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Guide · On the water
Hop-on hop-off boat in Cape Town: the harbour and canal cruises
A hop-on hop-off boat in Cape Town turns a bus day into a day on land and water. Here is what the harbour and canal cruises show you, when they sail, and which ticket includes them.
Check availabilityfrom $32 · cancel at no cost
Editorial team, capetownbustour.comUpdated October 26, 20266 minutes to read16 sources
Quick answer
- 01Two cruises
- A harbour cruise and a canal cruise, about 30 minutes each.1
- 02Harbour cruise
- From the jetty outside the Two Oceans Aquarium, with seals.2
- 03Canal cruise
- About 20 minutes to the Foreshore, with stops to hop off.3
- 04Departures
- Canal from 8:30, harbour from 9:00, last at 17:00.4
- 05On the bus ticket
- Included with the options that add a cruise.5
Two boats at the Waterfront
The bus operator runs 2 boat cruises at the V&A Waterfront: a canal cruise between the One&Only hotel and the convention centre, and a harbour cruise around the V&A harbour, each about 30 minutes.1 They are the hop-on hop-off boat in Cape Town that people search for, and they leave from the same place as the buses: stop 1, outside the Two Oceans Aquarium, is the departure point for both.6
That makes the cruise easy to fit in. You can start the day on the water before the first bus fills up, or end it there after the last loop of the Red route brings you back to the Waterfront. The ticket office at stop 1 opens daily from 8 am to 6 pm, and the staff there sell and explain both the buses and the boats.6
Both cruises carry recorded commentary in 15 languages with a kids' channel, the same system as on the buses.7 Plug in your earphones on board: the stories of the docks and the canal are easy to miss when you only see the water. Children can switch to their own channel, which keeps a half-hour on the water lively for younger passengers.
A land and water day
Boats and buses from stop 1
The harbour cruise: seals and the working docks
The harbour cruise lasts about 30 minutes from the jetty outside the Two Oceans Aquarium. It goes through the working harbour of the V&A Waterfront, where you look out for Cape fur seals and get views of Table Mountain and the city.2 It is short, cheap to add, and a good first look at the city's backdrop from the water.
The seals are the moment children remember, and the mountain behind the cranes is the photo adults take home. Hold your phone with a wrist strap, or zip it into a pocket, when you lean over the rail: the boat moves, and a phone dropped in the harbour is gone for good. A light jacket helps too, even on a warm day, since the breeze off the water can feel cool once the boat is moving.
Other harbour cruises sail from the Waterfront as well. One separate 30-minute harbour cruise with commentary starts from $5 and averages 4.70 from 445 reviews; it leaves from the Waterfront Charters office at Quay 5 and is not wheelchair accessible. Booked as part of the bus ticket, the cruise needs no separate booking.
Three boats
The bus with a cruise, a harbour trip or a sunset sail
Land and water
Short and cheap
EveningDecision helper
Which boat for your day
Choose by what you want from the water
Harbour cruise
Look out for Cape fur seals in the working harbour.2
Canal cruise
It links the Waterfront with the Foreshore in about 20 minutes.3
Premium Combo
The operator's 1-day Premium Combo includes both cruises.11
A sunset cruise
One sparkling wine cruise lasts 1.5 hours.
Blue route to Hout Bay
Boat trips to Seal Island start at stop 24.12
Look out for Cape fur seals, watch boats moving through the docks and admire views towards Table Mountain and the city skyline.
The canal cruise: a water taxi to the convention centre
The hop-on hop-off canal cruise is a different kind of ride. It runs between the V&A Waterfront and the Foreshore near the convention centre in about 20 minutes, and you can hop off at designated stops and rejoin a later boat during operating hours.3 Think of it as a calm water taxi through a quieter part of the city. It suits a rest from the bus in the middle of the day, when the top deck gets hot and the stops are busy.
It also links the boats to the bus network. Stop 3 of the Red route is at the convention centre, so you can ride the canal one way and the bus the other.8 The operator's Blue route stops at the Foreshore too, at stop 4.13 On a hot afternoon that swap gives tired legs a seated ride on the water instead of a walk along the busy quays, and it shows you a side of the Waterfront the bus never passes.
On the 2026/2027 timetable the first canal cruise leaves at 8:30 and the first harbour cruise at 9:00, and the last departure is at 17:00, weather permitting.4 On a windy day ask at the stop 1 office before you walk down to the jetty: a cruise that does not sail is better known before you queue.
Checklist
Before you board
01
Check
- The last departure, 17:00 on the timetable
- Which cruise your option includes
- Wind and weather at the stop 1 office
02
Bring
- A light jacket for the breeze
- A strap for your phone at the rail
- Earphones for the commentary
Cost calculator
Bus, harbour boat or sunset sail
Enter your group size to compare totals.
People
Total from$64
each from $32
Check availabilityfree cancellationTotals use each listing's starting price on GetYourGuide, converted at today's rate; the booking page shows what you pay.
