Exploring Cape Town with the City Sightseeing Bus

If you’ve been in Cape Town for a few days, you will have seen the bright red double-decker City Sightseeing bus drive past. These busses operate in over a 100 cities across the globe including London, Berlin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Budapest, New York, Dubai, and more.

They are the world’s largest open-top, double-decker sightseeing tour bus operator. Started in 1999, this innovative tour operator company is the go-to source for discovering the best a city has to offer. The service runs 365 days a year, regardless of the weather. The handy hop-on-hop-off bus operates like clockwork, arriving at regular scheduled intervals at each stop.

See More Learn More with the City Sightseeing Bus

While you are taking in the beauty of the Mother City, you can listen to interesting information about each area you drive through. The on-board commentary is offered in 15 different languages (English, Afrikaans, Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Zulu). There’s also a fun channel for the kids.

The City Sightseeing Bus is a great way to effectively explore Cape Town. Instead of trying to figure out all the places you should see while you are in the city, use the City Sightseeing Bus with its structured route travelling past all the must-see attractions.

Also, Cape Town’s traffic and parking situation is notoriously challenging. With the City Sightseeing Bus, you can simply sit back and relax while someone else manoeuvres the congested roads. And it is more cost effective than Ubering across the city as well. The company strives to leave a small carbon footprint, and the busses have been declared carbon neutral.

How Does a City Sightseeing Bus Tour Work

There are a variety of tours to choose from including hop-on-hop-off routes through the city, cruises, wine tours, township tours, helicopter tours, and walking tours. A recent exciting addition to the City Sightseeing Bus tour repertoire, is the Franschhoek & Stellenbosch wine region Explorer Tour.

You determine your exploration of the city. The City Sightseeing bus has more than 30 stops, enabling you to explore over 50 of Cape Town’s top attractions. The bus passes by each stop every 15 minutes. This gives you the flexibility to plan your day. Depending on the type of tour you choose, the first busses depart around 08:00 in the mornings, and the last busses run between 18:00 and 19:00 (season dependent) Download the bus schedule.

The busses operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. During peak season the bus departures are increased to compensate for the influx of people. Tickets can be bought online at a discounted rate. There are three City Sightseeing offices across the city – at the V&A Waterfront, in the City Centre near Greenmarket Square, and in Camps Bay. You can also buy tickets on the bus at the various stops (cash and card facilities available). The City Sightseeing tours range between 30 minutes, and 140 minutes. But you will most likely be kept busy the whole day with all the sightseeing opportunities.

The City Sightseeing Bus Stops

Here’s a list of some of the City Sightseeing Bus Stops:

• Two Oceans Aquarium (V&A Waterfront)
• Cape Wheel (V&A Waterfront)
• Zeitz Mocaa Museum (V&A Waterfront)
• District Six Museum
• Castle of Good Hope
• South African Jewish Museum
• St George’s Cathedral
• SA Museum
• SA Jewish Museum
• Jewel of Africa
• District Six Museum
• Castle of Good Hope
• Table Mountain
• Camps Bay
• Greenpoint Urban Park & Stadium
• Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens
• Groot Constantia Wine Estate
• World of Birds (Hout Bay)
• Seal Island Cruise (Hout Bay)
• Imizamo Yeth Township (Hout Bay)
• Mariner’s Wharf Hout Bay Harbour

Book your ticket now

City Sightseeing Bus Tour Options

There are various tour packages available. Your choice will depend on the duration of your city exploration. Some tickets are only valid for one day, others can be extended to two or three days.

The Classic Ticket (valid for one day, with four tour loops) is one of the most popular ones. It also includes a free Walking Tour of the city, but does not include the Sunset Bus Tour. You can join the tour at any of the 30 hop-on-hop-off stops along the route.

You can bump it up to a Premium Ticket (valid for two days, with four tour loops per day). It includes a free Walking Tour, as well as a free Harbour or Canal Cruise. You also get a half-price discount on the Sunset Bus tour. The ticket is valid for two consecutive days.

The Deluxe Ticket (valid for three days, with four tour loops per day) is a great way to make the most of the City Sightseeing Bus routes with the wide variety of activities. It includes a free Walking tour, Harbour or Canal cruise, and the Sunset Bus. The ticket is valid for three consecutive days.

Another handy option, is buying a Cape Explorer Pass bus ticket that includes entrance to 3 of 12 must-see attractions. This is a very cost-effective option, offering you fast track, hassle-free entry at your choice of attractions. Choose from the following 12 attractions:

• Classic Burger & chips lunch at the Hard Rock Café in Camps Bay (Red or Blue)
• The Cape Town Wheel (Red or Blue)
• Canal cruise (Red or Blue)
• Harbour Cruise (Red or Blue)
• Hamley’s Train (Red or Blue)
• Cape Town Diamond Museum Entry (Red or Blue)
• Kirstenbosch Gardens (Blue Tour)
• Groot Constantia wine tasting (Blue Tour)
• World of Birds (Blue Tour)
• Imizamo Yetho Township walking tour (Blue Tour)
• Hout bay Seal Island cruise, Drumbeat (Blue Tour)
• Hout bay Seal Island cruise, Circe Launches (Blue Tour)

You don’t have to decide which attractions you want to enjoy before the time. Your bar code will give you access to three attractions, before it expires. The ticket is valid for one day, including all the tour loops.

