The sight of an open top red City Sightseeing bus is an iconic fixture on the roads of Cape Town. They can be seen in abundance, in the City Centre, along the coastline and in tourist hotspots. Just outside The Bay Hotel, each day, like clockwork, these brightly coloured busses come to a stop in order for locals and tourists to hop on and take in the Mother City.
Best Tour Stops
The City Sightseeing office offers the tour at a reasonable price and the tour has various routes and offerings. Options include a one or two day passes, as well as Harbour Boat Cruise and a Wine Route tour. The Hop-on-Hop-off policy of the bus tour allows visitors to take in the sights at their leisure.
These are some of our favourite stops on the tour:
1.Camps Bay
This Camps Bay stop is ideally located right in front of The Bay Hotel and the gorgeous Camps Bay beach. You can check out Camps Bay or stop here for a drink by the pool at @Sandy B Private Beach Club after a long day on the bus.
2. The Waterfront
The Waterfront is a great stop to do some shopping or to check out the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Gallery. Transport to this stop can be arranged through the City Sightseeing office. It is also the starting point of the beautiful Harbour Cruise through the canals of Waterfront Village.
3. Table Mountain
Table Mountain is the crowning glory of the Mother City. You can pre-buy your cable car tickets from City Sightseeing and skip the queues at the Cableway.
4. Kirstenbosch Gardens
Take a walk through the lush Indigenous plant gardens, and walk the Boomslang, or treetop canopy pathway, and take in the view of the beautiful and unique plant life on the slopes of Table Mountain. Sundays in summer can be spent enjoying the outdoor concerts hosted in the garden.
5. Constantia
One of the most beautiful suburbs in Cape Town and the starting point of the Wine route tour, which will take you to three of Cape Towns finest estates.
Getting your ticket
Purchasing your ticket and hopping on the bus is a hassle-free experience and at each stop, you are greeted by helpful staff and friendly bus drivers. The open top offers panoramic views as the bus moves along the coast. Each seat has a commentary system, available in 16 languages, where you can connect your complimentary earphones, giving information on the way, including the history of the cosmopolitan city and tips for visitors. The tour is perfect for tourists and would be extremely enjoyable for locals looking to see their city from an outsider’s perspective.
For enquiries on the experience visit the City Sightseeing website here or stop by the micro-office just outside The Bay Hotel.