Video
The red bus and a boat route in one Cape Town day
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Which ticket includes a cruise
There are several ways in. The bus ticket booked on this site is the bus tour with an optional cruise: its options can add a harbour cruise and the sunset bus tour. It starts from $32 for the plain ticket, averages 4.78 from 4,231 reviews with no charge for cancelling until 24 hours ahead.
The operator sells the same idea in its own shop. Its 1-day bus and cruise combo adds either the harbour cruise or the canal cruise to the bus ticket and a walking tour.5 Its 1-day Premium Combo adds both cruises, the Sunset Bus Tour and the Historical Inner City and Bo-Kaap bus tour.11 On its ticket list, the 2-day Premium ticket includes the sunset bus and a cruise, and the 3-day Deluxe the sunset bus and 2 cruises.14
Choose by the boat you want. If the seals and the harbour matter most, make sure the option names the harbour cruise. If you want the canal, check that it is the canal that is included, since the cheaper combos give you one boat or the other, not both.5 Read the option name on the booking page before you pay, and keep the confirmation: it shows the staff at the jetty which boat your ticket covers.
Bigger boats and longer trips
The 30-minute cruises are a taste of the water, not a sea trip. For a longer outing, sunset cruises leave the Waterfront too. One sparkling wine sunset cruise lasts 1.5 hours, includes 2 glasses of sparkling wine and starts from $46, averaging 4.61 from 1,138 reviews.
Seal Island is a different trip from a different harbour. On the Blue route, stop 24 is Mariner's Wharf and the Hout Bay harbour, where boat trips to Seal Island start; the operator suggests 1 hour there.12 Combine it with the bus and you see Table Bay in the morning and Hout Bay in the afternoon.
Robben Island is the other famous boat from the Waterfront. Its ferries leave from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the Clock Tower, stop 2 on the Red route, where the operator suggests 1 hour.15 That trip is booked separately from the bus, so plan it as its own outing rather than squeezing it between two bus loops.
Putting a land and water day together
A simple plan works best. Start with the canal cruise when it opens at 8:30, ride to the Foreshore, and pick up the Red route at the convention centre.48 Ride round to the cableway and Camps Bay, then return along the Atlantic to the Waterfront in the afternoon.
Finish with the harbour cruise before the last departure at 17:00.4 By then the Red route has shown you the mountain from below and above, and the harbour shows it again from the water. If your option includes a cruise and you hold a 2-day ticket, take the boat on the calmer of the two days and spend the rest of each day on the buses. A cruise at the end of the day also lets the bus crowds thin out before you head for dinner at the Waterfront.
Bring sun cream, a hat and a warm layer for both bus and boat, and keep the voucher on your phone. The operator advises checking the weather forecast and dressing for it, and that matters doubly on the water.16 If the wind is up, ask at the office whether the boats are sailing before you plan the rest of the day around them.
Your days in town
Let the red buses show you the city.
Three routes, commentary in 15 languages, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
You ask,we answer.
Is there a hop-on hop-off boat in Cape Town?
Yes, the canal cruise. It runs between the V&A Waterfront and the Foreshore, with stops where you can get off and rejoin.3
How long is the harbour cruise?
About 30 minutes. It leaves the jetty outside the Two Oceans Aquarium and tours the working harbour.2
Will I see seals on the harbour cruise?
Look out for them. The operator says to look out for Cape fur seals in the harbour.2
What time do the cruises run?
8:30 to 17:00. The canal opens at 8:30, the harbour at 9:00, and the last boat leaves at 17:00, weather permitting.4
Is the cruise included in the bus ticket?
With some options. This site's ticket offers a harbour cruise with the options that include it.
Where do the cruises leave from?
Stop 1 at the Waterfront. The bus stop outside the Two Oceans Aquarium is the departure point for both.6
Is there commentary on the boats?
Yes, in 15 languages. Both cruises carry recorded commentary with a kids' channel.7
Sources
Where the information comes from
- 1City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)About City Sightseeing↩
- 2City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Harbour and Canal Cruise Combo↩
- 3City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Harbour and Canal Cruise Combo↩
- 4City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Cape Town timetable 2026/2027 (PDF)↩
- 5City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours↩
- 6City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Red Cape Town City Tour to Table Mountain↩
- 7City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Harbour and Canal Cruise Combo↩
- 8City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Red Cape Town City Tour to Table Mountain↩
- 9City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Red Cape Town City Tour to Table Mountain↩
- 10City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Red Cape Town City Tour to Table Mountain↩
- 11City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours↩
- 12City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Blue Mini Peninsula Tour↩
- 13City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Blue Mini Peninsula Tour↩
- 14City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Frequently Asked Questions Cape Town↩
- 15City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Red Cape Town City Tour to Table Mountain↩
- 16City Sightseeing South Africa (operator of the Cape Town hop-on hop-off buses)Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tours↩
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