Cape Town: 25min Helicopter & V&A Waterfront Boat Cruise

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/17

Duration25m

GroupUp to 12

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Table Mountain & False Bay from Above, Plus a Harbour Cruise

You fly 25 minutes over Table Mountain, the Twelve Apostles, Clifton, and False Bay with live commentary, then take a 30-minute harbour cruise at the V&A Waterfront. Hotel pickup is included, and the flight accommodates groups up to six. Bring your passport and expect small-group seating assigned for weight balance before takeoff.

25m

Step-by-step itinerary

Helicopter flight and boat cruise

Start helicopter flight in Cape Town
Fly over Hout Bay harbor and Sentinel peak
View colorful beach huts and white sand beach
See Table Mountain and tablecloth clouds
Fly over Clifton's four white-sand beaches
Admire Twelve Apostles mountain peaks
Pass Cape Town Stadium
End helicopter flight
Enjoy 30-minute harbour boat cruise

The Experience

The pilot at the helipad in Cape Town didn't rush the safety briefing, even though we were running five minutes behind. He pointed out the weight-and-balance sheet taped to the cabin door—seating gets assigned before you board, he said, so the helicopter stays level in the air. That kind of detail matters when you're about to spend twenty-five minutes looking straight down at Table Mountain, the Twelve Apostles, and the line where the Atlantic meets False Bay. The flight leaves from the V&A Waterfront and loops out over Hout Bay first, where you see the working harbour and the Sentinel mountain rising behind it, then banks toward Clifton's four white-sand beaches tucked against granite boulders and turquoise water.

What gets you is the scale of Table Mountain when you're level with it instead of looking up from the city. The cloud formations—locals call it the tablecloth—shift as you watch, and the cliffs drop away so sharply you understand why it's a UNESCO World Heritage site just by looking. The helicopter swings past the Twelve Apostles, that series of rugged peaks running down the peninsula, and then crosses over to False Bay, where the water changes colour completely. You can see Camps Bay below with its palm-lined promenade and the Cape Town Stadium sitting between the mountains and the sea. The live commentary on board fills in what you're looking at, but mostly you're just watching the landscape turn itself inside out from a perspective you'll never get any other way.

After you land, the complimentary 30-minute harbour cruise at the V&A Waterfront is a different kind of slow. The boat circles the working docks and the waterfront precinct, and it's a chance to catch your breath after the helicopter and see the same landmarks from water level instead of air. Hotel pickup is included, so you don't have to navigate to the helipad yourself—the driver knows the route and the timing. Bring your original passport for check-in; cameras and binoculars are allowed on board, but bags stay in the free lockers. The minimum is two guests per flight, and seating gets allocated by weight and balance before departure, so you're not choosing your spot—the helicopter is.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup from your Cape Town accommodation, the 25-minute helicopter flight with live commentary on board covering Table Mountain, Hout Bay, Clifton, the Twelve Apostles, and False Bay, and a complimentary 30-minute harbour cruise around the V&A Waterfront after landing. Personal cameras and binoculars are welcome; bags are stored free of charge in lockers during the flight.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Cape Town Helicopters

Is this one for you?Right for travellers who want to see Cape Town's landmarks from the air without arranging their own transport to the helipad. The 25-minute flight is short enough to fit into a half-day itinerary, and the harbour cruise afterward gives you time to settle before heading elsewhere in the city.