Cape Point Funicular Ticket: Flying Dutchman One-Way Up

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Free cancellationLikely to sell out

1/4

Duration8h

GroupUp to 999

Audio guideEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Three Minutes Up a Mountain: Cape Point's Funicular Through the Fynbos

You board at the lower car park station and ride through Cape Point's fynbos in three minutes to reach the upper lighthouse. The funicular carries 40 passengers per car and departs every three minutes, so you skip the uphill walk even during busy hours. At the top, panoramic views of where two oceans meet wait, and you can spend as long as you want before deciding how to descend. Your one-way ticket is valid for the date printed on it.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Cape Point and funicular ride

Arrive at Cape Point car park
Take Flying Dutchman funicular up
Enjoy panoramic views at lighthouse

The Experience

The car pulls into the Cape Point car park and you step out into wind and scrub. Ahead, the landscape tilts upward—dense fynbos, that low, tough vegetation that clings to the Cape's slopes, stretches between you and the lighthouse perched at the top. The old path switchbacks up there, and on a hot day it's a slog. But then you see it: the lower station of the Flying Dutchman funicular, sleek and purposeful, waiting to haul you up instead. Every three minutes a car leaves, carrying forty passengers at a time up the incline. You're not walking today.

The funicular is the only one of its kind in Africa, and it earned its name from the local legend of the Flying Dutchman ghost ship—the phantom vessel that's said to haunt these waters where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. It's the kind of detail that sticks with you once you know it, and your guide or the station staff will probably mention it. The ride itself takes just a few minutes. You climb through the fynbos, watching the car park shrink below and the ocean open up wider as you rise. The gradient is steep enough that you feel the work the funicular is doing, but you're sitting down, so the only effort is standing still.

At the top, the old lighthouse waits, and so do the views—the kind that make you understand why this point matters, why ships have wrecked here, why people keep coming back. The funicular can move 450 people per hour up to the upper station, which means even during peak times you're not stuck in a queue at the car park. One-way tickets are straightforward: you ride up, and you decide how to come down—walk the path if you want, or catch the funicular again on the return leg. Families with strollers, older travelers, anyone who'd rather not spend an hour on a steep climb—this is what the funicular was built for.

What’s included

One-way ticket on the Flying Dutchman funicular from the lower car park station to the upper lighthouse station; access to panoramic views at Cape Point.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyPets welcomeInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Flying Dutchman Funicular

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to reach the Cape Point lighthouse and views without the uphill walk—the three-minute ride means you spend your time at the top, not climbing to get there, which matters most when the wind is strong or the heat is on.