Is the Robben Island ferry running today?
Wind and swell forecast for every departure, today and for the next six days, with a clear rating for each sailing: good, uncertain or difficult. Updated every 30 minutes.
Today
Today's departures: 09:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 from September to April, 09:00, 11:00 and 13:00 from May to August. The forecast for each sailing is loading.
Book your Robben Island visit
from €42.50 Ferry, island tour and prison. Ticket on your phone.
The next days
Forecast from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) and NOAA WaveWatch III via PacIOOS, updated every 30 minutes. Sailings are confirmed by Robben Island Museum on the day: +27 21 413 4200.
Robben Island ferry cancelled? Who decides and what happens to your ticket
Robben Island Museum runs the ferries and decides on the day, and what decides is the weather: wind and swell. The museum does not publish the wind speed or wave height at which a boat stays in port; its frequently asked questions only say that sailings can be cancelled or changed without notice. On a windy day the morning ferry can sail while the afternoon ones stay in port, which is why the forecast above rates every departure on its own, both ways.
If your ferry is cancelled
Official tickets are refunded when the museum cancels a sailing for bad weather or a problem with the boat. You return the ticket and show an ID; cash is refunded on the spot, card payments take 7 to 14 business days.
If you booked on Tiqets, open your booking and contact customer service: it answers in your language and arranges a refund or a new date with the tour operator, under its conditions.
Which ticket to book
When the forecast for your day is good, the ferry and prison tour at €42.50 is the straightforward choice, with the ticket on your phone within minutes. It is non-refundable and the date is fixed.
Travelling in the windy months, or not sure of your dates yet? The flexible ticket at €65 can be cancelled or moved for free up to 24 hours before, so you can settle on your day once the forecast is sharper.
Table Mountain and Cape Town from the deck of the ferry, crossing Table Bay
The best time to take the Robben Island ferry
In the Cape summer the wind usually rises after lunch. Over ten years of Table Bay wind data, from September to April the average wind was 13.8 km/h at 08:00 and 20.7 km/h at 17:00, and readings of 41 km/h or more went from 2.6% to 6.5%. At Cape Town airport, which reports every hour, they climb from 2.1% at 09:00 to 13.1% at 15:00.
That is why the forecast also rates the return crossing: on the 13:00 and 15:00 tours you sail back in the late afternoon, when the south-easter is at its strongest. From May to August the difference almost disappears (11.4 km/h at 08:00, 13.6 km/h at 17:00), but winter fronts can bring a heavy swell on days with little wind.
- January9.6%
- February4.3%
- March5.2%
- April2.7%
- May1.5%
- June0.9%
- July1.3%
- August0.0%
- September2.5%
- October2.8%
- November3.5%
- December5.0%
Share of days on which at least one reading at 08:00, 11:00 or 14:00 reached 41 km/h at Cape Town harbour or on Robben Island, over 2,389 days with complete readings at both stations. Source: NOAA ISD. These are wind readings: the museum does not publish its cancellations.
The risk rises with the summer south-easter: January is the worst month, at 9.6% of days, while from May to August the share falls to 1.5% or less.
If you can choose, take the 09:00 or 11:00 ferry on one of your first days in Cape Town, so that a cancelled sailing still leaves time for a second try. Times by season and the check-in rules are on the Robben Island ferry page.
Waves on the shore of Robben Island, with Table Mountain across the bay
Robben Island weather today and tomorrow: how the forecast works
Every departure gets a rating: good, uncertain or difficult. It combines wind and swell for the trip out and for the return, about three hours later, using these thresholds.
| Rating | Average wind | Gusts | Offshore swell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good | below 31 km/h | below 45 km/h | below 4 m |
| Uncertain | 31 to 40 km/h | 45 to 59 km/h | 4 to 6 m |
| Difficult | 41 km/h or more | 60 km/h or more | 6 m or more, or 4 m with wind of 31 km/h or more |
Wind
The wind forecast comes from MET Norway, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, for a point in Table Bay between the Waterfront and the island. Each rating uses the 10-minute average wind at the departure time and at the start of the return crossing. The two thresholds, 31 km/h and 41 km/h, are force 5 and force 6 on the Beaufort scale, the same ones used in the study of ten years of wind. Gusts count only when the forecast includes them; for this point MET Norway does not provide them at the moment.
Swell
The waves come from NOAA's WaveWatch III model, published by PacIOOS. Its grid has no sea point inside Table Bay, so the forecast uses the nearest one in open water, in the Atlantic west of the island. That is the offshore swell, and the sea inside the bay can be quite different. Swell of 2.5 to 4 metres is what the Met Office calls a rough sea: in the open Atlantic it is nothing unusual, so on its own it does not change the rating. From 4 metres, a very rough sea, the day turns uncertain.
Tomorrow and the days after
The forecast is refreshed every 30 minutes. Wind comes hour by hour for the first two to three days, then every six hours, so the values for later days are estimates between two forecast times. For tomorrow's ferry, look again the evening before and in the morning: that is when the forecast is at its sharpest.
Robben Island ferry today: FAQ
Is the Robben Island ferry cancelled today?
Check the forecast at the top of this page: every departure today has its wind, its swell and a clear rating, refreshed every 30 minutes. A good rating means a calm crossing is forecast; when the wind picks up, it is usually the afternoon sailings that are hit first. The final call belongs to Robben Island Museum, on the morning itself.
Will the Robben Island ferry run tomorrow?
Look at tomorrow in the list of the next days: it shows the forecast for each departure. A good forecast the day before is a good sign. Look again in the morning before you head to the V&A Waterfront: by then the forecast is at its most accurate.
What happens if the Robben Island ferry is cancelled?
Official tickets are refunded when the museum cancels a sailing for bad weather or a problem with the boat. If you booked on Tiqets, contact Tiqets from your booking and they arrange a refund or a new date with the tour operator, under its conditions.
Which departure is least likely to be affected by wind?
The first ones of the day. Over ten years of data, from September to April the average wind at 08:00 was 13.8 km/h, against 20.7 km/h at 17:00, when the afternoon groups are still out. The 09:00 ferry also leaves you the rest of the day if it is cancelled.
Can I rebook if the weather looks bad?
Yes, with the flexible ticket on Tiqets (€65): you can move the visit to another date or cancel it for free up to 24 hours before. The standard ticket (€42.50) is non-refundable and the date cannot be changed. The museum's own tickets can be moved with at least 48 hours' notice and an admin fee.
What is the best time of year for the Robben Island ferry?
For light wind, May to August: during ferry hours the average wind stays between 10.8 and 12.9 km/h, against 17.4 km/h in January, the windiest month. Winter has only three sailings a day and its cold fronts can bring a heavy swell. From September to April there are four, and the mornings are the calmest part of the day.
Andrea SemonellaBorn and raised in Genoa, Italy. Co-founder of Benicool, which publishes independent guides to cultural sites. He has travelled to every continent and writes about how to visit them without wasting time or money.
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