Road Spotlight: Chapman's Peak Drive in the Cape Spring

While the northern hemisphere packs its roads away for winter, the Cape Peninsula is coming into spring. The road is open all year, but October to April are the best months to drive it, so this is the start of the season on one of the most photographed coast roads anywhere.

The road

Chapman’s Peak Drive runs for 9 km between Hout Bay and Noordhoek, with 114 curves cut into near-vertical cliffs above the Atlantic. It opened in 1922 and was rebuilt in the early 2000s with rockfall shelters and catch fences. It is a toll road, and the tariffs are published on the operator’s website.

This is not a fast road. The corners are tight and often blind, the limit is low, and the whole thing is over in about twenty minutes. What it offers is the view, a drop straight to the sea, and a road surface that suits a light car on its best behaviour. Most people drive it in both directions, because the view is different each way.

Why go now

Spring brings longer, warmer days to the Western Cape, and October is still inside the southern right whale season. The Cape Point nature reserve says the whales usually stay until the end of November, with numbers at their highest in October. That makes a peninsula loop worth the time: out along the Atlantic side through Camps Bay, over Chapman’s Peak, down to Cape Point, then back along the False Bay coast through Simon’s Town, with False Bay on your right for much of the way.

Later in the summer the south-easter becomes a regular visitor, and strong wind is one of the reasons the road closes. An early start in October avoids both the wind and the sunset traffic.

Check before you set off

Chapman’s Peak closes in high wind and after heavy rain because of the risk of rockfall. When this post was written on the morning of 19 October, the operator’s website showed the road as closed, without giving a reason. Closures are routine and often short, but it is worth checking the live status on the Chapman’s Peak Drive website before you leave, rather than finding the barrier down at Hout Bay.

Expect cyclists, especially on weekend mornings, and give them room on the narrow sections. There are few places to pass and no good reason to try.

Making a day of it

If you want more driving after the coast, head inland. The Franschhoek Pass in the Winelands is about an hour from Cape Town and is a proper mountain road with longer, more open bends. Our road trip preparation guide covers what to check on the car before a long day out, and the events calendar lists club drives if you would rather go with company.