Cheap things to do in Cape Town
Street food, free hikes, cold beers and zero guilt about the bill
This is Cape Town for the traveller who wants the real thing without a credit-card hangover: painted houses, mountain trails, harbour towns and pub stools. The days move between the City Bowl, the Atlantic coast and the False Bay side, so you get a proper spread of the city rather than one postcard corner. It suits anyone who'd rather spend money on a second beer than on a tablecloth.
Day 1: Bo-Kaap, Bree Street, city pubs
Start in the painted streets of Bo-Kaap, work your way down through the craft market and Bree Street's cheap eats, and finish on a bar stool at one of Cape Town's oldest pubs.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Bo-Kaap Museum
A furnished 1760s Cape Malay house telling the neighbourhood's story; small entry fee, half an hour well spent.
Map - 12:30 PM
Addis in Cape Ethiopian Restaurant
Cheap, generous Ethiopian platters on Bree Street, great value lunch close to Bo-Kaap.
Map - 2:00 PM
Greenmarket Square
Browse the open-air craft market at Greenmarket Square, free to wander, great people-watching.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:00 PM
Fireman's Arms
Fireman's Arms is a proper old Cape Town pub, cold local beers, no pretension, city-guide approved.
Map
Day 2: Camps Bay coast and Lion's Head
A free seafront walk and a summit hike above the Atlantic, a low-key lunch in Camps Bay, then Kloof Street for the evening.
- 10:30 AM
Sea Point Promenade
Free seafront walk from Mouille Point to the Sea Point pool, with Lion's Head above and the Atlantic beside you.
Map - 12:30 PM
Mantra Cafe, Cape Town
Burger or a salad on a terrace above Camps Bay, with the Twelve Apostles behind and the Atlantic below.
Map - 2:30 PM
Lion's Head
Free 2.5-hour round trip from the Signal Hill Road trailhead, chains near the top, the whole Atlantic coast below.
Map - 7:30 PM
Our Local @ 117 Kloof
Neighbourhood kitchen and bar on Kloof Street for an easy plate and a local beer before the walk to Perseverance.
Map - 9:30 PM
Perseverance Tavern
Licensed since 1808 and called the oldest pub in Cape Town; a cheap pint in the beer garden.
Map
Day 3: Kalk Bay, Table Mountain, Norval
The False Bay side rewards slow browsing: a mountain walk above Kalk Bay, fish and chips in the harbour, galleries and antique shops, and dinner at the Brass Bell on the rocks.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
Table Mountain National Park
Free walk up Echo Valley from Kalk Bay into the park's fynbos for caves and wide False Bay views; about two hours.
Map - 12:30 PM
Kalky's
Cheap fish and chips at long tables in the working harbour; order the snoek and watch the boats come in.
Map - 2:30 PM
Kalk Bay
Explore Kalk Bay's harbour, galleries and antique shops, a classic Cape Town browse, all free.
Map - 7:30 PM
The Brass Bell
Pub by Kalk Bay station built out over the rocks; fish of the day and a pint while the waves hit the windows.
Map
Where to stay
More Quarters Hotel
Apartment-style rooms on a quiet Gardens lane, a walk to Kloof Street and the City Bowl.
Make Cape Town your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Table Mountain: a few days ahead
- Cape Peninsula: a few days ahead
- Robben Island: weeks ahead
- Bo-Kaap: a few days ahead
- Cape Point: a few days ahead
- Boulders Beach: a few days ahead
Skip these
- The V&A Waterfront as a day of mall shopping. Go for Zeitz MOCAA, Pier, the ferry and the market.
- A Long Street bar crawl. Kloof Street and Bree Street are the better night out.
- Camps Bay strip sundowners at full tourist price more than once. Picnic at Clifton or Sea Point Promenade instead.
- Shark cage diving sold as a must do. It is a long day to Gansbaai and great whites are largely absent now.
The full Cape Town travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around