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Camps Bay beach and its turquoise bay with granite boulders in front, the houses of the suburb behind and the cliffs of the Twelve Apostles above

Where to stay in Cape Town

Photo: lumoplank, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Cape Town

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About Cape Town

Cape Town International is about 20 km by road from the city centre. The areas in this guide run from the City Bowl and the Atlantic coast to False Bay, about 30 km from the airport, and the Winelands towns of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, about 34 and 73 km.

South Africa. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airport
Cape Town International (CPT); by road about 20 km to the city centre, about 23 km to the V&A Waterfront and about 34 km to Stellenbosch. Source
VAT
15%, charged by VAT-registered businesses. Source
VAT on stays over 28 days
Commercial accommodation with domestic goods and services, such as cleaning and electricity, in an all-inclusive charge is taxed on 60% of that charge for a continuous stay of more than 28 days. The lease of a dwelling is exempt. Source
TOMSA levy
A 1% tourism levy on the room rate, collected by businesses that join the scheme to fund the marketing of South Africa and shown on the bill, with VAT added on top. The scheme is voluntary for businesses. Source
Short-term rental rules
City of Cape Town: a bed and breakfast owner lives on the property and lets at most 3 rooms to 6 guests; a guest house needs the City's consent in single residential zones. No rule requiring a number on listings was found. Source
National rules
A 2019 draft amendment to the Tourism Act would let the minister set thresholds for short-term home sharing; no enacted threshold was found as of September 2026. Source
Parking with a rental car
The City's contractor runs paid street parking in the CBD, Sea Point, Claremont and Bellville: pay the marshal up front; signs give the time limit and the tariff. Source
Entry
UK, US and most EU passports: 90 days without a visa. Ordinary passports of Cyprus and Poland: 30 days. Source
Traveller declaration
Since 1 July 2026 travellers entering or leaving South Africa, children included, must submit a customs declaration online before the trip, in the SATMS app or the SARS MobiApp, apart from a few paper-based exceptions. Source
Longer stays
Visa-exempt visitors can use the Electronic Travel Authorisation, launched in August 2026, to apply to extend a stay by up to 90 days. Source
Stays over 30 days
Under the City's planning by-law a transient guest stays at most 30 consecutive days, and a dwelling unit may house one family or up to 5 transient guests. Source
Emergency numbers
Police 10111, ambulance 10177, 112 from mobiles Source

Areas of Cape Town

Houses painted red, orange, yellow, pink and blue along Wale Street in Bo-Kaap, with cars parked at the kerb and a hill behind
Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

City Bowl (CBD, Bo-Kaap, Gardens)

The bowl between Table Bay, Signal Hill, Lion's Head, Table Mountain and Devil's Peak: the central business district below the mountain, Bo-Kaap's brightly coloured houses and cobbled streets on the slopes of Signal Hill, and Gardens, mostly residential, with Company's Garden and the restaurants and galleries of Kloof Street. It suits a first visit on foot and short stays.

Cape Town airport (CPT)
about 20 km
V&A Waterfront
about 4 km
Camps Bay beach
about 8 km

Car and parking

The City's contractor runs paid street parking in the CBD: pay the marshal up front and read the sign for the time limit and the tariff. UK travel advice recommends parking in well-lit areas and leaving no valuables in the car.

Cape Town's city centre seen from Table Mountain, with the harbour and the V&A Waterfront on the bay and the stadium at Green Point on the left
Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

V&A Waterfront and Green Point

Cape Town's most visited attraction, a working harbour with a large shopping mall, a marina, apartments and several large hotels below Table Mountain, and beside it Green Point, running from the coast to Signal Hill, with Cape Town Stadium, the promenade to Sea Point and the restaurants of Somerset Road. It suits a first visit with everything close by.

Cape Town airport (CPT)
about 23 km
City centre
about 4 km
Sea Point
about 4 km

Car and parking

The V&A has more than 7,500 bays in garages and open lots, patrolled around the clock. Its own tariff, seen in April 2026, charged ZAR 10 for the first hour and ZAR 120 for 12 to 24 hours at Victoria Wharf, and ZAR 20 for up to 24 hours at the Table Bay open lot.

