Best Cape Town Helicopter Tours — Quick Picks
Which Cape Town Helicopter Tour Is Right for You?
| Role | Route | Air time | Best for | Rating | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most booked | City bowl and harbour | 12 – 15 min | The lowest fare, 2,001 reviews | 4.8★ | $181 | Check → |
| Best route | Atlantic seaboard | 20 – 25 min | Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles | 4.9★ | $250 | Check → |
| Beaches and bays | Camps Bay to Hout Bay | 25 min | The full Atlantic coast | 4.9★ | $296 | Check → |
| Two oceans | Peninsula crossing | 27 min | Both coasts in one flight | 4.6★ | $409 | Check → |
| Longest | Cape Point | 45 min | The end of the peninsula | 4.9★ | $748 | Check → |
Compare Helicopter Tours in Cape Town
Prices, ratings and availability last checked: September 2026.
Top Pickfrom $181 Sightseeing Helicopter Ride from V&A Waterfront
- Flight areaHarbour, city bowl and Table Mountain face
- MachineShared cabin
- PickupV&A Waterfront heliport
- Best forThe most-reviewed flight here
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $250 Cape Town Helicopter Tour: Atlantic Coast
- Flight areaAtlantic seaboard and the Twelve Apostles
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe classic coastal route
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $296 Cape Town Camps Bay & Hout Bay Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaCamps Bay and Hout Bay
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe full Atlantic coast
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $651 Cape of Good Hope Scenic Helicopter Flight with Free Boat Cruise
- Flight areaCape of Good Hope, with a boat cruise
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forPeninsula flight plus time on the water
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $748 Cape Town Cape Point Helicopter Tour
- Flight areaCape Point and the peninsula
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe longest route sold here
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $409 Cape Town Two Oceans Scenic Helicopter Flight - 27min
- Flight areaTwo-oceans crossing, 27 minutes
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forBoth coasts in one flight
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $183 12 Apostles Helicopter Flight & Champagne
- Flight areaTwelve Apostles seaboard, with champagne
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe seaboard at a short-flight fare
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $423 The Hopper Cape Town Helicopter, Table Mountain & Long March Tour
- Flight areaTable Mountain and city route
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forA flight combined with a ground tour
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $417 Cape Town Helicopter Tour and Boulders Beach Penguins Tour
- Flight areaFlight plus Boulders Beach penguin colony
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forWildlife on the ground after the flight
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
from $218 Cape Town City Center Helicopter Flight - 12Min
- Flight areaCity centre circuit, 12 minutes
- MachineShared cabin
- Best forThe shortest flight here
- Headsets with pilot commentary provided
- Cancellation terms are shown on the operator's booking page
How Much Does a Cape Town Helicopter Tour Cost?
Fares here track distance down the peninsula. The city bowl is $181, the Atlantic seaboard $250 to $300, and Cape Point — nearly 60 kilometres south — is $650 to $750. All are per seat.
Twelve to fifteen minutes over the harbour, the city bowl, Table Mountain's face and the first of the Twelve Apostles.
- V&A Waterfront Sightseeing Ride · $181
- 12 Apostles Flight & Champagne · $183
- City Center Flight, 12 minutes · $218
Twenty to thirty minutes down the coast past Camps Bay, the Twelve Apostles and Hout Bay, some looping back over the mountain.
- Atlantic Coast Tour · $250
- Camps Bay & Hout Bay Tour · $296
- Two Oceans Scenic Flight, 27 min · $409
The full peninsula to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope, sometimes with a boat cruise or a penguin-colony visit attached.
What affects the price?
This is the whole pricing logic. Cape Point is 60 kilometres from the Waterfront and the flight has to come back, which is why it costs four times a city circuit.
The southeaster blows hardest from November to March and is the main reason a Cape Town flight is cancelled or moved to the morning.
Champagne, a boat cruise or a penguin colony visit are bundled into several fares. They add cost rather than air time.
Atlantic-side routes fly the beaches and the Apostles; False Bay routes cross to the warmer, calmer eastern coast.
City Bowl, Seaboard or Cape Point: How Far Should You Fly?
