Start on the Atlantic side
Leave the city early and head out along the Atlantic Seaboard. The morning light falls softly on Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles, and the coast road is at its quietest.
Keep going south past Llandudno to Hout Bay, where the harbour is worth a short stop before the road climbs onto the cliffs.
Take Chapman's Peak slowly
Chapman's Peak Drive is a toll road carved into the mountainside between Hout Bay and Noordhoek. There are several pull-over points — use them. The view back towards Hout Bay is one of the classic Cape Town photographs.
The road occasionally closes for weather or maintenance, so check its status before setting out and have the inland route via Constantia in mind as a back-up.
Give Cape Point the time it deserves
The Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park is bigger and wilder than many visitors expect. Allow at least two to three hours to walk to the lighthouse viewpoints and explore a beach or two.
It's windy. Bring a jacket even on a hot day, and keep snacks out of sight — the resident baboons are quick learners.
Return along False Bay
Come back up the eastern side via Boulders, where the African penguin colony is best seen from the boardwalks, then Simon's Town, Kalk Bay and Muizenberg. False Bay's water is usually warmer than the Atlantic — pack a swimsuit.
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