Simon's Town: navy port and penguin town

Simon’s Town tends to get treated as a quick pass-through on the way to Boulders Beach’s penguins, and that undersells it. This is a genuinely distinctive town in its own right — a working naval base with a well-preserved Victorian-era waterfront, sitting on the calmer False Bay side of the peninsula — and it deserves more than the few minutes most itineraries give it.

Where	False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula, south of Cape Town
Known for	South African Navy base, historic waterfront, proximity to Boulders Beach
Getting there	Roughly the same route as Boulders Beach, on the peninsula’s eastern coast road
Time needed	An hour or more for the town itself, beyond a Boulders Beach stop
Combine with	Boulders Beach penguins, and the wider Cape Peninsula loop

A naval town with a genuine history

Simon’s Town’s character is shaped as much by its long history as a naval base as by its scenery. The South African Navy maintains an active presence here, and the town’s development over the centuries — first under Dutch and then British colonial administration, before its role in modern South Africa’s navy — has left a distinctive layer of naval and maritime history running through its museums, monuments and older buildings. This isn’t a manufactured heritage-town feel; it’s a working naval settlement that happens to also be a well-preserved slice of Victorian-era Cape architecture.

Simon’s Town walking tour with penguin viewing is a practical way to take in both the town’s history and the nearby penguin colony without needing to plan the route between them yourself.

The waterfront and main road

Simon’s Town’s main road, running along the harbour, is lined with well-kept Victorian and Edwardian buildings now home to cafés, shops and small museums, making for a genuinely pleasant stroll independent of anything else the day has planned. The harbour itself, still active with naval vessels alongside pleasure craft, adds working-town texture that purely tourist-oriented waterfronts elsewhere often lack. It’s a town that rewards slowing down for an hour rather than treating as a five-minute drive-through en route to the penguins.

Cape Point, Boulders Beach and Simon’s Town tour builds proper time into the town itself alongside the peninsula’s bigger-name stops, rather than treating Simon’s Town purely as a pass-through.

Right next door: Boulders Beach

Simon’s Town’s other major draw is its proximity to Boulders Beach, the famous African penguin colony sitting a short distance away — close enough that walking, cycling or a brief drive all work as ways to cover the gap. See the Boulders Beach penguins guide for the full detail on the colony itself, including entry arrangements and how to view the penguins respectfully. For most visitors, Simon’s Town and Boulders function as a single combined stop rather than two separate destinations, and it’s worth planning the visit that way — town first for context and a proper walk, penguins after, or the reverse depending on the time of day and crowd levels you’re trying to avoid.

On the water: kayaking from Simon’s Town

For a different vantage point on the same stretch of coast, guided kayaking trips launch from the Simon’s Town area, offering a water-level view of the harbour and coastline that a land-based visit simply can’t match. Depending on the specific route, this can extend into the wider False Bay marine environment, adding a genuinely different texture to a day otherwise built around walking and driving.

Simon’s Town guided kayak adventure is worth considering for visitors who want an active, on-the-water element added to an otherwise land-based peninsula day.

Fitting Simon’s Town into the wider peninsula loop

Simon’s Town sits naturally on the False Bay leg of the classic Cape Peninsula loop, typically visited alongside Boulders Beach and positioned between Cape Point on one side and, further north, Kalk Bay and Muizenberg on the return leg toward Cape Town. Building in genuine time here — rather than treating it as a brief stop squeezed between two bigger attractions — is one of the more consistently underrated adjustments visitors can make to an otherwise rushed peninsula day.

Simon’s Town guided tour with penguin viewing pairs the town’s history with the penguin colony in a single organised visit, a solid default if you’d rather not manage the logistics of combining the two stops yourself.

Practical notes

Parking is available around the town and near Boulders Beach itself, though it fills at busy times, particularly around midday in peak season when both the penguin colony and the town’s cafés are at their busiest. As with the rest of the peninsula, keep an eye on personal belongings around any parked vehicle, and note that the town’s naval presence means some areas, including the base itself, aren’t open to casual visitors.

The town’s museums and monuments

Beyond the working harbour and main road, Simon’s Town’s naval and colonial history is reflected in a handful of small museums and monuments scattered through the town, touching on both the modern South African Navy’s presence and the town’s earlier history under Dutch and then British colonial administration. These aren’t large, headline attractions on the scale of a major city museum, but they reward a curious visitor with an hour or so to spare, adding real depth to what might otherwise be a purely scenic stop. Many of these sites sit within easy walking distance of the main harbour road, making it simple to combine a museum stop with the general wander through shops and cafés without needing to plan a separate excursion.

A quieter alternative to the peninsula’s busier stops

Compared with Cape Point or Boulders Beach at peak times, Simon’s Town itself tends to feel noticeably calmer and less crowded, even during the busiest months of the year — most day-trippers pass through relatively quickly on their way to or from the penguin colony, leaving the town’s harbour and main road pleasantly uncrowded by comparison. For visitors who find the peninsula’s headline attractions a little overwhelming with tour buses and crowds, Simon’s Town offers a genuinely calmer pace within the same general area, worth keeping in mind if you’re looking for a breather partway through a busy peninsula day.