Three route lengths down the same peninsula at very different prices. Fares are from the flights listed on this page.
| City and harbour | Atlantic seaboard | Cape Point | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical Cape Town fare | $181 – $218 | $250 – $409 | $651 – $748 | |
| Air time | 12 – 15 minutes | 20 – 27 minutes | About 45 minutes | |
| What it covers | Harbour, city bowl, mountain face | Camps Bay, Twelve Apostles, Hout Bay | The full peninsula to where the coasts meet | |
| Also sold with | Champagne on some fares | Nothing | Boat cruises and penguin visits | |
| Best for | Most visitors, at a very low fare | The coastline Cape Town is known for | A once-only long flight |
Month-by-Month Guide
Peak summer and peak southeaster; morning flights are the reliable ones.
Hot, dry and windy, with clear air between gusts.
Wind easing and the light softening — a good month to fly.
Light winds, clear air and mild temperatures.
Calm autumn conditions and the first green on the mountains.
Winter fronts arrive; between them, dramatic light and whales in False Bay.
Wettest month; flights cancel on frontal days and fly on the rest.
Cold fronts continue, whales at their most numerous.
Spring flowers, whales still present and improving weather.
Mild, clear and calm before the summer wind sets in.
Southeaster picking up; mornings good, afternoons less so.
Windy and busy; book early slots and expect some cancellations.
What to Expect on the Day
Check in at the Waterfront
Most flights leave from the heliport at the V&A Waterfront, walkable from the harbour hotels and restaurants.
This is one of the few destinations in the guide where the heliport is a tourist area rather than an airfield.Weigh-in and seating
Passengers weighed for the load sheet, seats assigned. Cabins are four to six seats.
Ask which side the mountain will be on — the outbound leg puts it on one side only.Safety briefing
Standard briefing, life vests for the coastal legs, headsets with commentary.
The commentary is worth having: the coastline names come fast on a twelve-minute flight.The flight
Out over the harbour, along the mountain face and the Atlantic seaboard, with longer routes continuing to Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak and Cape Point.
Morning light favours the Atlantic side; late afternoon lights the city bowl.Back on the ground
Twelve to forty-five minutes later depending on the route, with the whole booking rarely over ninety minutes.
The Waterfront location makes this easy to slot into a day rather than plan around.What to Bring (and What to Leave at Home)
✓ Bring
- Dark clothing to keep reflections out of the window
- A windproof layer — the Waterfront apron is exposed
- Your booking voucher and photo ID
- Sunglasses for the coastal legs
- A camera with a strap
- Sunscreen; the southern sun is fierce even in winter
✗ Leave behind
- Loose hats and scarves near the aircraft
- White or pale tops that mirror in the glass
- Large bags — cabin storage is minimal
- Drones, restricted over the city and Table Mountain National Park
- Selfie sticks, banned in the cabin
Where Flights Depart From
| Heliport / Base | Details | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| V&A Waterfront heliport | Most flights on this page | Anyone staying in the city or at the Waterfront |
| Cape Town International area | Some longer peninsula routes | Cape Point flights and combinations |
How to Choose a Helicopter Operator
What good operators do
- State the route in landmarks rather than adjectives — the difference between city bowl and Cape Point is 60 kilometres.
- Publish flight time in minutes.
- Say clearly when a boat cruise or penguin visit is a separate ground activity rather than part of the flight.
- Provide headsets with commentary naming the coastline.
- Refund weather cancellations in full — the southeaster grounds flights regularly.
Red flags to avoid
- Cape Point imagery on a listing that flies the city bowl for twelve minutes.
- No wind policy stated in a city where wind is the main cancellation cause.
- Fares that bundle ground activities without breaking out the flight length.
- Photo packages presented as compulsory.
What You Fly Over in Cape Town
The landmarks and flight corridors these tours actually cross, and what each one looks like from the air.
Table Mountain and the city bowl
Every flightThe flat summit, the cable-car station and the amphitheatre of city between the mountain and the harbour.
The Twelve Apostles and Camps Bay
Seaboard routesThe buttresses running south along the Atlantic side, with beaches and terraced suburbs below them.
Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak
Longer routesThe fishing harbour, Sentinel peak and the road cut into the cliff face south of it.
Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope
Long flightsThe end of the peninsula, 60 kilometres south, where the coastline turns and the two seas meet.
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