Cape Town Adventures

A location simply made for adventure

Surrounded by oceans and with a mountain located at its very heart, Cape Town has a location simply made for adventure. This is an active city of hiking and biking trails, a destination to see great white sharks and southern right whales, a place to search for antelope, tortoises and baboons. As for the views, you can admire Cape Town from several vantage points: from the top of Table Mountain of course but also from a motorbike’s sidecar, or from hundred feet in the sky with nothing but whistling air beneath you, care of a paragliding experience.

We offer full and half-day adventure tours and are confident we have the services of some of the best and most experienced operators in Cape Town’s adventure business. Most of our adventure tours are privately guided by an expert in their field, ensuring personalised attention and a bespoke experience.

Cape Town adventures are mostly year-round activities although being outdoor-based they are also dependent on the weather that particular day. Several adventures are seasonal however. Whale watching, for example, sits between August and November; shark-cage diving in Cape Town’s False Bay runs between February and October.

Browse our most popular Cape Town adventures below and speak to us about adding them to your holiday itinerary in the Mother City.

Most popular Cape Town adventures

Table Mt Hiking Tours

Stunning views, dazzling flowers and dramatic geology: iconic Table Mountain is a highlight of a Cape Town holiday. A cable car takes visitors up and down but there are dozens of hiking trails on the mountain too. Some are challenging, others relatively easy, and you can choose between a cable car descent and a walk down. Half and full-day Table Mountain hikes are available and are led by experienced, professional hiking guides. (The Fynbos Guy)

The mountain’s Table Top is the most popular part of the mountain but for a more off-the-beaten-path experience, consider a guided hike on another part of Table Mountain or the Cape Peninsula such as Cape Point.

Peninsula Birding Tours

Designed to appeal to beginners as well as experienced bird watchers, our privately-led bird tours take advantage of local experts to deliver diverse and rewarding birding. A birding tour usually combines the two best bird watching destinations in the Western Cape – Kirstenbosch Gardens and Strandfontein Water Treatment Plant. There are local endemic species to tick off such as sugarbirds and sunbirds as well as flocks of flamingos and pelicans, wildfowl, waders and raptors.

A birding tour is a combination of easy walking and viewing from a vehicle. Other destinations on or around the Cape Peninsula can also be explored for birds, especially if you are after one or two of the region’s rarer species.

Cape of Good Hope Wildlife Tour

Who would have thought that Africa’s biggest antelope can be found in the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve? The eland is just one of the animals on a surprisingly long list of wildlife at the reserve. They are joined by mountain zebra, baboons, ostriches and other antelope like red hartebeest and bontebok. On a smaller scale there are birds, tortoises, lizards and rock pools crammed with marine life.

Led by a naturalist guide, our wildlife tours explore the most rewarding areas of the reserve. You’ll enjoy a comprehensive introduction to the fauna and flora of one of the world’s most bio-diverse coastlines and there’s the chance to add on nearby Boulders Beach penguin colony too.

Shark-Cage Diving

Coming face to face with the ocean’s most infamous inhabitant is an unforgettable experience. Great white sharks patrol the Cape coast for prey and even leap out of the water to grab unsuspecting seals in a moment of primal power. You can choose to go underwater in a cage and spot them close up, or can remain onboard and watch the sharks through the clear Cape waters.

Shark-cage diving is available all year round at Gansbaai – a 2.5-hr drive from Cape Town – though the water is clearest between March and September. Closer to Cape Town, you can enjoy shark spotting and cage-diving from Simons Town between February and October.

Cape Town Paragliding

Running off Signal Hill with the ground slipping away beneath you, the full extent of Cape Town’s Atlantic seaboard begins to reveal itself. Safely harnessed to a paraglider pilot, you can now relax and enjoy the views while an expert handles the descent.

Operating only when weather conditions are optimum, paragliding gives you sensational vistas of Cape Town and the Atlantic Ocean as you twist and turn your way to a soft landing on the lawns of Sea Point Promenade. Time for a celebration!

Whale Watching Tours

Arriving from their Antarctic feeding grounds in about August, southern right whales have long made the shallow Cape waters their breeding grounds. It is here that the whales breach and tail wave in display, where babies are born and families get together before returning south in November.

