(To return to an overview of Cape Town beaches, and links to other beaches, click here.)

Smitswinkelbaai
Suitable for: swimming

Most people view Smitswinkelbaai and Valley from the coastal drive higher up on the mountain side enroute to or from the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve. The village is quite inaccessible because there are no roads leading in and out of it. The only way to get to the shoreline and small sandy beach is to take a footpath down the mountainside.

The village's few dwellings are all privately owned and there are no shops. Residents value their privacy very highly and this should be respected, this is not a place to head to in large groups. The beach offers good swimming in beautiful surroundings.

Miller's Point
Suitable for: swimming, picnics, seafood dining, scuba diving

Miller's Point, ±2km south of Simon's Town, offers a couple of small sandy coves and a tidal pool. It also has a campsite and caravan park. The Black Marlin seafood restaurant is a popular venue for lovers of ocean cuisine. The area has various rocky promontories, which are frequented by lizards and Dassies. A submerged wreck off Miller's Point is a popular dive spot for scuba divers although best explored in the company of someone familiar with the local seas and conditions.

Boulders
Suitable for: penguin watching, swimming (away from main beach), hiking

Boulders Beach, named after huge granite boulders strewn around, lies within a suburb of the Naval town called Simon's Town. It is one of two places in South Africa, some say in the world, where African (Jackass) Penguins have formed colonies on a mainland beach - they are normally based offshore. The fact that this colony established itself in the 1980's on a residential beach makes it unique. It is one of the most popular attractions in Cape Town. As the beach's popularity grew it became necessary for the authorities to institute measures to protect the Penguins from the growing crowds and boardwalks was erected. While you can get very close to the penguins on the main beach you are not allowed to step onto the sand, i.e. you have to stay on the boardwalks.

The main beach as well as one or two other coves have all been incorporated into the Table Mountain National Park and are thus officially protected areas. To support the conservation effort a small entrance fee is levied as you enter the area. On the southern side of, and away from, the main beach one or two smaller coves, less populated by penguins are still accessible for swimming, tanning and picnicking. They go mostly unnoticed by the crowds attracted to the main beach and you can experience the thrill of the odd Penguin marching by while you sun yourself on the beach. For more on the Boulders Penguin Colony click here.

Simon's Town - Long and Seaforth beaches
Suitable for: hiking, swimming

Simon's Town with Long Beach on the nearer side of the Bay

Simon's Town's two "town beaches" are not located in very pretty surroundings and we wouldn't recommend that you go to a lot of trouble to visit them. However, if you're staying in town they are good for swimming and hiking.

Long Beach is located close to the station, it offers no shade but can be pleasant for long walks, with views of the Hottentots-Holland Mountains. It also features a tidal pool. There are changing rooms and toilets nearby, and fresh water.

Seaforth is a good swimming beach. It offers calm, protected and safe swimming but its proximity close to the harbour makes it less than pretty. There is a small lawn shaded by palm trees. On holidays and weekends the beach is sometimes a little over-populated and noisy.

Fish Hoek
Suitable for: families, small craft sailing, surfing, beachfront dining

If you are tired if sightseeing and want to get out of Cape Town proper to actually swim as well as enjoying a day at the beach this is probably the best place to head to.

It's a family beach, it is unpretentious, has a wide and deep sandy beach and it offers refreshment stalls, a restaurant (Fish Hoek Galley Seafood Restaurant) and changing facilities. Best of all it has some of the safest and warmest water in the whole of greater Cape Town. Outside of peak traffic times it's about a 40 minute drive from the city centre.

Jager Walk, a pathway that runs along the rocky coastline to the south, begins at the beach's southern end at Fish Hoek Basin. The first kilometre to Sunny Cove is a cement path, the next 6km to Simon's Town is unpaved. In season this path is a good place to search for high quality whale sightings as the giants come very close to shore here.

Kalk Bay
Suitable for: diving, harbour browsing, shoreline dining

Kalk Bay doesn't really have a beach. Its main attraction is the small-vessel Kalk Bay Harbour where Capetonians come to buy fresh fish, especially Snoek. A selection of small coffee shops and restaurants as well as other shops are close by. Some of the dining venues offer sea views.

St. James
Suitable for: photographing Victorian bathing boxes, tidal pool swimming, coastal hiking

The village of St. James is located along a rather rocky stretch of coastline. There's not much sand at the village beach and ocean swimming is not really recommended. Its tidal pool is however quite popular, especially if you have toddlers. At high tide waves crashing over the sea wall at the far end of the pool provides for some excitement. The main feature of the beach is a collection of brightly coloured Victorian-style bathing boxes (change rooms). They, and those at the nearby Muizenberg, future regularly in Cape Town photographic essays. The small beach tends to be a little overcrowded on weekends and public holidays, it is best avoided at these times.

A paved one-kilometre coastal footpath, providing nice views of False Bay, runs along the ocean between St. James and Muizenberg.

Muizenberg
Suitable for: swimming, surfing, coastal hiking, photographing Victorian bathing boxes

Muizenberg is popular with families, especially those with toddlers. It also features brightly coloured Victorian-style bathing boxes (changing rooms), similar to those at the nearby St. James.

The downside of Muizenberg is that facilities created there in a previous era have since become outdated and even a bit tacky. It features a pavilion-type development, similar to those at some British resorts, which houses a swimming pool, water slides, toilets, changing rooms and snack shops. While some may like this rather commercial environment most Capetonians find it strange being used to more pristine beach environments.

Muizenberg beach marks the beginning of a 40km sand belt along the northern shore of False Bay, which extends all the way to Strand and Gordon's Bay. Apart from families, the beach is also popular with novice surfers. A scenic coastal path runs ±1km along the rocky coastline between Muizenberg and St. James.

(To return to an overview of Cape Town beaches, and links to other beaches, click here.)