Sunset Cruise Cape Town

A sunset cruise Cape Town style is short and simple: about 90 minutes on Table Bay with two glasses of sparkling wine while the light changes behind Table Mountain. I found three sunset trips on GetYourGuide, at $39, $45 and $56, all leaving from the V&A Waterfront. If you want to see what else sails, my guide to boat tours in Cape Town compares 12 trips side by side.

My pick, in one line: I’d book the Waterfront Charters luxury catamaran at $56 for the best rating (4.7 from 740 reviews). I’d choose the Wild Horizons schooner at $39 if the saving matters, or the $45 sparkling wine sailing for the most reviews, 1,152. Prices are in US dollars from the listings, checked in October 2026, and booking links are affiliate links, which I explain on my about page.

Waterfront Charters

1.5-Hour Luxury Sunset Cruise with Prosecco

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

My pick: My pick: a catamaran at sunset, $56, 1.5 hours, 4.7 from 740 reviews.

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$56

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Sunset Cruise Cape Town South Africa

A sunset cruise in Cape Town, South Africa, starts at the V&A Waterfront and heads into Table Bay, with Table Mountain behind you and the Atlantic ahead. The three boats are different types: a 58-foot gaff-rigged schooner, a pair of sailboats that follow the wind, and a luxury catamaran. All three tours include two glasses of local sparkling wine or Prosecco, and none of the listings promises a meal.

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: a 58-foot schooner, $39, 4.6 from 959 reviews, two glasses of bubbly included.

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The Wild Horizons listing names the route: V&A Waterfront, Table Bay, Milnerton lighthouse, Granger Bay and Table Mountain, then back to the Waterfront. It says the schooner is easy to spot in the bay by her red-brown sails. The listing is aimed at families and couples before dinner, and one reviewer mentions onboard music.

Sunset Cruise Cape Town Waterfront

Every sunset cruise at the Cape Town waterfront starts at Quay 5, where the booking offices are. The Waterfront Charters sparkling wine cruise is the one that tells you most about how the evening works. The listing says the sailboats Esperance and Serenity One follow the wind, so the destination depends on the weather.

Night tour

Waterfront Charters

Sunset Sparkling Wine Cruise

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

My pick: The most-reviewed sunset sail: $45, 1.5 hours, 4.6 from 1,152 reviews, route set by the wind.

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In the typical summer southeast wind, the listing says the boat sails across Table Bay towards Milnerton Lighthouse, returns to Granger Bay in the lee of Table Mountain to watch the sunset, then motors back. In winter, with the northwester prevalent, the direction will likely be towards the Clifton coastline or the Robben Island coastline. Some evenings a motorboat is used instead, cruising slowly along the Atlantic seaboard towards Clifton beach.

Sunset Times in Cape Town by Month

Sunset times decide when you book. I took the sunset on the 15th of each month for the V&A Waterfront coordinates from sunrise-sunset.org, in local South African time, which does not change in summer or winter.

Month	Sunset (15th)	Month	Sunset (15th)
January	8:01 pm	July	5:56 pm
February	7:40 pm	August	6:17 pm
March	7:06 pm	September	6:38 pm
April	6:24 pm	October	7:00 pm
May	5:55 pm	November	7:28 pm
June	5:45 pm	December	7:54 pm

The cruises are 1.5 hours, so a trip that ends near sunset has to start about an hour before the times above in summer and earlier in winter. None of the listings gives its departure times, so I’d check the booking page for the slot closest to the time in the table. In winter the sun sets by about 6 pm, so a sunset sailing is an early-evening activity then. From October to March the sun sets around 7 pm or later, which leaves the whole early evening free for dinner afterwards at the Waterfront. Whichever month you pick, a sunset cruise in Cape Town runs all year, since the listings state no season, and the same cruise in June is simply a colder, earlier one than in January.

Sunset Cruise Cape Town Prices

Here is the Cape Town sunset cruise price comparison in one table, built from the listings.

Cruise	Operator	Price	Boat	Drinks	Rating	Cancellation
Sunset cruise with bubbly	Wild Horizons	$39	58-foot gaff-rigged schooner	2 glasses of sparkling wine	4.6 (959 reviews)	Free up to 24 hours before
Sunset sparkling wine cruise	Waterfront Charters	$45	Sailboats Esperance and Serenity One, motorboat in some weather	2 glasses of sparkling wine, cash bar	4.6 (1,152 reviews)	Free up to 24 hours before
Luxury sunset cruise with Prosecco	Waterfront Charters	$56	Luxury catamaran	2 glasses of Prosecco	4.7 (740 reviews)	Free up to 24 hours before

The $17 gap between the cheapest and the dearest buys a catamaran with a slightly higher rating and, in the listing, the chance to spot whales, dolphins and penguins. Those sightings are described as regular, not promised. Pregnant women are listed as not suitable on every cruise, and the catamaran also lists people with mobility impairments and wheelchair users. The listing text on hotel pickup for the catamaran is ambiguous, so check it on the booking page.

Sunset Cruise Cape Town Photos

For photos, the direction matters more than the boat. The listings put you in Granger Bay, in the shadow of Table Mountain, for the sunset itself, and the Waterfront Charters text says you will see the sun dipping into the ocean on good weather days. That is a fair warning: on a cloudy or windy evening, the show can be short. The catamaran listing describes the sun melting over the horizon before a smooth cruise back to the Waterfront with its bars and restaurants.

The listings do not say anything about photography, cameras or tripods, and I’m not going to guess, so for Cape Town sunset cruise photos I’d simply check the sunset time in the table above and the cloud forecast for your evening.

Sunset Cruise Cape Town Catamaran

The catamaran is the Waterfront Charters luxury sunset cruise, and it is the one I’d choose if rating is your first filter. The listing describes departing from the V&A Waterfront, sailing towards Table Bay and keeping an eye out for marine life, then returning to the Waterfront with its bars and restaurants. The listing does not state the catamaran’s capacity. It is an open sunset trip and not a private charter, so you share the boat.

If you would rather have the whole boat to yourself, my page on yacht charter in Cape Town covers the private options from $3,574 for a private boat. And if you came to Cape Town for wildlife, the whale watching in Cape Town trips run as day tours from June to November.

What to Expect on Board

On any of these three Cape Town sunset cruise tickets you get two glasses of sparkling wine and a boat ride of about 90 minutes. The Wild Horizons crew is described in a reviewer’s words as entertaining, with music on board. A Waterfront Charters reviewer calls it good value, and another describes a fun boat with gorgeous scenery, lively music and seals. Those are single reviews, but they match what the listings describe.

The sailboats and the schooner rely on the wind. That means a sunset cruise at the Cape Town waterfront can head north to Milnerton in summer and south towards Clifton in winter, and in rough weather it stays in the harbour. I’d treat the route as a bonus, not a promise. Languages are English on all three, and the Wild Horizons listing asks you to exchange your voucher at its ticket office for a boarding ticket.

How I’d Choose

• Best rated: the Waterfront Charters luxury catamaran at $56, 4.7 from 740 reviews.
• Cheapest: the Wild Horizons schooner at $39.
• Most reviewed: the Waterfront Charters sailing at $45, with 1,152 reviews.
• For the classic sailing feel: the schooner, with its red-brown sails.

Whichever Cape Town sunset cruise you choose, check the departure time against the table above, look at the wind forecast the day before, and book the earlier slot in winter. For every other trip in the city, start from the Cape Town boat trips I compared, or return to the Harbour Advisor home page.