Getting Around Cape Town

How to get around Cape Town: when Uber is enough and when you need a car

On the map, Cape Town looks fairly compact: ocean, city centre, mountain, beaches.

It feels like everything is somewhere nearby.

Then one day you want to have breakfast in Sea Point, go up to Table Mountain, watch the sunset on the other side of the coast — and realise the city works a little differently.

There is no single type of transport you need for the entire trip.

Inside the city, Uber, Bolt and walking are often enough. But once your plans include the peninsula, wineries, remote beaches and several stops in one day, having a car gives you a completely different level of freedom.

So the main question is not “what is the best transport in Cape Town?”

Where will you be staying and what do you want to fit into this trip?

If we keep it very simple

Walking — within one familiar area and mostly during daylight hours.

Uber / Bolt — for travelling between neighbourhoods, restaurants, beaches and getting home in the evening.

MyCiTi — if the places you need are conveniently connected by bus.

City Sightseeing — if it is your first time in the city and you want to understand its geography first.

Car — for the Cape Peninsula, wineries, remote beaches, road trips and days with several stops.

Transfer or private driver — if you do not want to think about the road at all, or if tastings are part of the plan.

Usually, it is the combination of these options that works best.

🚕 Uber and Bolt: often enough for the city

If you are staying in Sea Point, Green Point, Waterfront, Gardens or another tourist-friendly area and are coming for a few days, I would not rent a car just because “you need a car in Cape Town”.

You do not necessarily.

For normal city trips, Uber and Bolt cover a lot. You can get to a restaurant, move between neighbourhoods, go to the beach, get home in the evening and not think about parking on days when you simply do not need a car.

I would download both apps before the trip and add a payment method in advance.

Before getting in, always check the vehicle registration number and driver details.

And if you specifically need to get from the airport, we have a separate guide: “How to get from Cape Town Airport”. We already covered Uber, transfers and picking up a rental car after arrival there.

Where taxis stop being convenient

One thing is:

Sea Point → Waterfront → home.

Another is:

beach → Cape Point → Simon’s Town → another beach → sunset → restaurant → home.

Or:

Stellenbosch → winery → another winery → Franschhoek → dinner → back to Cape Town.

Taxis still exist, but suddenly your day starts revolving around waiting for cars, placing separate orders and asking:

Will it be just as easy to get back from here?

That is the moment when it becomes worth comparing the price and convenience with renting a car or hiring a driver for the whole day.

🚶 Walking: yes, but do not try to walk across all of Cape Town

Inside individual neighbourhoods, walking is both possible and worth doing.

Sea Point, Green Point, Waterfront, De Waterkant and parts of Gardens are great for spending part of the day on foot.

But Cape Town is not a city where I would plan a holiday around the idea:

“It’s fine, we’ll just walk everywhere.”

Distances feel bigger than they look on the map. Plus there are hills and roads that do not always make the shortest route the nicest one.

Before walking somewhere, check not only how many minutes it takes, but what the route actually looks like.

And one safety habit straight away

There is no need to walk down the street for ten minutes holding Google Maps in front of you.

Check the route, understand where you are going, put your phone away and keep walking.

And after dark in an unfamiliar area, I would not argue with myself over a ten-minute walk. I would call Uber or Bolt and go door to door.

We collected the main rules separately in our article “Safety in Cape Town”.

🚌 MyCiTi

The bus can be convenient if the route fits your life.

MyCiTi is Cape Town’s official city bus service.

Here, I would avoid both extremes. There is no need to assume public transport is completely unsuitable for tourists. But you also do not need to force it to replace every single trip.

First, open the route and check whether there is a stop near your accommodation, whether the bus goes where you need, how many transfers there are and how long the journey will take.

If everything lines up — great.

If one trip requires a twenty-minute walk, two transfers and another wait for the bus, Uber suddenly starts looking very attractive again.

How MyCiTi works

For regular trips, you use a myconnect card: top it up and tap when starting and ending the journey.

There are also unlimited travel packages for 1, 3 and 7 days.

MyCiTi has an official trip planner and app where you can check routes and bus times.

Check current MyCiTi routes

So do not plan your airport journey based on old guides recommending the bus to Civic Centre.

For the airport, it is currently better to choose Uber, Bolt, a transfer or a car in advance.

🔴 City Sightseeing: if you want to understand the city first

I would not compare the red tourist bus with regular public transport at all. It serves a different purpose.

It is a way to see how Cape Town is actually put together during your first days.

At the time of checking, City Sightseeing operates several hop-on/hop-off routes with stops in different parts of the city.

You can get off where you want, walk around and then continue on the next bus.

This option is especially convenient if it is your first time in Cape Town, you do not want to rent a car yet, you want to see several areas in one day or you still do not really understand the distances.

It is not transport for your entire holiday. It is more a way to get to know the city first and then decide where you want to return on your own.

Check current City Sightseeing routes

🚗 When a car actually starts to make sense

Not when you walk out of your hotel in Sea Point and want coffee.

But when the route starts to matter more than the city itself.

A car becomes especially useful if you want to drive the Cape Peninsula at your own pace, visit Cape Point, connect several beaches, stop at viewpoints, explore Simon’s Town, Kalk Bay, Muizenberg, Noordhoek or Kommetjie.