You can see whales from the beaches of Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula but travel to the nearby town of Hermanus for the best land-based whale watching in the world. Here you can often sit down on a park bench or café table and see whales offshore. For closer views of whales and other marine life such as seals, dolphins and penguins, we’d recommend booking a whale watching tour.

Sidecar Touring

With its gently meandering roads and dramatic scenery, the Cape Peninsula was made for a road trip – preferably one with the wind in your hair. One of Cape Town’s most original adventures is to tour by motorbike and sidecar; your rider-guide takes care of the driving while you enjoy Cape Town’s famous sights.

You can choose between 2-hour, half-day and full-day tours and you are supplied with retro leather jackets, helmets and goggles as well as a complimentary bandana. There are also sidecar tours to the Cape Winelands and Whale Coast, both exceptionally beautiful areas with roads that make the most of the scenery.

Selected Tours

Browse our recommended tours below, each featuring a trip to Cape Town, South Africa. If you’d like us to tailor-make an itinerary based on your needs and budget, then simply contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

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Cape Town Adventures
From hiking & motor-biking to shark-cage diving & whale watching, the Mother City has an adventure for everyone!
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Professional, quick and top of the edge service!!!

From the very first contact we’re very happy about the respond time and quality of information from safari-online.com. Based on the received first tailor-made quote, which is a weblink with all the details about the flights, photos of the lodges etc. we knew that this is “our” partner for this trip. Our expectations were excelled!!!

Lukas (Germany)
Best trip I have ever been on. Highly recommend.

Would highly recommend. Safari online asked questions when booking and were efficient and knew exactly what we were looking for in terms of accommodation and animals were wanted to see. Gave advice on a few little extras with no pressure, which we did and am very grateful which make trip even more exciting. Would definitely recommend booking with them.

Walter has always been an excellent communicator and has supported us fully

We have been to Africa for 24 of the last 27 years so know a bit about what is involved. Walter has arranged the details for the last couple of years, and has done a superb job. He is always quick to respond and comes up with answers immediately……..no evasive tactics, always head-on!

Roger (UK)
Karina was absolutely instrumental to our safari success.

Our experience with Safari Online was excellent. After becoming very frustrated trying to search for a safari destination on our own, we turned to Karina for help and she was a lifesaver.  We had an amazing safari adventure at the lodge–the experience of a lifetime–and are so grateful for her help. We literally couldn’t have done it without her!

Chris (USA)
Safari Online were extremely efficient and absolutely charming to work with.

Our 28-day itinerary took us to South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana. A magnificent and unforgettable adventure. Everything ran smoothly and efficiently from the flights, transfers, rides, connections, etc. Absolutely wonderful! Can’t thank them enough!

Ann and Mario (Canada)
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Safari Online have been nothing but professional and incredible from the time we made our first enquiry to the last day of our stunning holiday. Nothing was too much trouble for Walter. We are now starting to plan our next family Safari for 2019. Guess who we will be booking with??? Safari Online we hope you are ready!!!!!

Penni (AU)
Professional, patient, efficient and responsive. Met all our travel needs and requirements spot on

Communication was excellent – I asked A LOT of questions and did a ton of research myself and Walter was extremely patient with me and very responsive. he was straight forward and extremely professional. Tour itself was excellent – an incredible experience and one never to be forgotten. Everything was spot on.

Neena
Very helpful good suggestions for holiday ideas always available for questions good organising

Excellent service and they supplied good suggestions for our holiday they also organised all internal flights and arranged check in for us so we had no worries while on holiday. We have had a most memorable holiday staying at wonderful places thanks to Sabrina and Safari Online. Would recommend Safari Online to organise your holiday.

Lorraine (UK)
An incredibly well organised tour with no hassles whatsoever.

Safari Online understood our needs and was able to present us with sensible options to choose from. It was evident that this tour operator has knowledgable and experienced agents who can arrange a seemless tour. We were provided with a professional online itinary which was comprehensive and easy to use, knew exactely what to expect, and encountered no stumble blocks along the way.

Gwen (AU)
It was a safari of a lifetime and exceeded all of our expectations!

Our mom grew up in Central and South Africa so we had visited the continent many times. My sister and I wanted to take our teens and husbands to Africa to experience the magic. We had a limited budget but big and specific expectations and by some miracle Walter was able to manage both.

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