Simon's Town and Boulders Beach: what to do around the colony

Simon's Town is easiest to meet through the penguins, but the town has its own reasons to stop. Cape Town Tourism calls it one of South Africa's oldest towns, situated 35km outside Cape Town, and describes a neighbourhood known for maritime history, beaches, water-based activities, marine wildlife and the African penguins.¹ That list is a fair summary of what follows on this page.

The navy gives the town its character. Wesgro describes Simon's Town as the home of the South African Navy since the early 1900s, and the naval museum has an elegant clock tower.^7,8 Boulders Beach in Simon's Town sits beyond the streets, and the park describes it as set in the midst of a residential area, one of the few sites where the endangered bird can be seen at close range.⁹

Think of the town as the part of a penguin day that is easy to skip and rewarding to keep. A day tour such as ours spends 75 minutes at Simon's Town with lunch and free time, which is enough for a meal and a short wander, while a visitor with a free afternoon can fill several hours here. The sections below are ordered from the shortest stops to the longest outings.

The most famous resident of the town is a dog. Cape Town Tourism says the grave of Just Nuisance is at the top of Red Hill, a frequent stop for visitors, and that a bronze statue of the dog stands on Jubilee Square.⁴ The statue is the easy visit: it sits in the town and asks only that you stop and read it.

The grave is the harder one. The mountain steps begin on Barnard Street and lead up to the Navy Signals area where the grave is located.¹⁶ Cape Town Tourism calls it a tough climb up the steps to the top and says the view is well worth it.⁴ Take water, wear shoes with grip and keep it for a day when you are not racing the gate hours at Boulders.

A sensible plan separates the two. See the statue during the town stop of a tour day, and keep the grave for a day when the town is the plan and not the lunch break. If you do both on the same day as the colony, decide the order first, because the gate has fixed closing hours and the steps are not a place to hurry.

The Scratch Patch is the family favourite on the list. Cape Town Tourism says children can fill a bag with polished gemstones to take home.¹⁴ Next to it sits Cave Golf, an 18-hole underground golf course with rock halls and mineral displays.¹⁵ Together they can fill a rainy hour, and they sit well after the penguins, when the children have seen the birds and want something to do with their hands.

For an adult evening, the town offers a ghost walk. Cape Town Tourism describes a Simon's Town Ghost Walk of 2 hours that visits the Old Burial Grounds.¹¹ It suits a visitor who stays overnight in the area and has finished with the colony for the day. The walk names the Old Burial Grounds as a stop, so check the meeting point and booking with the organiser in advance.

Penguin visits with children are covered on their own page, with the practical details. Here the point is narrower: the town has enough indoor and outdoor options that a family does not need to rely on the beach alone. Pick one active item and one quiet item, leave the rest for another day, and the visit will feel unhurried rather than overbooked.