The diving tower and outdoor pools of the Sea Point Pavilion, with the Atlantic Ocean behind
Photographed in 2018. Photo: Matt Kieffer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sea Point

A densely populated suburb between Signal Hill and the Atlantic, a few kilometres west of the centre, with the Sea Point Promenade along the shore and the pools of the Sea Point Pavilion. It suits a week or a month in an apartment by the sea.

Cape Town airport (CPT)
about 23 km
City centre
about 4 km
Camps Bay
about 5 km

Car and parking

Sea Point is one of the four areas where the City's contractor runs paid street parking, paid to a marshal up front. Ask whether the apartment comes with a bay, and park in well-lit areas, as UK travel advice recommends.

Camps Bay beach and its turquoise bay with granite boulders in front, the houses of the suburb behind and the cliffs of the Twelve Apostles above
Photo: lumoplank, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Camps Bay

An affluent suburb on a small bay of the Atlantic coast, below the Twelve Apostles, whose beaches and restaurants draw locals and visitors in summer, with some of the most expensive property in South Africa. It suits a beach holiday in a villa or an apartment.

Cape Town airport (CPT)
about 25 km
City centre
about 6 km
Sea Point
about 5 km

Car and parking

Camps Bay is not among the areas the City's parking contractor lists, so ask the host about parking. Chapman's Peak Drive, the toll road between Hout Bay and Noordhoek further south, closes in high winds and heavy rain (via GetCar).

A row of brightly painted beach huts on the sand at Muizenberg, with the sea and mountains behind
Photo: Lefcentreright, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Muizenberg, Kalk Bay and Simon's Town

The False Bay side of the peninsula: Muizenberg, the city's main surfing spot, with its beach huts; Kalk Bay, a fishing village with a harbour, built on the mountain slopes; and Simon's Town, the naval town with Boulders Beach and its colony of African penguins. It suits a stay by the sea about 26 km from the centre and trips round the peninsula.

Cape Town airport (CPT)
about 30 km
City centre
about 26 km
Boulders Beach
about 15 km

Car and parking

Parking rules along this coast were not verified as of September 2026; ask the host about a space. When Chapman's Peak Drive is closed, the M3 through Muizenberg is one of the ways round the peninsula (via GetCar).

Vineyards and farmland below a mountain range in the Stellenbosch area, with houses among trees in the foreground
Photo: Domenico Convertini from Zurich, Schweiz, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Stellenbosch

The second oldest town in South Africa, founded in 1679 and known as the City of Oaks, with Cape Dutch buildings, a university, cafés, restaurants and galleries, in the middle of the wine farms. It suits a Winelands stay about 34 km from the airport.

Cape Town airport (CPT)
about 34 km
Cape Town city centre
about 51 km
Franschhoek
about 34 km

Car and parking

Stellenbosch Municipality put Street Parking Solutions in charge of public parking in the town centre in 2019; current tariffs were not found. Most people reach the 0.05 drink-drive limit after two drinks in an hour, so plan wine tastings without the car (via GetCar).

Franschhoek

A small town and one of the oldest in South Africa, part of Stellenbosch Municipality since 2000. It suits a few nights in the Winelands, about 78 km from the city centre by road.

Cape Town airport (CPT)
about 73 km
Cape Town city centre
about 78 km
Stellenbosch
about 34 km

Car and parking

Franschhoek parking rules were not verified as of September 2026; ask the host. From Stellenbosch, the R310 climbs the Helshoogte Pass to meet the R45 (via GetCar).

Guides

Questions

Which area of Cape Town is best for a first visit?

The City Bowl or the V&A Waterfront, about 20 and 23 km from the airport by road, for the centre and the harbour below Table Mountain. Camps Bay suits a beach holiday, and Stellenbosch a stay among the wine farms.

Is there a tourist tax in Cape Town?

No municipal tourist tax was found as of September 2026. Accommodation from a VAT-registered business carries 15% VAT, and some businesses add TOMSA, a 1% tourism levy on the room rate that funds the marketing of South Africa.

How does street parking work in central Cape Town?

In the CBD, Sea Point, Claremont and Bellville, the City's contractor runs paid street parking: pay the marshal up front, and check the sign for the time limit and the tariff.

Which roads should a driver take from Cape Town airport?

UK travel advice reports attacks on the airport route and advises staying on the N2 and M3 rather than the R300, and using the airport approach road at exit 16 rather than Borcherd's Quarry Road.