Cape Town’s natural beauty has long been a drawcard for tourists and a gift for locals. And while there are a handful of excellent safari escapes close to Cape Town, the best place to look for wildlife is out at sea.
From orcas hunting in False Bay to the Great African Seaforest making a splash on the cover of TIME magazine, the seas offshore of the ‘Fairest Cape’ have plenty of wildlife worth discovering.
And winter is far and away the best time of year to do it, especially if you want to see whales.
From June until November, the seas off the Western Cape coast are the endpoint for 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 krill) to the coastal waters of the Cape. Here, they take advantage of warm waters and sheltered bays from the West Coast to the Garden Route to breed and calve, before heading back south in early summer.
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. So your chances of spotting one are pretty good!
Although Southern Rights are the whales you’re most likely to see in the winter, they aren't the only cetacean visitors to the Cape.
Humpback whales are also frequently spotted offshore from May to December as they migrate from the Southern Ocean to tropical waters. In recent years, super-groups of feeding humpbacks have become a common sight along the west coast. In December 2025, shark conservationists and photographers Chris and Monique Fallows spotted a group of 304 humpback whales off the west coast: the highest number of large whales ever recorded in a single day!
Another one to watch out for is the Bryde’s whale, which is present in local waters all year round. Although they are often observed in deeper waters during boat-based whale-watching tours, they can sometimes be seen from shore, particularly along the cliffs of Cape Point and Smitswinkel Bay
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...
RECOMMENDED:
☕️ The best cafés and coffee shops in Cape Town
📍 The best things to do in Cape Town
⛰ The best winter adventures in Cape Town
🏨 The best hotels in Cape Town
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.
