Skip to content
Hout Bay.app
Menu
Things to doEat & drinkServicesPropertyWhat's onSearch

Things to do

What's actually worth doing in Hout Bay

The valley is small and the good things are close together. Tell us what you feel like, how long you have, and who you have with you.

Try:an easy walk with the kidssomewhere free to watch the sunsetwhat can we do if it's raining

You asked for “somewhere free to watch the sunset” — 12 matches.

Browse by category instead
TypeEverything12Hikes3Beaches1Viewpoints1On the water1Markets1Heritage3Nature1Activities1
Good forAnyFreeWith kidsWith dogsRainy daySunsetEasy going

12 places

Chapman's Peak Drive curving around the cliff face in low golden light, the Atlantic below to the right.

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
The wide flat sand of Hout Bay beach at low tide, with the mountains of the valley behind.

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 rising steeply out of the sea at the mouth of Hout Bay, photographed from the water.

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
Cape fur seals covering the rocks of Duiker Island, several of them upright in the foreground.

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
Cape fur seals hauled out on a pipeline in Hout Bay harbour, with fishing boats and the quay behind them.

Hout Bay Harbour

A working fishing harbour, not a marina. Trawlers, seals on the slipway, and fish and chips eaten off paper.

freekidsparking
heritage· 1 hr· Free

World of Birds

Large walk-through aviaries and a monkey jungle in the valley. The reliable rainy-day answer with children.

kidsrainy-dayparking
nature· 2.5 hrs· RR
The stone ruins of East Fort on the slope above Hout Bay, with the sea directly beyond.

East Fort

Eighteenth-century Dutch gun battery on the Chapman's Peak side, with cannons still pointing at the bay.

freesunseteasy
heritage· 1 hr· Free
Hangberg on the western side of Hout Bay, with the mountain slopes the Karbonkelberg routes climb rising behind it.

Karbonkelberg Traverse

A long, serious mountain traverse above Hangberg towards Llandudno. Big country, big consequences.

freestrenuous
hike· 6 hrs· Free
The Hout Bay valley seen from the Little Lion's Head path, low sun across the ridges.

Little Lion's Head

A steep, direct climb above Llandudno for one of the best sunset views on the Atlantic seaboard.

freestrenuoussunset
hike· 2.5 hrs· Free

Hout Bay Museum

A small local museum on Andrews Road covering the valley's forestry, fishing and mining history.

rainy-daykidseasy
heritage· 45 min· R

Horse riding on the beach

Guided rides along Hout Bay Beach and into the dunes, run by local stables in the valley.

kidssunset
activity· 2 hrs· RRR