Cape Town in 5 Days: Mountain, Harbour and Peninsula

Start with the fort’s courtyards and exhibitions for an introduction to colonial Cape Town. Continue by taxi or a daytime city walk to Company’s Garden.

Walk through the central garden towards the Iziko museums, with a lunch break nearby. The map pin is by the sundial inside the garden, marking the start of the garden walk.

Choose this museum for natural history, fossils and wildlife displays. It is one of two alternatives beside the garden: visit here or the National Gallery so the afternoon still has room for Bo-Kaap.

The art collection offers a different reading of South Africa from the natural-history museum next door. Choose one main museum, then walk back towards Greenmarket Square and Bo-Kaap.

A short browsing stop for craft stalls on the way from the garden to Bo-Kaap. Compare stalls before buying, then continue west rather than making a separate return journey here.

Walk the streets around Wale Street for Cape Malay history and colourful houses, then stay for a Cape Malay meal. These are lived-in streets; photograph the architecture from public pavements rather than doorsteps.

Make the mountain the main morning outing. Take the cableway from Tafelberg Road, then choose the short summit paths or the longer plateau walk to Maclear’s Beacon. Use the first clear morning of the trip; swap with the city day if wind closes the cableway.

The Robben Island tour starts here at the V&A Waterfront. Book the museum’s official ferry-and-tour ticket ahead of the trip and arrive for its stated boarding time; the outing occupies much of the day.

The prison visit is part of the booked island tour, with accounts of imprisonment under apartheid. Return to the waterfront for a late lunch; the art museum and aquarium are alternatives, not additions to this day.

Make this a full garden morning, including the tree-canopy walkway and paths below the mountain. Have lunch here or in Constantia; use a taxi, driver or sightseeing bus for the transfers.

The penguin boardwalk is the first main stop on a full peninsula day. Use a car or a guided day tour for the journey south from Cape Town and the onward drive to Cape Point.

Continue south into the Cape of Good Hope reserve for the lighthouse viewpoint. Walk uphill or use the funicular, then spend the afternoon around the reserve’s coastal viewpoints.

This coastal viewpoint sits in the same reserve as Cape Point. Visit after the lighthouse, using the park roads between them; the two pins are different stops on one peninsula outing.

Stop around Jubilee Square and the harbour for a late lunch or a break on the return from Cape Point. The town is beside Boulders, so it also works as an earlier lunch if your tour runs south later.

A full-day Peninsula trip with return Cape Town transport, taking in Cape Point, Boulders Beach, Hout Bay and Chapman’s Peak. Plan roughly ten hours for this outing. The Day 5 place cards describe the coastal sights along the route, rather than extra visits after the tour.

An optional indoor waterfront visit, especially useful with children. Choose the aquarium in place of the island trip or art museum.

Optional waterfront alternative if you prefer contemporary African art or the island ferry is cancelled. Give the galleries a substantial part of the afternoon; the converted grain silo is part of the appeal.