The same applies to trips around Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl, staying further from the central areas and road trips around the Western Cape.

This is where a car buys you more than kilometres.

It buys you the ability not to look at the clock every time you decide to stay somewhere another half hour.

↩️ But traffic drives on the left

If you have only ever driven on the right-hand side, the first few kilometres may require a bit more concentration.

Especially at intersections, roundabouts, when turning and when leaving a parking space.

So I would not make your first day after a long flight look like this:

plane → unfamiliar car → unfamiliar country → straight to the Cape Peninsula.

There is no need to turn your arrival into an exam.

Pick up the car, get used to it, drive a little on a familiar route, and then head further out.

🅿️ Check parking before renting a car

If you are renting a car, check whether your accommodation has parking.

This is especially important in areas where finding a free space in the evening can turn into a separate quest.

Also ask the rental company in advance about insurance, deposit, mileage limits, driving licence requirements, return conditions and payment methods.

And when you leave the car, the interior should look empty.

Do not leave visible bags, backpacks, shopping, electronics, packages or clothes with something potentially hidden underneath.

Even if the windows are tinted.

We cover this in more detail in “Safety in Cape Town”.

🚗 If you do need a car

If your route makes it clear that getting around without a car will be inconvenient, you can book one in advance and collect it for the dates you actually need.

This makes particular sense for the Cape Peninsula, Winelands, coastal trips and road trips around the Western Cape.

I collected the available options in one catalogue:

👉 **View cars**

Before booking, compare not only the price, but also the size of the car, amount of luggage, insurance, deposit, mileage and return conditions.

And you do not have to rent a car for the whole holiday.

For many trips, it is more convenient to spend a few days in the city using Uber and Bolt, then rent a car only for the part of the journey where it actually gives you freedom.

🚐 When a transfer or driver is better

There are situations where you need a car, but do not want to drive yourself at all.

For example, after a long flight, with children or lots of luggage, after a late arrival, or if a day of wine tastings is ahead.

In those cases, it is easier to arrange a transfer or car with a driver in advance.

If you need a transfer, you can message me:

👉 **@adelsuprun**

Send the date, route, number of passengers and amount of luggage straight away.

For a winery trip, the logic is even simpler: if someone is not drinking and stays behind the wheel, you can use a rental car.

If everyone wants to taste, it is better to choose a driver, Wine Tram or another organised option in advance.

🚂 Train: more of a separate experience than the basis of the whole trip

Cape Town does have rail connections.

One of our readers used the train from Cape Town towards Muizenberg and described the journey as quite comfortable.

But that is her personal experience, not a promise that every route and timetable will work the same way today.

If you want to use the train for a specific daytime trip, check the current timetable, make sure the line you need is operating and look at the return journey in advance.

I would not base critically important travel on trains without checking immediately before the trip.

🚐 Minibus taxi: part of the city, but not the first transport system you need to master

Local minibus taxis are a normal part of Cape Town’s transport system.

But for someone who has just arrived, the routes, boarding system and payment can be far from obvious.

So I would not deliberately start with a minibus taxi just for the sake of having an “authentic local experience”.

First, understand the city. If later you want to try it, that is a completely different conversation.

But remember that the risk of theft can be higher, so stay alert.

So what should you choose?

First time in Cape Town for 3–4 days

Walking within your area + Uber/Bolt + City Sightseeing.

You probably do not need a car for the entire stay.

Staying in Sea Point, Green Point or Waterfront

For normal city life, walking + Uber/Bolt + MyCiTi when the route is convenient may be enough.

You can rent a car only for separate trips outside the city.

Want to explore the Cape Peninsula

Car, driver or organised route.

The point here is not just getting to one destination, but being able to stop freely along the way.

Going to the wineries

If someone is staying sober and not taking part in the tastings, you can rent a car.

If everyone wants to taste wine, I would choose a driver, transfer, Wine Tram or another organised option.

Staying further from the centre

Calculate how many daily trips you expect to make.

Sometimes cheaper accommodation further from the city quickly gets balanced out by taxi costs.

And sometimes the opposite is true: a car plus accommodation further out gives you much more space and freedom.

Planning a Western Cape road trip

Then the car becomes part of the trip itself.

And you should choose it based not only on price, but also on size, amount of luggage, length of the route, rental conditions and where exactly you are planning to go.

So do you need a car in Cape Town?

Not necessarily for the entire trip.

And for a first visit, I would not start with the decision:

“We are renting a car for ten days.”

Look at the route first.

If your first few days are spent around Sea Point, Waterfront, Gardens and other city neighbourhoods, Uber and Bolt may completely cover your needs.

Then rent a car later, for example for the Peninsula, Winelands or a longer road trip.

For many trips, this turns out to be the most convenient combination:

city without a car → a few days with a car outside the city.

Not because this is the “correct way to travel around Cape Town”.

There is simply no point paying for a car and parking on the days when it sits outside your hotel.

And there is no point waiting for five different Ubers on the day when you just want to drive wherever you feel like going.

What to read next

Once transport is sorted, the next question depends on your route:

• How to choose an area in Cape Town
• How to get from Cape Town Airport
• Safety in Cape Town — rules for the street, your car, accommodation and evening trips

And all our trip-planning materials are collected in the Cape Town section.