Simon's Town
A historic naval town on the Cape Peninsula — Boulders penguins, the False Bay coast, and the base south of Cape Town.
Trip Role
Ideal stay
Best for
Our take
The penguin and naval town on Cape Town's south peninsula — the base for Boulders.
The penguin and naval town on Cape Town's south peninsula — the base for Boulders.
- Trip Role
- Day Trip
- Ideal Stay
- 1-2 nights
- Best For
- Penguins, the south peninsula, and False Bay
- Go If
- You want the south peninsula, penguins, and False Bay.
Why go
Simon's Town is the Cape Peninsula's south-coast base — a historic Royal Navy town, Boulders Beach penguins on its edge, and the False Bay coast. The base to stay at if you want penguins, whales, and the south peninsula without the city centre.
What we love
Boulders Beach penguins and the historic main road.
What to know
45 minutes from Cape Town by car or train; a car helps. Whale watching from the coast June–Nov.
What's here
Best things nearby
Boulders Beach Penguin Colony
Boardwalk among an African penguin colony on granite boulders — Cape Town's most accessible marine wildlife.
Cape Town
South Africa's mother city — Table Mountain, two oceans, the Winelands next door, and the country's best food.
Kommetjie
The Cape Peninsula's cold-water surf village — Long Beach and the Outer Kom reef, the Atlantic-seaboard surfer's base.
More town in Western Cape
Franschhoek
A food-led valley of Huguenot heritage — tasting rooms that double as lunch destinations, and the wine tram.
Gansbaai
The great white shark cage-diving capital — a working fishing harbour on the Whale Coast near Hermanus.
George
The Garden Route's transport hub and unofficial capital — the airport town most travellers pass through and few linger in.
Hermanus
The world's best land-based whale-watching town — southern right whales metres from a cliff path, June to November.
Knysna
The Garden Route's lagoon-and-headland town — the Knysna Heads, oysters, and the route's most-visited base.
Langebaan
A lagoon town on the West Coast — kitesurfing, a blue-water lagoon, and the West Coast National Park.