The peninsula
Cape Point helicopter tour: forty-eight minutes to the end of the peninsula
One flight in Cape Town goes all the way. It runs about sixty kilometres down the Atlantic side of the peninsula to the cliffs at Cape Point, turns, and comes back up the False Bay coast. It costs four times the twelve-minute city flight and takes four times as long, and it is the only way to see the whole shape of this piece of land in one continuous picture.
Quick answer
The Cape Point helicopter flight is forty-eight minutes at $698 per person, and it is the only flight on this page that reaches the southern tip of the peninsula. It flies the Atlantic seaboard south past Camps Bay, Hout Bay and Chapman’s Peak, out over the cliffs at Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, and returns north along the False Bay coast past Simon’s Town and Muizenberg. It can be booked privately, and it cancels free up to 24 hours before.
The Cape Point flight, at a glance
- Time in the air
- 48 minutesthe longest flight on this site
- Price
- $698per person
- Distance
- ~60 km each wayWaterfront to the southern tip
- Out along
- The Atlantic coastCamps Bay, Hout Bay, Chapman’s Peak
- Back along
- False BaySimon’s Town, Fish Hoek, Muizenberg
- At the turn
- Cape Pointand the Cape of Good Hope beside it
- Private option
- Yesthe cabin for your party alone
- Rating
- 4.2 from 3 reviewsthin evidence, and we say so
- Cost per minute
- $14.54in line with the short flights
- Total visit
- ~2 hoursincluding check-in and the briefing
The route
Forty-eight minutes, in five parts
Out down the Atlantic, round the corner at the Point, home along a warmer sea.
The seaboard, minutes 0–10. The same opening as every flight here: harbour, stadium, Sea Point, and then the run under the Twelve Apostles past Clifton, Camps Bay and Llandudno to Hout Bay. On the short flights this is the whole product. On this one it is the warm-up.
Chapman’s Peak and Noordhoek, minutes 10–18. Past Hout Bay the coast road climbs into the cliff face — Chapman’s Peak Drive, a hundred and fourteen curves cut into a mountainside above the sea. From the air you see the whole line of it at once, and then it opens onto Noordhoek: an eight-kilometre beach with almost nothing built on it, which after the density of Camps Bay is a shock.
The southern peninsula, minutes 18–26. The land narrows and empties. Kommetjie, Scarborough, and then the fynbos plateau of the Cape of Good Hope reserve: no towns, few roads, and a coastline of white sand and black rock. This is the least-visited stretch of the whole flight and the part that surprises people most.
Cape Point, minutes 26–32. The turn. Two headlands sit side by side — Cape Point with its lighthouses on the ridge, and the Cape of Good Hope lower and to the west — with the sea breaking on the rocks between them. It is not the southernmost point of Africa, and no pilot will tell you it is; it is the corner where the coast stops going south and starts going east, which you can see from the air more clearly than from any viewpoint on the ground.
False Bay home, minutes 32–48. The return coast is a different country: warmer water, wider bay, and a string of small towns along the railway — Simon’s Town with its naval dockyard, Boulders and its penguin beach, Fish Hoek, Muizenberg with its surf and its coloured bathing boxes. Then over the flats and back to the harbour.
Is it worth four times the short flight?
The honest answer, with the arithmetic in the open
It is not better value; it is a different subject. Choose the subject.
Per minute in the air, no flight on this page is dramatically better value than any other. This one works out at about $14.54 a minute, which is within a couple of dollars of the twelve-minute city loop. So the question is not value. It is whether you want the peninsula or the city.
Book it if you are the kind of traveller who wants to understand the geography of a place rather than photograph its highlights; if you are not going to drive to Cape Point during your stay; if you have flown short scenic flights before and found them over just as they got going; or if this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip and the budget has room.
Do not book it if the money would otherwise pay for two other things you also want, or if anybody in the party is nervous about flying. Forty-eight minutes is a long time to be uncomfortable, and the return leg over False Bay is often bumpier than the outbound one because of the wind coming over the spine of the peninsula.
One more consideration that rarely gets mentioned: this flight overlaps heavily with a day’s driving. Most visitors do the peninsula by car at some point — Chapman’s Peak, Boulders, Cape Point — and the helicopter shows you the same circuit in three quarters of an hour. Some people find that the flight makes the drive better. Others find it makes the drive redundant. Know which of those you are.
