Along with days of clear blue skies and sunshine, there’s another excellent reason to visit Cape Town in winter and spring: whale-watching. From June until (roughly) November, the seas off the Western Cape coast host one of the world’s most remarkable migrations, as thousands of Southern Right whales – Eubalaena australis – make their way from Antarctica (where they spend the summer months feeding on abundant krill) to the coastal waters of the Cape. Here, they breed and calve in the warm and sheltered bays from the West Coast to the Garden Route, before heading back south.
While centuries of whaling devastated the global population of Southern Right whales, decades of protection have allowed the numbers to recover beautifully. Today, it is estimated that there are more than 15,000 Southern Right whales in the oceans, with nearly half of them visiting South African shores.
Although Southern Rights are the whale you’re most likely to see, they aren't the only cetacean visitors. Humpback whales are also frequently seen from May to December as they migrate from the Southern Ocean to tropical waters. Bryde’s whales are present all year round too, although they are often observed in deeper waters during boat-based whale-watching tours.
Want to plan a one-day adventure – or why not make it a weekend? – of whale-watching? Start with Time Out’s expert guide to the best whale-watching destinations in and around Cape Town...
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Born and raised in the city, Richard Holmes is a travel writer based in Cape Town. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.