Chapman's Peak Drive
Nine kilometres of road carved into the cliff between Hout Bay and Noordhoek. One of the great coastal drives anywhere.
sunsetparking
viewpoint· 1 hr· R
Cape Town · Western Cape
Hout Bay, properly explained.
What to do in the valley, where to eat when you get hungry, and who to call when something needs fixing. Written by people who live here.
Photo: Mike Peel · CC BY-SA 4.0
Things to do
The valley's best, in order
Twelve to start with — the walks, the water, the market and the drive that everyone comes for.
Hout Bay Beach
A long, flat crescent of white sand with the Sentinel at one end and Chapman's Peak at the other. The valley's living room.
freedogskids
beach· 1.5 hrs· Free
The Sentinel
The blunt peak guarding the harbour mouth. A short, steep, exposed climb for a view straight down onto the bay.
freestrenuoussunset
hike· 3 hrs· Free
Bay Harbour Market
A weekend market in a converted fish factory by the harbour. Food, makers, live music, and most of the valley.
kidsrainy-dayfree
market· 2.5 hrs· Free
Duiker Island seal cruise
A short boat trip from the harbour to a rock covered in several thousand Cape fur seals.
kidsparking
water· 1 hr· RR
Why we built this
The best painter in Hout Bay doesn't have a website.
Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg are full of people who do excellent work — painters, plumbers, gardeners, seamstresses, mechanics — and who get found entirely by word of mouth and WhatsApp groups.
We are building a directory of them. Verified in person, free to be listed on, forever, and one tap to a real conversation on WhatsApp.
Eat & drink
Where to eat
From fish and chips on the harbour wall to a Cape Dutch manor house doing dim sum.
Fish on the Rocks
Fish and chips at the far end of the harbour wall, eaten off paper while defending it from gulls.
seafood
R· Sea view· Dogs welcome
Mariner's Wharf
The harbour's landmark seafood complex — fish market, bistro and the Wharfside Grill upstairs.
seafood
RRR· Sea view
Kitima
Pan-Asian cooking in Kronendal, an eighteenth-century Cape Dutch manor house on Main Road.
thaiasiansushi
RRR
This weekend