Cape Town Yacht Cruise: Private Coastal Cruises

Go on a Cape Town Yacht Cruise: Experience a Private Coastal Cruise

A Cape Town yacht cruise through Chartercraft is private use of a crewed yacht or catamaran along the Atlantic Seaboard, departing the V&A Waterfront Marina. Two-hour minimum, rates start at the entry-level tier on Le Cat. The cruise is coast-led: you see Cape Town from the water side, with Table Mountain and the Twelve Apostles to one side and Robben Island, Bloubergstrand and the open Atlantic on the other. Sunset cruises, lunch cruises, four-hour runs to Hout Bay, and (with the right window) full-day Cape Point voyages. All vessels are SAMSA-licensed.

Cape Town yacht cruise routes

The routes we book most often, in order of duration:

• Atlantic Seaboard short cruise. Two hours. Out past Mouille Point, Three Anchor Bay, Sea Point, Clifton, Camps Bay, back. The view is the Twelve Apostles range to your port side.
• Sundowner cruise. Two to three hours. Same Atlantic Seaboard route, departed 90 minutes before sunset.
• Lunch cruise. Three to four hours. Out, anchor off Clifton 4th or in Granger Bay, lunch on board, return.
• Hout Bay coastal cruise. Four to five hours. South via Chapman’s Peak from the water, the Duiker Island seal colony, back along the Twelve Apostles. The most-booked half-day cruise.
• Cape Point voyage. Eight hours plus. Full-day, weather-dependent, motor yachts and larger catamarans only.

For specific framing (sunset, lunch, harbour-only) see also the sunset cruise page and the boat cruise page.

Table Mountain yacht cruise: what you’ll see

A Table Mountain yacht cruise, anywhere out of the V&A, gives you a view of the mountain you can’t get from any land vantage point. From sea level off Sea Point, the full Table Mountain massif fills the eastern horizon: the flat-topped main face, Devil’s Peak to the left, Lion’s Head to the right, the cable station visible against the sky. The Twelve Apostles range continues south toward Camps Bay and Hout Bay. On the right wind day, the cloud “tablecloth” pours down the front face (locals call it the southeasterly tablecloth) and the cruise gets to watch it from below.

The angle changes through the cruise. Off Granger Bay you see the city bowl behind the mountain. Off Clifton you see the Twelve Apostles end-on. Off Hout Bay you see the back of the peninsula, with Constantia tucked behind. None of these views is available without getting on a boat.

Atlantic Seaboard yacht cruise: the route detailed

An Atlantic Seaboard yacht cruise tracks the western coastline of Cape Town from north to south. Departing the V&A Waterfront, the route in order:

• Mouille Point. The red-and-white Green Point Lighthouse, the Sea Point promenade behind. About 10 minutes out.
• Three Anchor Bay. A small protected anchorage occasionally used as a swim stop in calm conditions.
• Sea Point. The high-rise stretch, with Lion’s Head rising behind. 20 minutes out.
• Bantry Bay. Cliffs and the older apartment blocks of the Atlantic Seaboard’s most sought-after addresses.
• Clifton. Four small white-sand beaches in succession (1st through 4th), separated by granite outcrops. Clifton 4th is the swim-stop anchor for most cruises.
• Camps Bay. The wide beach and palm-lined strip, with the Twelve Apostles directly behind.
• Llandudno. Quieter cove beach, dramatic surf in winter. About 50 minutes out.

A two-hour run turns around at Camps Bay or Llandudno. Three- to four-hour runs continue south to Hout Bay.

Private yacht cruise Cape Town vessels

Coastal yacht cruise Cape Town to Cape Point

A coastal yacht cruise Cape Town to Cape Point is the eight-hour-plus full-day voyage. From the V&A south past everything on the Atlantic Seaboard, through Hout Bay, past Chapman’s Peak Drive (which the cruise sees from the sea side rather than the road side), past Noordhoek’s eight-kilometre beach, around Slangkop and on to Cape Point itself, the two-hundred-metre cliffs at the southwestern tip of the African continent. The lighthouse on Cape Point dates to 1860; the new lighthouse below it dates to 1919. Kommetjie, Scarborough and Misty Cliffs pass on the return leg.

This voyage only runs when the swell, wind and operator are aligned. Cape Point sits at the meeting point of the Benguela (cold Atlantic) and Agulhas (warm Indian) currents and the seas around the point can be unpredictable. We book a specific Saturday and watch the forecast through the week. Vessel restrictions: motor yachts and the larger sailing/power catamarans only. Le Cat and Ameera are too small for this run.

How the booking works

1. Pick a vessel from the table above (or use the booking filter on the site).
2. Send the request: date, group size, what you want to do.
3. We confirm availability and send a quote with terms in 24 hours.
4. Sign the terms, pay the deposit, we lock in the booking.
5. You get a final reservation email with the berth, time and skipper contact a week before.

Same-day or large-group enquiries: ring +27 (0)21 300 6180.

Frequently Asked Questions