Cape Point entrance fee

Do you have to pay to go to Cape Point?

Yes. Everyone entering the Cape of Good Hope section of Table Mountain National Park pays a daily conservation fee, on a tour or in your own car.

There is one gate on the road into the reserve, and Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope both lie behind it. One fee covers both headlands, the beaches, the picnic sites at Buffels Bay and Bordjiesrif and the walking trails, for the whole day. You do not pay again at the lighthouse car park.

What the fee does not cover: the penguins at Boulders Beach (a separate SANParks gate near Simon's Town), the funicular up to the old lighthouse, and the toll on Chapman's Peak Drive. Those three are the extras that turn a cheap tour into a fair-priced day.

How much is the Cape Point entrance fee in 2026?

R515 per foreign adult until 31 October 2026, then R592 from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027. Children aged 2 to 11 pay R250, then R288.

SANParks runs its year from 1 November. Here are both cards side by side for the Cape Point gate (listed as Cape of Good Hope on the new card):

Adult means 12 and older, child means 2 to 11. The card lists no fee for children under 2. Sources: 2025-26 rates, 2026-27 card.

How much is the Boulders Beach penguin fee?

R245 per foreign adult until 31 October 2026, R282 from 1 November. Children pay R120, then R138.

Boulders is part of the same national park but has its own gate near Simon's Town. Every tour on this site stops there except the e-bike day, where it is optional.

Added up, a foreign adult now pays R874 for the two gates, about $54. Before 1 November it was R760, about $47. That is more than the $44 full-day tour, and one guest said exactly that: "The park entrance fees are expensive. You pay more than for the excursion itself, but everything went very well."

Who counts as SADC, and what do children pay?

SADC rates are for nationals of the 16 Southern African Development Community countries who show that country's passport. Children aged 2 to 11 pay roughly half the adult rate.

• The 16 SADC countries (SADC list): Angola, Botswana, Comoros, DR Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
• Proof: a passport from that country, original, electronic or a certified paper copy. Living in an SADC country on another passport does not count.
• South African rate: citizens and residents with South African ID. SANParks applies the standard rate automatically, so you must claim the local rate at the gate. No refund later if you forget.
• Children: 2 to 11 pay the child rate. From 12 you pay as an adult. The card lists no fee under 2.
• Seniors: no separate gate rate for foreign pensioners. The funicular does have one (R60 return).

How and where do you pay the Cape Point entrance fee?

At the gate, by debit or credit card. The Cape Point and Boulders gates have been cash-free since 1 April 2023, and Cape Point takes one payment per vehicle.

SANParks stopped taking cash at both gates in April 2023, and the fee page is blunt: "One payment per vehicle when entering at Cape Point, no individual payments per person are accepted." In your own car, the driver pays for everyone. You can also buy gate tickets online in advance and show the emailed ticket.

On a tour the van goes through as one vehicle. Kenzi's listings say the fees are paid on site, by cash or card, so in practice you settle your share with the guide. Bring a card anyway and ask at pickup how they collect. Several listings print the fees under "Includes" and then mark the same stops "extra fee"; read that as a fee you pay. The one tour here that puts the park fee in its price is the e-bike tour.

Both capes and the penguins in about 5 to 6 hours from your hotel, with 45 minutes at the lighthouse. Gate fees paid on the day.

★ 4.8 · 5 to 6 hours · from $40

Check dates → Tour details

Is the WILD Card worth it for Cape Point?

Only if you are touring several parks. The international WILD Card cost R4,680 for one person in 2025-26, about eight Cape Point visits at the new rate.

The WILD Card waives daily conservation fees in more than 80 parks and reserves. Foreign visitors can only buy the International All Parks Cluster: R4,680 for one person, R7,310 for a couple and R8,745 for a family, at the 2025-26 rates valid to 31 October 2026. Check the page for the 2026-27 price before you buy.

The maths is simple. One Cape Point and Boulders day costs R874. A Kruger safari at R692 a day, a few days in Addo and a Garden Route stop can add up past R4,680 quickly. Cape Town alone never does. If you buy one, carry the membership letter on paper or your phone: the gates no longer accept the plastic card.

What else costs money at Cape Point?

The funicular (R115 return per adult), the Chapman's Peak toll (R68 per car) and, on the full day, the optional Seal Island boat at Hout Bay (R140).

The gate fee gets you in. These are the add-ons:

The funicular prices are the 2025-26 rates on Cape Point's visitor page, valid to 31 October 2026; they rise every 1 November and the 2026-27 rate was not yet published when we checked. Toll: Chapman's Peak Drive tariffs. Cableway: Table Mountain Cableway. The full trip budget is in what a Cape Point tour costs.

Why did the Cape Point fee go up on 1 November 2026?

SANParks raises its fees every 1 November. For 2026-27 it lifted international rates by about 15% at several parks, Cape Point included.

The tourism trade association ATTA reported the change in October: Cape of Good Hope from R515 to R592, Kruger from R602 to R692, Addo from R492 to R565. Local rates moved far less: R110 to R115 for South Africans, about 4.5%. Boulders went from R245 to R282, the same 15% for foreign adults.

The tour prices did not move with it. The shared tours still start at $40 to $46, and the gates are still paid on the day. Our news post on the November fee rise tracks the change, and the honest verdict asks whether the day still earns its price.

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