Every trip, current fare
Every flight, and how far south it gets
The column to read here is the third from the right. Only one flight reaches Cape Point, and the gap between it and the next longest is twenty-one minutes of flying.
| Flight | In the air | Price | How far it gets | Cost per minute | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Town: Sightseeing Helicopter Ride from V&A WaterfrontThe Waterfront flight, 2,000 reviews behind it | 12–50 min | $170 | City bowl | $14.17 | 4.8 · 2,000 |
| Cape Town: 12 Apostles Helicopter Flight & ChampagneThe Twelve Apostles, with champagne on landing | 12 min | $172 | Twelve Apostles | $14.33 | 4.9 · 12 |
| Cape Town City Center Helicopter Flight - 12MinThe city loop, private if you want it | 12 min | $187 | City bowl | $15.58 | 5.0 · 8 |
| Cape Town: Helicopter Tour Sightseeing (Free Pickup & Drop)Hotel pickup and drop-off included | 1.5 h | $264 | City and coast | — | 4.3 · 4 |
| Cape Town to Camps Bay & Hout Bay Helicopter Flight - 18MinCamps Bay and Hout Bay in eighteen minutes | 18 min | $271 | Camps Bay & Hout Bay | $15.06 | 5.0 · 3 |
| Cape Town Two Oceans Scenic Helicopter Flight - 27minBoth coasts of the peninsula in twenty-seven | 27 min | $352 | Both coasts | $13.04 | 4.6 · 41 |
| Cape Town: Table Mountain 360° Helicopter Flight & ChampagneA full circle of Table Mountain | 24 min | $352 | Around the mountain | $14.67 | 5.0 · 2 |
| Cape Town to Cape Point Helicopter Flight - 48MinThe whole peninsula, down to Cape Point | 48 min | $698 | Cape Point | $14.54 | 4.2 · 3 |
If forty-eight minutes is more than you want, the twenty-seven-minute flight crosses to False Bay as well — it just turns north before the tip.
Compare all eight flights→Before you book the long flight
Six things worth knowing about forty-eight minutes
Everything on this list is a consequence of the length rather than the operator.
- Take the earliest slot of the day
A long flight is exposed to the wind for longer, and the south-easter builds through the afternoon. On this flight more than any other, the first slot is the one to want.
- Expect the return leg to be bumpier
Air crossing the spine of the peninsula makes the False Bay side livelier. It is normal, it is not dangerous, and it passes.
- Eat something first, but not much
Forty-eight minutes with an empty stomach is worse than with a light one. A full breakfast immediately before is the other mistake.
- Bring sunglasses and a light layer
The cabin is glazed on all sides and the sun over water is fierce. Cabins are usually air-conditioned, and the temperature over False Bay is a few degrees different from the apron.
- Charge the phone, then put it down halfway
People who film all forty-eight minutes end up with unusable footage and no memory of the Point. Shoot the first ten, then watch.
- Read the rating honestly
Three reviews at 4.2 is thin evidence. This is a real flight from an established operator, but the score should not be doing much work in your decision.
Common questions
The Cape Point helicopter flight, answered
Which Cape Town helicopter flight goes to Cape Point?
The forty-eight-minute peninsula flight at $698. It is the only one on this page that reaches the southern tip; every other flight turns back long before it.
How far is Cape Point from Cape Town by helicopter?
About sixty kilometres each way. The flight goes out along the Atlantic coast and returns north over False Bay, so it is a loop rather than an out-and-back.
Is Cape Point the southernmost point of Africa?
No — that is Cape Agulhas, about 150 kilometres further east. Cape Point is the corner of the peninsula, and from the air it is obvious why people assume otherwise.
Does the flight go over the penguins at Boulders?
The return leg passes Simon’s Town and the Boulders coast. The colony is sometimes visible from the air, but this is a scenic flight rather than a wildlife flight and it does not circle.
Can the Cape Point flight be booked privately?
Yes. Given the length and the price, most parties who book it take the private option.
How long does the whole visit take?
About two hours, including check-in forty-five minutes before the slot, the weigh-in and the safety briefing.
Go deeper
More on flying over Cape Town
Which flight is best
One recommendation for each kind of visitor, and why.
CostWhat it costs
From $170 to $698, and what a minute in the air is worth.
The mountainTable Mountain from the air
What the flat top looks like from above, and which flight circles it.
The ApostlesThe Twelve Apostles
The buttresses along the Atlantic, and which flights reach them.
The heliportFlights from the Waterfront
Where the pad is, how check-in works, and what the hour looks like.
The seaboardCamps Bay and Hout Bay
Eighteen to twenty-seven minutes down the Atlantic coast.
