Robben Island Ferry: times, boats and the crossing

Where the Robben Island ferry leaves from

Every public ferry to Robben Island leaves from the Nelson Mandela Gateway, in the Clock Tower Precinct of the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. The building serves as the ferry terminal: ticket office, check-in, a free exhibition on Mandela's life and the gangway to the boats. There is no ferry from Bloubergstrand or any other beach, even though that coast is closer to the island. On the map, look for the Clock Tower: the Gateway is the building beside it.

The closest car parks are the Clock Tower and Silo parking garages. If you come by MyCiTi bus, get off at Waterfront Silo and walk to the Clock Tower: the old Clocktower stop no longer exists. Our page on how to get to Robben Island covers buses, taxis and the airport, and the Nelson Mandela Gateway explains what you find inside the building.

Jetty 1, the old embarkation point

A short walk away in the Waterfront harbour stands Jetty 1, the historic embarkation point. When the Robben Island Museum opened in 1997, the first tour ferries left from here, and the building kept its red brick front, iron doors and barbed wire until the late 1990s. Today departures are from the Gateway.

Robben Island ferry times

The Robben Island Museum runs two timetables. In peak season, from 1 September to 30 April, there are four departures a day; in the off-peak months, from May to August, there are three. Ferries sail every day of the week, weather and demand permitting, and the museum can change times or cancel a sailing without notice.

There is no separate return timetable: you come back on the ferry assigned to your tour, about 3.5 to 4 hours after you left. The return times in the table are our estimate from the museum's tour length, not a published schedule: a slow boat or a rough sea can add half an hour, so do not book a restaurant or a flight too tightly after the tour. The museum's own pages disagree on one point: one of them also lists a 15:00 departure in the off-peak season. If you want the last ferry of the day between May and August, check the time when you book.

To plan the rest of your day, pick your departure below and see roughly when you will be back on the quay.

How long the crossing takes

Between 30 and 60 minutes each way, depending on the boat. The museum says the half-hour crossing applies only to the Krotoa; the other boats take longer. The island lies about 11 km out in Table Bay, and the bay is open water, so on a windy day the same crossing feels longer than the minutes suggest.

The boats: Krotoa and Sikhululekile

The museum owns two ferries, which carry both visitors and the staff who work on the island; the museum lists their specifications on its tour types page. When needed, it also charters private boats, so you may not sail on either of them. You cannot choose the boat when you book: it is assigned on the day.

Krotoa

The newest and fastest of the two, acquired by the museum in 2019. Built in Singapore, it is 32.4 metres long with an aluminium hull, and is certified by the South African Maritime Safety Authority to carry 280 passengers.

Sikhululekile

Built in 2008, 31.3 metres long and slightly wider than the Krotoa, certified for 260 passengers. The photo of Table Mountain further down this page was taken from its deck.

Check-in and boarding

Arrive at the Gateway at least 30 minutes before your ferry. The gates close 10 minutes before departure, and a late arrival means a lost seat, not a later boat.

• Your ticket, printed or on your phone: both are accepted.
• A valid document: a passport, an ID card or a driving licence. You cannot board without one.
• Children under 2 travel free: their ticket is issued at the Gateway on presentation of a birth certificate or passport.

Tickets are personal and cannot be transferred to someone else. If you are buying at the Gateway ticket office, the museum accepts only South African rand or credit and debit cards.

If you have a disability or a chronic illness, the museum asks you to inform it before booking, on +27 21 413 4200. Visitors who use wheelchairs report that every boat is different. If you are pregnant, you are asked to consult a doctor and sign an indemnity form.

Weather, cancellations and refunds

The ferry depends on the sea, and strong wind or heavy swell can cancel a sailing in any season. What changes with the months is the kind of risk. In summer the south-easter blows, stronger in the afternoon than in the morning: in our ten years of Robben Island weather data, January has the most strong-wind days during ferry hours. In winter, from June to August, strong wind is rarer, but the cold fronts can bring a heavy swell even when the wind is light. The museum can cancel or change sailings without notice, so if the weather looks bad, call it on +27 21 413 4200 before you set off.

Refunds on official tickets

According to the museum's frequently asked questions, tickets are refunded only when a sailing is cancelled because of adverse weather or a problem with the ferry. You need to return the ticket and show an ID. Cash payments are refunded on the spot; card payments go through the ticket office or refunds@robben-island.org.za and take 7 to 14 business days. If you simply want another date, ask at least 48 hours ahead and expect an admin fee. You can also apply for a refund if you miss the trip because you are in hospital, or because of a death.

Refunds on Tiqets tickets

If you booked on Tiqets, the refund for a weather cancellation depends on the tour operator's conditions: some offer a new date or a refund, some products are non-refundable. Request it from your Tiqets booking, and customer service answers in your language. If you want flexibility before the day, book the flexible Ferry Ticket & Prison Museum Tour: for €65 instead of €42.50, you can cancel it or move it to another date for free up to 24 hours before, for any reason. The standard ticket is non-refundable and the date cannot be changed.

The simplest precaution costs nothing: book the ferry for your first days in Cape Town, and prefer a morning departure. If your sailing is cancelled, you still have time to rebook.

Seasickness on the crossing

If you are prone to seasickness, the museum suggests taking a tablet an hour before boarding. Bring a windproof layer even on a sunny day: the island is windier than the city.

What you see from the ferry

The crossing is part of the visit. Leaving the Waterfront, you sail out of the harbour, and Robben Island appears ahead as a flat strip with the Minto Hill lighthouse on top. The island's highest point is only 24 metres above the sea.

The return crossing is the one you will remember: the whole of Cape Town opens up in front of you, with Table Mountain behind the city. Keep your camera ready for wildlife too. According to the museum's conservation page, from the ferry you can see Cape fur seals, southern right whales, dusky dolphins and Heaviside's dolphins. None of them is guaranteed. For what lives on the island itself, see Robben Island penguins and wildlife.

Can you take the ferry without the tour?

No. The museum does not sell the crossing on its own: every ticket it lists is a tour, and the return ferry is included in it. The same applies to resellers. The product called Ferry Ticket & Prison Museum Tour on Tiqets is not a ferry-only ticket, despite the name: it is the full visit with the bus tour and the prison.

You also cannot choose your return. You sail back with your group at the end of the tour; the museum allows an earlier return only on private charter bookings. A Table Bay boat trip that does not include the museum tour will not land you on the island either.

Arriving at Murray's Bay Harbour

The ferry docks at Murray's Bay Harbour, on the east coast of the island, a breakwater and a quay first developed on a large scale during the Second World War. As you walk to the buses, you pass the high wall that blocks the view of Table Bay, built by prisoners, and the 1960s buildings where families and lawyers came for their visits. This is where the guided tour begins: a bus ride around the island, then the Maximum Security Prison and Mandela's cell. Our page on the Robben Island tour describes it stop by stop.

Booking your seat on the ferry

Because the ferry is part of the tour, booking a crossing means booking the visit. On Tiqets the ferry and prison tour starts at €42.50, with the ticket on your phone in minutes; the flexible version, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before, costs €65. Every option is on the Robben Island tickets page.

Book the ferry and the tour together

Return ferry from the Nelson Mandela Gateway, bus tour and prison. From €42.50, with the ticket on your phone in minutes.

Robben Island: Ferry Ticket & Prison Museum TourFrom €42.50 · 4 hoursCheck availability