Hermanus Small-Group Whale Watching Day Tour from Cape Town

Yes. The Small-Group Hermanus Day Tour operates 12 months of the year. During whale season, guests can add the optional 1:00 PM boat-based whale-watching trip. Outside whale season, guests can choose wine tasting at two Hemel-en-Aarde wine farms or an approximately 2-hour sea-kayaking experience in Hermanus. Optional activity fees are not included in the R1,400 tour price.

The Small-Group Hermanus Day Tour is a shared departure at R1,400 per person — you travel with other guests in a shared vehicle and the departure runs once at least 4 paying adults are booked. The Private Hermanus Day Tour is exclusive to your own party, priced per group from R5,500 total for one or two guests plus R1,000 per additional guest, with a private vehicle, private guide and more flexibility over timings. Both are full-day tours covering Clarence Drive, Stony Point and Hermanus.

R1,400 per person for the full-day shared tour from Cape Town. This covers the guide, shared air-conditioned vehicle, and hotel collection and drop-off. Entrance fees and admission charges, including the Stony Point Penguin Colony entrance fee, are for the guest's own account. Boat-based whale watching, lunch and gratuities are not included.

Yes. You do not need to book as a group of four. Solo travellers can request 1 seat, couples can request 2 seats and three guests can request 3 seats. Requests for the same date are combined with other travellers, and the shared departure operates once at least 4 paying adults are confirmed. Until that minimum is reached, your booking is a request and is not a confirmed departure. If you want a guaranteed departure, please enquire about the separate Private Hermanus Day Tour.

If fewer than 4 paying adults are booked for your date, the shared departure does not operate. We will tell you as early as we can and offer you alternative dates where a group is forming, or a Private Hermanus Day Tour instead. Nothing is treated as confirmed until the minimum is met.

No. Boat-based whale watching is entirely optional and is not included in the R1,400 per person group tour price. Current Hermanus boat rates are R1,500 per adult, R1,400 per pensioner, R1,400 per student, R750 per child under 12 and free for children under 3, booked and paid for separately.

Guests joining the Small-Group Hermanus Day Tour must book the 1:00 PM whale-watching boat departure. It is the only departure that fits the shared itinerary and the group's return to Cape Town, so alternative boat times are not offered on this tour.

The tour works equally well without the boat trip. While other guests are at sea you can join a land-based whale-watching walk along the Hermanus Cliff Path, where conditions and sightings allow, or simply enjoy free time in Hermanus. Your guide gives you a clear meeting point and meeting time to rejoin the group.

In season, Hermanus is one of the best land-based whale-watching places in the world and Southern Right Whales are often visible from the Cliff Path between June and early December. Whales are wild animals, so sightings from land can never be guaranteed.

Yes. The outbound route follows the R44 Clarence Drive between Gordon's Bay and Betty's Bay — a coastal road cut into the cliffs above False Bay, with scenic viewpoints along the way. It is one of the main reasons to take this tour rather than driving the inland N2.

Approximately 9 to 10 hours door to door. Collection in Cape Town is around 07:00 and drop-off is usually between 17:00 and 18:00. Timings are approximate and depend on traffic, weather and the group.

Yes. The itinerary includes a visit to the Stony Point African Penguin Colony at Betty's Bay. The Stony Point entrance fee is not included in the R1,400 per person fare and is payable separately by the guest. It is a wild breeding colony, so penguin numbers vary with the season and time of day.

We collect guests from accommodation in the V&A Waterfront, City Bowl, Foreshore, Gardens, Tamboerskloof, De Waterkant, Sea Point, Green Point, Mouille Point, Clifton, Camps Bay and Bantry Bay. Pickups outside these areas can be arranged on request and are quoted separately.

Boat departures are weather and sea-condition dependent and are confirmed on the day. If the 1:00 PM boat trip cannot operate, the land portion of the day continues as normal — you spend that time on the Hermanus Cliff Path or in town — and the boat trip is handled separately by the boat operator.