Spend a day in Cape Town’s scenic beach suburb, featuring family-friendly swimming spots, stylish waterfront dining and mountain landscapes.
Camps Bay is a chic beach suburb just a short drive out of central Cape Town. Explore the bay’s stretch of white-sandy beaches or experience Camps Bay’s fantastic shopping and dining along the strip of craft markets, restaurants and bars. The scenic Twelve Apostles mountain range provides a stunning backdrop and features a network of hiking trails.
The swimming beach at Camps Bay is large and great for families. Relax on a beach chair under a sun umbrella, both of which can be rented from vendors on the beach. Lifeguards patrol the beach in the warmer months to ensure safety in the case of rip currents. Take a dip in the cool ocean or head to the tidal pool on the beach’s south end for a swim in the warm, family-friendly waters. Bring a picnic, grill your lunch on the barbeques and grab a sunny spot on the grassy area behind the beach.
A walking path connects the beach to the nearby Glen Beach, where surfers seek the bay’s biggest waves.
Parallel to the beach, find the palm-lined promenade of Victoria Road. Cafés, restaurants, pubs and cocktail bars are dotted along this strip. Take a seat on the outdoor terraces, order a cool drink and watch a famous Cape Town sunset. The boutique stores and street stalls on this street offer intriguing African craft items.
Experience the region’s scenery on a hike along the trails that lead into the Table Mountain National Park. The well-marked paths wind past beautiful lookouts featuring the Cape Town peninsula and the Twelve Apostles mountains. Take the path to Lion’s Head and book a paragliding trip back to Camps Bay or neighbouring Sea Point. Scuba diving tours delve into the fascinating shipwrecks on the coast nearby. Try the hair-raising experience of cage diving with great white sharks here.
Camps Bay is approximately 10-minutes’ drive from the centre of Cape Town. The beach is accessible with public bus and tourist bus networks. Street parking is available and free, but parking attendants usually expect a small tip.
