Safaris in Cape Town

When we think of safaris, the idea of a 4x4 car in a desert area always comes to mind, but you should know that the concept of safari goes much further, since it refers to all kinds of nature and wildlife contemplation. Thus, Cape Town is a strategic point to have access to this type of excursions with options to walk by land and by sea.

Visiting important national parks in South Africa, visiting the Aquila Game Reserve and the Botlierskop Private Reserve, traveling to the Cape Peninsula and visiting the penguin colony, interacting with sea lions, observing the oceanic fauna and having contact with sharks from a cage, or even watching the hundreds of birds that live in World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary & Monkey Park, are just some of the experiences you can have if you decide for the adventure. Here are some of the most popular things to do in Cape Town.

If you are going to Cape Town with children, you should know that this is an ideal option to share with the family. A one-day experience at Aquila Game Reserve, a nature reserve and resort located about 176 km from the city center and easily accessible by car. There, you will not only live the experience of animal contemplation, but you will be treated as if you were a guest of the hotel.

Depending on where you are staying in Cape Town, this type of activity could offer pick-up at the door of your hotel. When you arrive at the resort, you will get to know its facilities and enjoy its spaces. In fact, you could do activities such as taking a dip in the pool, going to the spa or taking a break admiring the scenery.

The viewing experience encompasses a visit to Africa's Big Five. Thus, you will see various animals at the top of the food chain such as lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants and rhinos. You will see these species in their habitat as they feed and interact with the environment. All this, from an off-road car with panoramic view.

You will also see the flora present in the region and meet other species such as giraffes, monkeys and the exotic Aquila Verreauxii It will be hours of appreciation and interaction with the wild world, where you will listen to the comments of a professional guide.

Information of interest

• Price: the value of this tour is around 139 € per person.
• Duration: this experience is estimated to last approximately 9 hours.

A 2-day safari experience will allow you to immerse yourself in the African bush, specifically in the Garden Route, in the Cape Agulhas area . This natural space was declared by Unesco as a biosphere reserve and keeps within it samples of flora and fauna that will leave you speechless.

You can participate in guided tours in which you will see various animals such as elephants, buffalo, leopards and lions in their living spaces. You will ride along the trails in an all-terrain vehicle and enjoy the landscapes of the southern part of South Africa.

At night, these tours offer accommodation in a lodge, a cabin comfortable enough to replenish your energy and continue the adventure.

To make the most of your visit, you will pass through Hermanus, a town famous for being a spot for whale watching on the mainland. If you're lucky, you'll get to see some of them. You will also go to a nearby bay, where penguins usually stay during their breeding season. Thus, depending on the time of the year you visit, you will see these charming animals and their nests.

Information of interest

• Price: tickets for this experience usually cost approximately 340 € per person.
• Advantages: the transfer to and from the hotel is usually included in the package.

As I mentioned before, when we talk about Safari, we usually think of desert terrains and 4x4 vehicles. However, the concept encompasses any kind of excursion in natural environments, including aquatic spaces as well. Therefore, the goal of this type of experience is for you to meet the five great animals of the ocean on a one-day exploratory boat ride.

The adventure usually begins with a pick-up at the door of your hotel, heading to the port to board the boat. You will enter the waters of the Atlantic Ocean in the company of a marine biologist. Once at the observation point, the show will begin and species such as the great white shark, sea lions, whales and dolphins will cross before your eyes.

The journey will continue and you will head towards the well-known penguin and seabird sanctuary in the town of Gansbaai, where you will see dozens of these animals basking in the sun and learn about some of the existing species and their care.

At the end of the tour, you will surely know much more about the behavior of marine animals and aquatic life in general. For all these reasons, this tour is suitable if you will be in Cape Town for 5 days or more.

Information of interest

• Price: the price of this tour is about 133 € per person, approximately.
• Advantages: You will learn about marine biology from a professional.

Cape Town is an urban epicenter that serves as a jumping off point to a vast array of natural destinations loaded with beauty and unique examples of South Africa's flora and fauna. So, whether you're spending 3 days in Cape Town or more, you should consider a tour to the Cape Peninsula and Penguin Colony.

These are day tours to the peninsula route, filled with beaches, gardens, cliffs, bays and more. Among the places you will visit are:

• Chapman's Peak Drive, the road along which you'll reach the peninsula, which offers wonderful views of The Sentinel Peak mountain and the towns of Noordhoek and Hout Bay.
• Hout Bay, a small coastal village. You can go to its market to taste local food and buy the handicrafts sold in its stores.
• Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, a world heritage site, home to more than 9,000 species of plants and the largest in South Africa.
• Penguin colony, established in the protected area of Boulder's Beach. This is a species of African penguins that are only found in this region and in Namibia.

If you want to take your experience of appreciating wildlife in their habitat to another level, then you could venture to Duiker Island, a tour that is offered to visitors on an optional basis . The island is home to dozens of seals, which you will see either sunbathing or swimming in the sea.

Information of interest

• Price: the cost of this excursion is around 84 € per person.
• Advantages: You will be able to see a variety of natural attractions in one tour.

If you love aquatic wildlife, then opt for a sea lion snorkeling experience in Hout Bay from Cape Town. This activity will allow you to interact directly with one of the big five animals of the ocean and see the aquatic world from a different perspective.

