Noordhoek is a farm village on the southern side of the Cape Peninsula, sitting at the quieter end of Chapman’s Peak Drive where the mountains give way to a wide, flat valley and a long stretch of open beach. It’s a working agricultural community as much as a tourist stop — farm stalls, a wetland nature reserve, and a slower pace than the more built-up parts of the peninsula. The beach, known simply as Long Beach, is the main draw, and it’s set up differently from most Cape Town beaches: this is a place for horse riding and long walks rather than sunbathing or swimming.
| Where | Southern side of the peninsula, at the far end of Chapman’s Peak Drive |
| Main draw | Long Beach — roughly 8km of open sand |
| Getting there | Self-drive via Chapman’s Peak Drive or Ou Kaapse Weg |
| Water safety | Strong currents, no regular lifeguard presence — not a swimming beach |
| Best for | Horse riding, walking, kitesurfing on windier days |
Long Beach and horse riding
Long Beach earns its name — it runs for kilometres along Noordhoek’s western edge, backed by dunes and the mountains of the Chapman’s Peak range, and it’s wide enough that even on a busy weekend it rarely feels crowded. What sets it apart from most peninsula beaches is that it’s genuinely set up for horse riding, with operators running rides along the sand rather than treating it as a novelty add-on. A ride here at low tide, with the mountains on one side and open ocean on the other, is one of the more distinctive things you can do on this coast.
Private Long Beach horseback rideFor visitors staying elsewhere on the peninsula, several operators include hotel pickup and drop-off as part of the horse riding package, which removes the need to organise your own transport out to Noordhoek.
Beach horse ride with hotel pickup and drop-offWhy this isn’t a swimming beach
Long Beach has a reputation locally for strong rip currents and an undertow that can catch out swimmers who aren’t familiar with it, and there’s no consistent lifeguard presence across most of its length. That doesn’t make it a beach to avoid — it makes it a beach to use differently. Walking, riding, and kite-related sports don’t carry the same risk as swimming, and most visitors treat it exactly that way. If you do want to get in the water, stick to the sections nearest any lifeguard presence and ask locally about current conditions first.
Kitesurfing and the wind
Noordhoek picks up the same strong summer south-easter that affects much of the peninsula, and Long Beach’s width and consistent wind exposure have made it one of the more established kitesurfing spots in the area, particularly on windy spring and summer afternoons. It’s not a beginner-friendly launch without instruction, given the open space and the current conditions already mentioned, but for experienced riders or those booking a lesson through a local school, it’s a genuinely good spot.
The village and the wetlands
Noordhoek’s small village centre is built around farm stalls, a scattering of cafes, and Noordhoek Farm Village, a cluster of shops and eateries in converted farm buildings that’s a pleasant, unhurried stop rather than a destination in itself. Behind the beach, the Noordhoek wetlands support a genuine variety of birdlife, and a walk or cycle along the flat paths here is a quiet contrast to the more dramatic scenery elsewhere on the peninsula. For photographers, the combination of mountains, wetland, and open beach makes late afternoon light here particularly good.
Noordhoek Beach golden hour photo shootNoordhoek Farm Village
At the entrance to the village, Noordhoek Farm Village gathers a cluster of independent shops, a bakery, a deli, and a handful of restaurants inside converted farm buildings around a central courtyard — it’s a low-key, unhurried spot rather than a purpose-built tourist complex, and it’s the natural place to stop for lunch or a coffee before or after time on the beach. It also hosts a small farmers’ market on some weekends, worth checking ahead if that’s part of the appeal.
Getting there
Noordhoek sits at the southern end of Chapman’s Peak Drive, so if you’re coming from Hout Bay and the road is open, the drive in is itself one of the highlights — see the separate Chapman’s Peak Drive guide for what to check before you set out, since closures happen regularly. The alternative route, Ou Kaapse Weg, connects from the same direction without the coastal views if Chapman’s Peak is shut. From the south, Noordhoek connects on to Kommetjie and eventually Cape Point. For a slower, more active approach, an e-bike route out from the city covers the distance without the effort of pedalling the whole way.
E-bike ride to Noordhoek BeachHow this fits into a peninsula day
Noordhoek works well as a stop between Chapman’s Peak and Cape Point, or as a deliberate change of pace if you’ve spent the morning at busier stops like Boulders Beach or Simon’s Town. It’s not a full-day destination on its own for most visitors, but an hour or two here — a walk on Long Beach, a farm stall coffee, maybe a ride — is a genuinely different kind of Cape Peninsula experience from the wildlife-and-viewpoint circuit that dominates most itineraries.
What to bring
Long Beach is exposed and can be considerably windier than sheltered spots on the peninsula, so a windproof layer is worth having even on an otherwise warm day, along with sun protection given how little shade the open sand offers. For horse riding, most operators provide any specific gear needed, but comfortable trousers and closed shoes make the experience more pleasant than beach sandals. If you’re walking the wetland trails behind the beach, binoculars reward the effort if birdwatching interests you at all.