Other City Sightseeing Bus Tour Experience options:

• Sunset Bus
• Canal Cruise
• Bus & Bicycle Combo
• 6 hour Bicycle rental
• 20 min Atlantico Scenic Flight
• Harbour Cruise (V&A Waterfront)
• Sunset Champagne Cruise
• Cape Point & Penguin Explorer Tour
• Franschhoek & Stellenbosch wine region Explorer Tour
• Franschhoek Wine Tram with Cape Town Explorer Tour
• Two Day Cape Point & Winelands Combo

Book your ticket now

The Mega City Pass

The Mega City Pass offers you access to more than 70 attractions, along the City Sightseeing bus route. You can save 40% to 50% on general entrance fees. It also offers you 25% discount on any of the three Explorer Day Tours. The pass is valid for 2, 3 or 5 consecutive days. Skip the queues with the handy fast-track entrance. You can show your Mega City pass barcode on your phone, or print out the voucher for entry into the attractions.

It includes a handy guide for easy-reference to the locations and contact details of the various participating attractions. You can view the special offers and plan your exploration adventure. The guide is available from one of the City Sightseeing Bus Offices (V&A Waterfront, Long Street, or Camps Bay). You have free access to use th City Sightseeing Bus while your Mega City Pass is valid. You can scan your pass at one of the offices or on your first bus entry to access your bus boarding pass.

Free Entrance:

• City Sightseeing: Deluxe bus ticket, Harbour or Canal Cruise & Sunset Bus
• City Sightseeing: Sunset Bus Tour | Harbour & seal cruise |  Canal Cruise
• Table Mountain Aerial Cableway
• Live-guided township tour: Langa & Gugulethu
• Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens
• Cape Wheel (V&A Waterfront)
• Two Oceans Aquarium (V&A Waterfront)
• ZEITZ MOCAA Museum of Contemporary Art (V&A Waterfront)
• Springbok Rugby Experience & Museum (V&A Waterfront)
• Hamleys Express Train (V&A Waterfront)
• Shimansky Diamond Experience (V&A Waterfront)
• Waterfront Charters: Harbour & bay cruise | Harbour & seal cruise | Sunset champagne cruise
• Jolly Roger Sunset Champaign Cruise
• Jolly Roger Pirate Boat: Bay & coastal cruise
• Cape Town Comedy Club (V&A Waterfront)
• Castle of Good Hope
• The Diamond Gallery: Free tour & diamond pendant (spend R1500)
• &Bikes: Art cycle tour
• &Bikes: Food tour
• &Bikes: 4 hour bicycle rental
• Rush: Indoor trampoline park
• Woodstock Street Art Walking Tour
• Imizamo Yethu Township Walking Tour
• City Centre Walking Tour
• Slave Lodge
• South African National Gallery
• Bo Kaap Walking Tour
• Bo-Kaap Museum
• South African Museum
• Cape Town Holocaust Centre
• South African Jewish Museum
• District Six Museum
• Heart of Cape Town Museum
• Cape Town Diamond Museum
• The Woodstock Gin Company: Gin tasting
• Pienaar & Son Distillery: Free Gin & Vodka Tasting
• Mama Africa: Starter, glass of wine & wine tasting voucher
• Gold Restaurant: Free djembe drumming / glass of sparkling wine
• Groot Constantia: Wine estate tour & tasting
• Drumbeat Charters: Seal colony cruise (Hout Bay)
• Circe Launches: Seal Island cruise (Hout Bay)
• World of Birds (Hout Bay)
• Vredenheim Big Cat Tour
• Alpaca Loom Barn Tour & Weaving Studio
• Le Bonheur Crocodile Farm
• Eagle Encounters
• Franschhoek Cellars: Cheese & wine pairing
• Spier Wine Estate: Free tasting and bottle of wine
• Simonsig: Cellar tour & wine tasting
• Vredenheim Wine Estate: Wine tasting
• Bikes ‘n Wines: Winelands cycle tour
• Franschhoek TukTuk Wine Tours
• Avontuur Wine Estate: Tasting & bottle of Cabernet/Merlot
• Stellenbosch Vineyards: Wine tasting & bottle of Welmoed wine

Special Discount

• Hard Rock Café: Free classic burger (valid between 11.30AM and 5:00PM)
• Cape Point & Penguin Tour: Full-day live-guided tour: 25% discount
• Wine tour & tasting: full-day live-guided tour: 25% discount
• Franschhoek Wine Tram with Cape Town Explorer Tour: 25% discount
• Meloncino Restaurant (V&A Waterfront): 15% discount
• City Grill Restaurant (V&A Waterfront): 15% discount
• The Greek Fisherman Restaurant: 15% discount
• Hard Rock Café: 10% discount on merchandise
• Jonkershuis: Free glass of wine with main meal
• Groot Constantia Simons Restaurant: Free glass of wine with main meal
• Wharfside Grill Restaurant at Mariner’s Wharf: R120.00 for seafood platter
• Moyo Restaurant @ Kirstenbosch: 10% discount on bill
• Kaapse Stories: 10% discount off ticket price
• Jewel Africa: Spend R2,000 and receive a free Table Mountain Bracelet

Buy your Mega City Pass now

Premium Free Access

The Premium Mega City Pass will also give you free access to one of the following attractions:

• Aquila Private Game Reserve Safari
• Cape Town Helicopters Atlantico Tour
• Cape Sidecars Chauffeured City Tour
• Marine Dynamics Shark Cage Diving
• Coffeebeans Routes: Choral Music Tour / Cuisine Tour / Jazz Safari
• Dyer Island Cruises Whale Watching

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