The experience will take place in the Hout Bay area, specifically on Duiker Island. You will have to go by boat to this place, but first you will receive snorkeling instructions from a professional. Once you receive the training, it will be time to navigate the ocean, stop at the observation point, put on the necessary equipment (wetsuit, goggles, gloves and fins) and dive in to start exploring.

Although the main attraction of this experience are the sea lions, if you are lucky, you may also encounter sea lions and even see some seals. All this in the company of professional guides.

At the end of this experience, you can return to the ship and make your way back to continue your itinerary of things to do in Cape Town at night.

Interesting information

• Price: the activity has an approximate value of 55 €.
• Duration: the net time of the experience is usually 2.5 hours.

The ocean waters surrounding Cape Town allow for very diverse and almost unique safari experiences in the world. An example of this is the shark cage boat ride, an activity that will take you one of the 7 days in Cape Town but will literally take your breath away.

For this experience, you will travel to the town of Gansbaai. You will arrive at the dive center and receive instructions to dive and embark on the boat trip to the observation point.

You will sail approximately 20 minutes to Dyer Island, and you will stop at a certain point to experience the adventure. You will enter the water a few meters deep and, protected by a cage, you will see the white sharks that inhabit this region up close.

Best of all, you will have the advice of a local guide and a marine biologist to learn about the life of these impressive animals and many interesting facts .

Information of interest

• Price: to live this adrenaline-filled experience you will have to pay from 183 € per person.
• Duration: the total time of this tour is approximately 10 hours.

Another option for a safari activity in Cape Town is to visit World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary & Monkey Park, a magical place full of biodiversity where you will see some 400 species of birds such as meerkats, flamingos, eagles and parrots, as well as many other animals that show off the natural value of South Africa.

Easily accessible from the city, this park, considered the largest bird reserve in Africa, will leave you impressed, especially if you plan your visit for the feeding time of many of the species (between 11:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.), as you will have the opportunity to observe them in all their splendor without distractions.

In addition to the birds, this natural complex has a space exclusively dedicated to monkeys, so you can see and interact with the famous squirrel monkeys and be amazed by the speed with which they move and their bright orange, yellow, green, white and black colors.

You can live this experience with your whole family. In fact, this destination is one of those incorporated in the Cape Town tour bus, so get ready for an unforgettable trip, with lots of contact with nature and different living beings.

Information of interest

• Price: the entrance fee is from 10 € per person.
• Duration: the duration may vary according to the way you make the visit, but in an average of 3 hours you will know almost all the park.

To explore the marine world beneath the surface, you don't necessarily have to dive. For example, in Cape Town you have the opportunity to have an educational, contemplative and fun experience if you visit the Two Oceans Aquarium.

There are many activities you can do in this aquatic complex, beyond the contemplation of the species and their exhibits, which in itself is quite extensive. You can join an interaction experience with the yellow plume penguins, participate in a guided tour on how the aquarium works, practice scuba diving or adventure diving and much more.

This huge aquarium is home to some 8,000 thousand species of animals. So you'll see turtles, jellyfish, sharks, octopuses, penguins, coral reefs and a kelp forest with dozens of fish swimming among them.

You can also see the microscopic life exhibit, where magnifying viewing angle technology will allow you to see things invisible to the naked eye like sea urchin feet, nudibranchs, strawberry anemones and other creatures imperceptible to the naked eye.

Information of interest

• Price: the entrance fee to the aquarium is around 17 € per person.
• Duration: the duration of the visit is approximately 3 hours.

In case you plan to stay more than 1 day in Cape Town, you can choose to experience this safari adventure in the Addo Elephant National Park This wonderful settlement is located about 45 minutes from Port Elizabeth (the city where the Garden Route ends, which starts from Cape Town).

In this natural jungle ranch live about 600 elephants and hundreds of other species such as lions, which you can see at various times of the day, although many say that the morning hours are one of the best opportunities for observation.

The visit to this park can be done with a private safari experience or even make a tour with your own car in the company of a professional guide. In either case, it is best to be prepared to travel a few kilometers in this terrain to observe buffaloes, zebras, hyenas, various birds, etc.

If you wish, you could also stay in the park, as it has a good camping structure, which offers adequate comfort for rest. Keep in mind that the longer you stay to explore, the more species and other wonders of the place you will be able to see.

Information of interest

• Price: the entrance fee is usually 16 € per person.
• Duration: the visit requires approximately 2:30 to 3 hours.

Just 4.5 hours from Cape Town, a great adventure awaits you in the Botlierskop Private Reserve, an area of about 4,200 hectares of land, home to at least four of Africa' s Big Five. In this space you can enter the jungle to see elephants, lions, rhinos, leopards, buffaloes, gazelles, giraffes, antelopes and more.

Being a private reserve, in this place you can camp and stay, according to your budget and preferences. On the other hand, you should know that the best of all are the safaris. In this natural reserve you can not only go on conventional guided safaris, but also opt for night safaris.

This type of tour attracts the most daring tourists, who, with just a flashlight and the light of the moon, go into the trails for a walk and observe those animals that are more active during the night hours.

Also, you will have the company and knowledge of professional guides, who not only know about the care of animals, but will do everything possible so that you do not miss the different species of wild animals that live in the area.

Information of interest

• Price: the cost can be from 75 to 120 € per person.
• Duration: the time of the visit will vary according to the experience you acquire, which can be a half day, one or two days.