small-group RIB trip from Langebaan in search of mola mola, $325, November to May.

from

$325

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Where the Boats Leave From

Most boat tours in Cape Town leave from the V&A Waterfront, where Quay 5 holds the booking offices of Waterfront Charters and Wild Horizons and the private yachts sit in the marina. The False Bay trips start from the Simon’s Town side. I’ve marked as stops the places that appear in a product listing, which here is the V&A Waterfront.

The Waterfront Charters office, in the Quay 5 area, is where the two sparkling wine sunset trips check in. The Two Oceans Aquarium is about 0.2 km from the V&A Waterfront point, and the Nelson Mandela Gateway, where the Robben Island ferries leave, is about 0.3 km from it. False Bay Yacht Club is in Simon’s Town, close to where the snorkel trips start, and Boulders Beach is about 1.5 km from it. The Royal Cape Yacht Club is in Table Bay Harbour, and I include it as a landmark only, not as a departure point.

Which Cape Town Boat Trip Type Fits You

This boat tour Cape Town table is built from the same listings. Prices are the lowest in each group.

Trip type	Price from	Typical duration	Best for
Sunset cruise	$39	1.5 hours	First evening, couples, a drink and the mountain
Whale watching	$120	7 hours to a full day	Seasonal wildlife, a long day out
Snorkeling	$71	2 to 3.5 hours	Kelp forest, active travellers
Yacht charter	$3,574	3 to 8 hours	Groups, celebrations, privacy

Sunset cruise is what I recommend by default, because it is short, cheap, leaves from the Waterfront and is the only type that works in every month. The other three are for a specific wish.

How I’d Choose a Boat Tour in Cape Town

Here’s the short list I’d use for any boat tour Cape Town offers:

• First visit, one evening: the Waterfront Charters luxury catamaran sunset cruise at $56 (4.7 from 740 reviews).
• Cheapest boat: the Wild Horizons schooner at $39 (4.6 from 959 reviews).
• Most reviews: the Waterfront Charters sparkling wine sunset sailing at $45 (4.6 from 1,152 reviews).
• Whales, June to November: the Ivanhoe Sea Safaris trip at $215 (4.5 from 451 reviews), a 7-hour day.
• In the water: the Cape RADD guided snorkel at $73 (4.9 from 141 reviews).
• A big group or a celebration: The Only One private yacht, from $3,574 for 3 hours.
• Robben Island: book with the museum, not here.

Whatever you choose, check the departure point on the booking page, because the Waterfront, Simon’s Town and Langebaan are far apart. Wind decides a lot on the Cape, so before you book any boat tour in Cape Town, look at the forecast the day before. Every ticket here has free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, so a Cape Town boat tour is easy to move, whichever boat tour in Cape Town you pick. For other cities, start from the Harbour Advisor home page.