Boulders Beach Penguins
The Boulders Beach penguins at Simon's Town: SANParks's fee and gate hours, the boardwalks and beaches, and how long each Cape of Good Hope tour stays with the colony.
The Boulders Beach penguins are a colony of African penguins at Simon’s Town, on the False Bay side of the Cape Peninsula, in their own section of Table Mountain National Park with its own SANParks fee: R282 for an international adult and R138 for a child aged 2 to 11, from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027. You watch them from boardwalks. The Cape of Good Hope tours from Cape Town stop there; Beyond Africa Safaris - Gray Line South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope & Penguins Day Tour gives the colony an hour, at US$50.23 per adult (checked November 2026), with the Boulders fee paid at the gate.
The colony, in SANParks’s words
SANParks calls Boulders Penguin Colony “home to a unique and endangered land-based colony of African Penguins”, one of only a few in the world (14 November 2026). Its page describes the Boulders section as three beaches, one penguin viewing area and three boardwalks, built so you can see the birds while they stay safe “from poking fingers”. Its rules for the visit:
- Stay on the boardwalks at all times within the viewing area.
- Do not touch or feed the penguins: “their beaks are as sharp as razors”.
- Alcohol and smoking are prohibited, and no marine life may be removed: Boulders is in a no-take zone of the park’s Marine Protected Area.
- Boulders is closed to all vessels, canoes and kayaks included.
SANParks adds that swimming and picnics on the beach are among the activities, that rangers patrol every day, that beach space depends on the tide, and that parking is limited, so arrive early in the summer peak.
The fee and the gate hours
The Boulders section has its own daily conservation fee, separate from the Cape Point one, and SANParks’s gates there are cash-free: cards only.
| Who | Adult (12 and over) | Child (2 to 11) |
|---|---|---|
| International visitors | R282 | R138 |
| SADC nationals | R118 | R59 |
| South African citizens and residents | R57 | R27 |
SANParks, rates from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027 (14 November 2026).
| Months | Gate opens | Gate closes |
|---|---|---|
| December and January | 07:00 | 19:30 |
| February, March, October, November | 08:00 | 18:30 |
| April to September | 08:00 | 17:00 |
SANParks’s entrance-gate times for Boulders, 14 November 2026. SANParks says times may change without notice and asks visitors to confirm with the park before arriving; the Boulders Visitor Centre is on +27 (0)21 786 2329.
Where the tour drops you
The section has more than one beach, and a tour stop is not always the beach people picture. On 19 October 2026 a three-star reviewer of Beyond Africa Safaris - Gray Line South Africa’s day wrote: “the entrance where the guide drops you is not the famous Boulders Beach where you can walk on the beach with pinguins, that’s a little but further with a different gate. Many of our tour didn’t get there.” If the swimming beach matters to you, ask your guide on the day which entrance the stop uses and how long you have. Or give the colony a day of its own and sleep beside it: search rooms near Boulders Beach ; hotels near Cape Point and Simon’s Town weighs the bases.
How long each tour stays with the penguins
GetYourGuide checked November 2026; Viator checked November 2026. The Boulders fee is extra on every tour in this table, as are the Cape Point fee and lunch.
For an hour with the penguins and both capes in one day, the Cape of Good Hope & Penguins Day Tour is the booking box above. If you only have a morning, Kenzi Travel and Tours’ half day is back after 5 hours, with 25 minutes at Boulders; half day or full day compares the shorter tours.
An Hour with the Penguins
Beyond Africa Safaris - Gray Line South Africa's day gives the Boulders penguin colony an hour, then the Cape of Good Hope and the Cape Point lighthouse, with hotel pickup in Cape Town. Park fees are paid at the gates. One adult can book.
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