False Bay
Warmer water, fishing harbours and penguins, along the coast the railway line still follows.
Guides to this part of the city
What to see
Steenbras Nature Reserve
Steenbras Nature Reserve protects roughly 8 400 hectares of Hottentots Holland mountain catchment above Gordon's Bay, off the R44. It combines the…
Clarence Drive
Clarence Drive is the R44 as it runs from Gordon's Bay to Rooi-Els along the eastern edge of False Bay, held between…
Gordon’s Bay Harbour
Gordon's Bay Harbour is a small recreational harbour in the eastern corner of False Bay, sheltered behind a breakwater with the mountains…
Kalk Bay Harbour
Kalk Bay Harbour is a compact working fishing harbour built into the middle of Kalk Bay village on the False Bay coast.…
Boyes Drive
Boyes Drive runs along the mountainside above Muizenberg, St James and Kalk Bay, high enough that False Bay becomes something you look…
Wolfgat Nature Reserve
Wolfgat Nature Reserve protects 262 hectares of limestone cliff, dune and coastal strandveld on the False Bay shoreline at Mitchells Plain, between…
Harmony Flats Nature Reserve
Harmony Flats Nature Reserve is the smallest reserve in the City of Cape Town network and one of the most significant. Its…
Edith Stephens Nature Reserve
Edith Stephens Nature Reserve protects 39 hectares of seasonal Cape Flats wetland at Philippi. It began in 1955, when the botanist Edith…
Things to do
Cape Point & Seal Island Eco-Cruises
Boat-based False Bay sightseeing from Simon’s Town, running north to Seal Island for the Cape fur seal colony or south along the…
Stand-Up Paddle to the Penguins
Guided stand-up paddleboarding sessions on the sheltered False Bay side of the Peninsula, launching from the Simon’s Town Boardwalk Centre for either…
Surfing
Surf lessons at Surfers Corner, Muizenberg, run from shopfronts on the beachfront. Board and wetsuit are included, and the wave there is…
Stand-Up Paddleboarding
Stand-up paddleboarding sessions on the sheltered canals at the V&A Waterfront and guided open-ocean paddles along the coast. Boards, paddles and buoyancy…
Golf
Clovelly Golf Club
Clovelly Golf Club sits in the Silvermine valley behind Fish Hoek, reached down a narrow suburban road that gives away little about…
Strand Golf Club
Strand Golf Club sits between the Hottentots-Holland range and the sandy shores of False Bay, and describes itself as striving to be…
Simon’s Town Country Club
Simon's Town Country Club sits on the slopes above False Bay in the historic naval town at the end of the peninsula,…
Walking
Everything else in False Bay
Dalebrook Tidal Pool
Dalebrook Tidal Pool lies on the False Bay coast between St James and Kalk Bay. The City of Cape Town describes access via a subway beneath the railway line, leading to a pool set into a rocky marine terrace. Local residents built an early sea wall here in 1906, and the municipality formalised and enlarged […]
St James Tidal Pool
The St James Tidal Pool is one of the best places in Cape Town to get into the sea without actually taking on the sea. The City of Cape Town describes tidal pools as rocky pools that offer a chance to discover small marine life, and as safe, family friendly places to swim. This one […]
St James Beach
St James is a small False Bay village wrapped around a sheltered corner of coastline, and it is best known for the row of colourful bathing boxes standing on the sand. They are among the most photographed structures in Cape Town, and they give the whole village its character. The beach is reached through a […]
Muizenberg Beach
Muizenberg is one of Cape Town’s friendliest stretches of sand, famous for its rainbow-coloured beach huts and gentle, beginner-friendly waves. It is the birthplace of local surf culture and a favourite for first-timers. The wide, flat beach is ideal for families, long walks and learning to surf, with plenty of surf schools and cafes lining […]
Boomslang Cave Trail
Boomslang Cave is one of the most enjoyable and unusual short hikes in the Kalk Bay mountains, tucked into the hills above the harbour village of Kalk Bay on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. Rather than a summit climb, the appeal here is a walk-through cave — a natural passage that runs right […]