Cape Town Ferry Trips: The 15 Best Crossings

1.Robben Island Ferry Ticket and Guided Prison Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 1,792 reviews · 4 hours · from $79Our pick

Review of Cape Town’s Robben Island ferry and prison tour, with an ex-inmate guide, Mandela’s cell, practical tips, and honest value advice.

“The trip to Robben Island was everything we expected and more besides. The guides were well informed and interesting and really brought home the history of the island. It was humbling to see the cell in which Nelson Mandela spent so many years and reflect on the bravery and resilience of those political prisoners who also spent time there. The visit helped put into perspective the struggle against apartheid and how far South Africa has travelled since democracy.”

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2.Robben Island Ferry Tour with 1-Way Hotel Pickup

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 1,380 reviews · 5 hours · from $71

Ride the ferry from Cape Town to Robben Island, visit Mandela’s cell, and hear apartheid history from a former prisoner.

“A place not to be missed. Having ex prisoners as guides is a special experience.”

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3.Robben Island Ferry Ticket and Townships Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 400 reviews · from $89

Explore Cape Town’s townships and Robben Island with local guides, apartheid history, a former prisoner’s account, and practical tips.

“This was such an informative day out. We started in the township areas and both of our guides were incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the area and South Africa. We could have stayed speaking to them both for hours. There were moments I'll admit when I was a little nervous walking through the township but everyone we met along the way were very friendly. The trip to Robben Island was sobering but again steeped in so much history. Having an ex-prisoner as our guide inside the prison made it very real. A highly recommended tour.”

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4.Robben Island Ferry with Prison Ticket and Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 324 reviews · 3h 30m · from $90

Visit Robben Island from Cape Town with ferry tickets, a prison tour, and firsthand stories from a former political prisoner.

“Great historical insights. Very informative and enjoyed the tiur”

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5.Robben Island Ferry Ticket and Guided Prison Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 160 reviews · from $69

Robben Island ferry and prison tour review with honest advice on guides, weather cancellations, ticket value, queues, and practical Cape Town tips.

“The museum guide is an ex-prisoner, which adds a lot to an already extremely interesting tour of the jail facility”

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6.Robben Island ferry ticket with guided tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 61 reviews · 4 hours · from $74

Review of Cape Town’s Robben Island ferry and prison tour, including Mandela’s cell, former inmate guide, timing, value, and practical tips.

“The tour itselfnis amazing. Is a must see. Guides are actually ex prisoners from the jail. The oegsnizstion was not so good, we had the tour for 9 AM but it got cancelled with no notice and we had to reschedule it.”

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7.Robben Island ferry ticket plus Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.3 · 37 reviews · 4 hours · from $71

Review of Robben Island ferry and guided prison tour from Cape Town, with former-prisoner stories, Mandela’s cell, costs, tips, and drawbacks.

“Such an interesting visit with guides with personal knowledge of Robben Island, and an inspiring message of unity and forgiveness. Quite different from the horror stories that are often told in places like this and from a person with much to resent”

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8.Cape Town Half-Day Robben Island Tour with Ferry Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 13 reviews · from $66Best value

Review of Cape Town’s half-day Robben Island tour, including ferry travel, Mandela’s cell, hotel pickup, costs, timing, and practical tips.

“Great experience . Informative guide on the bus and the ex prisoner who gave the tour in the prison was very good and gave a true insight of what prison life was like for political prisoners . It would have been good when on the bus tour to have a few more opportunities to stop and reflect on prison life . The ferry was running an hour late and there was no communication as to why”

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9.Robben Island Nelson Mandela’s Prison Museum + Township Tour incl Ferry Tickets

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · from $196Top rated

Visit Robben Island and Langa Township in one day, with ferry tickets, hotel transfers, African lunch, and expert local history.

“This is a well structured tour which is very informative and educational. It removes all all the mythical beliefs about Robben Island and how Mandela was treated.”

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10.Robben Island Ferry and Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.0 · 7 reviews · 1 hour · from $109

Review Robben Island’s ferry, former-prisoner guide, Mandela’s cell, practical tips, wildlife, price, weather risks, and booking advice.

“Tour did not happen as robben island was closed. Still we could book it and where only made aware 30 min before the trip!”

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11.Robben Island Ferry Ticket and Guided Prison Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 7 reviews · 4 hours · from $87

Review of the Robben Island ferry and prison tour from Cape Town, including the former prisoner guide, ferry views, price, timing, and practical tips.

“Took this tour on Nov 19. The tour operator was "Kono Tourism Services". Booking was for a hotel pickup and transport to the ferry to Robben Island. Pick up was on time, and our driver turned out to be the owner who explained everything on how the tour would be conducted. The 30min boat ride to the island was enhanced by a 30min video concerning the island's origin. Upon landing we were escorted to the tour buses for a trip around the island where the host guide gave more insight on the islands history. Left the bus to begin the walking tour. The former prisoner guide was "phenomenal". He explained…”

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12.Nelson Mandela’s Robben Island Prison Museum Cape Town City Tour + Ferry Tickets

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 7 reviews · from $171

Review of Cape Town’s Robben Island and city tour, with ferry tickets, Mandela’s prison, Bo-Kaap, District Six, and hotel transfers.

“Hello. The owner Remmy took such good care of us even before we left the United States. He spent countless hours answering all of my questions to make me feel safe. The day of our your, He sent Kuda who was our driver and he also wRead more”

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13.Robben Island Museum Stellenbosch Wineries Plus Ferry Ticket F/D

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · from $195

Review of a Cape Town tour pairing Robben Island, Spice Route, and Babylonstoren, with ferry tickets, hotel pickup, wine stops, costs, and tips.

“Travelling has never been better. It was such a wonderful experience to tour with Raw Tours and crew. The guides knew exactly how to make their clients feel relaxed while simultaneously feeling immense bliss. The trip to Robern Island was mRead more”

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14.Robben Island Museum, Stellenbosch Wineries plus Ferry Tickets

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · from $181

Visit Robben Island, see Mandela’s former cell, and taste Stellenbosch wines on an eight-hour Cape Town tour with ferry tickets.

“Having the chance to travel with Flamboyant tours and seeing the beauty of nature and having to taste the best wines was amazing.”

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15.Robben Island Cape Of Good Hope Penguins Including Ferry Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 3 reviews · from $191

Review of Cape Town’s Robben Island, penguins, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point, and Chapman’s Peak tour, with costs, timing, and tips.

“Our tour guide Alain was amazing. Robben Island is a must when visiting Cape Town. The area around the cape was so beautiful and the penguins were so much fun to see.”

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