If you ever find yourself near Boulders Beach, chances are you already know what lives there: African penguins. Lots of them.
And yes, before you even ask: it’s absolutely worth visiting. But let me be honest from the start: you will not be alone. Not even close.
When we arrived, the place was already buzzing with visitors, cameras, and that slightly chaotic energy you get when hundreds of people suddenly discover penguins waddling around a beach. Still, once you get past the first “tourist shock,” the whole experience becomes pretty magical.
Yes, of course, we were tourists ourselves 🙂
First Impressions: Penguins Everywhere
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The moment you step onto the boardwalks, you start spotting them.
At first it’s just one or two tucked between the giant granite boulders. Then suddenly you notice another one under a bush. And another one on the sand. And another one waddling across like it owns the place.
Which, to be fair… it kind of does. The more you walk, the more you spot them.
The residents here are African penguins, also known as the “jackass penguin” because of the donkey-like braying sound they make. Once you hear it, you’ll never forget it.
It’s a funny mix of sounds and scenes:
- tourists whispering excitedly
- camera shutters clicking
- and somewhere in the background… a penguin loudly complaining like a miniature donkey.
Getting There from Hout Bay
During that part of our trip for a month in South Africa, we were staying in Hout Bay, which turned out to be a great base for exploring the Cape Peninsula. To get to Boulders Beach, we basically followed one of the most scenic drives you can imagine.
From Hout Bay we first drove along the famous Chapman’s Peak Drive, a winding coastal road carved into the cliffs. On one side, you have steep mountains; on the other, the Atlantic Ocean far below. It’s the kind of road where you constantly feel tempted to stop the car just to take another photo.
From there, we continued south along the peninsula, passing places like Noordhoek and Fish Hoek before eventually reaching Simon’s Town, the small coastal town where the penguin colony lives.
In total, the drive took about an hour, but honestly, it didn’t feel like it. Between the ocean views, dramatic cliffs, and small seaside towns along the way, the journey itself felt like part of the adventure. By the time we arrived at Boulders Beach, it almost felt like the penguins were just the grand finale of an already beautiful drive.
October Surprise: Tiny Penguin Chicks
What made our visit extra special was the timing.
We were there in October, and completely by chance, when walking further to the beach where everyone can swim, we started noticing something unusual: tiny fluffy penguin chicks tucked into nests under bushes and rocks, fed by their moms.
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At first we thought we were imagining things. But once you start looking carefully, you realize they’re everywhere — small grey fluffballs waiting patiently for their parents to return with food.
Seeing them like that felt surprisingly intimate. Even with dozens of people around, there were quiet moments where you could just watch the parents coming and going while the chicks waited.
🎥 Watch this Short on YouTube
And honestly… It’s hard not to smile when you see a baby penguin. 🙂
Walking Around the Area
Most visitors stay on the official boardwalks, which are designed to protect the colony. That’s where you get the classic views of penguins on the beach and swimming in the water.
But if you walk a bit further around the surrounding area of Simon’s Town, you’ll also spot penguins wandering through the vegetation and between houses. They’ve completely adapted to living right next to humans.
At one point, we even saw one casually waddling across a path like it had an important meeting to attend.
No rush. Just penguin business.
Our Entrance Fee (Or… Lack of One)
There is normally an entrance fee to visit Boulders Beach because it falls within Table Mountain National Park.
But in our case, we had a SANParks Wild Card, which meant we simply walked in without paying anything extra that day. Always a nice little travel moment: arriving somewhere, asking what the entrance fee is, and then realizing you already covered it with the pass.
So yes… our total cost that day was exactly zero, which always feels like a small victory when traveling.
If you visit without the Wild Card, the entrance fee is roughly R190–R215 for international adults (about €10–€11 depending on exchange rates). South African residents pay much less.
If you’re planning to visit several national parks in South Africa (and stay for a long time), the SANParks Wild Card can actually save quite a bit of money over the course of a trip.
A Quick Note on Conservation
Toward the end of our visit, I started reading a bit more about the colony, and it adds an important perspective to what you’re seeing.
The penguins at Boulders Beach belong to the African penguin species, which is currently listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Their population has dropped dramatically over the past century, mainly because of:
- overfishing of sardines and anchovies (their main food)
- oil spills along the South African coast
- habitat disturbance and climate change
At the beginning of the 1900s, there were millions of African penguins. Today, fewer than 30,000 breeding pairs remain in the wild.
The colony at Boulders Beach actually started relatively recently — in 1982, when just two breeding pairs settled here. Thanks to protection within Table Mountain National Park, the colony grew and became one of the most accessible penguin populations in the world.
Tourism here also plays a role in funding conservation efforts, which is another reason why those boardwalks and protected areas exist.
Final Thoughts
Yes, Boulders Beach can be crowded.
Yes, you might have to wait your turn to get a clear view of a penguin.
But standing there watching these birds waddle across the sand, hearing their strange donkey-like calls, and spotting fluffy chicks hiding under bushes… it’s one of those travel moments that sticks with you.
Not a bad day at all.
Happy travels!
Lizzy
I now have a YouTube channel as well!
YouTube
Hello Africa travellers!
Who am I? Well, the least you can say is that I am quite crazy about Africa, its nature, its climate, its culture, and more.
As a young woman in my twenties, I had already traveled to several African countries by traveling along in an overlander on my own and mostly camping ( or glamping ) and just fell in love with the diversity of it all.
So much, so that at the age of 26, I went back to university to study biology, which, unfortunately, I couldn’t finish because of health reasons (yes, I got sick from a tropical disease, oh cynicism). But this did not stop my dream of traveling back to Africa several times, and I still do.
My dream was back then to leave Europe and go study animal behavior, especially the elephants (sure, that’s every girl’s dream haha), but I am also very much intrigued by hyenas and other “ugly African animals“.
So, I “kind of” have a little bit of a scientific approach to my articles, when I write about African birds, for example. And most of all: the passion.
But life goes on, you move from one side of the country to the other, you get sick again and top it off with lower back problems, and before you know it, you are over 50 hahaha!
Now, I still travel to Africa, but take it a bit “easier” than the good old camping days, and stay in comfortable, yet affordable accommodations, together with my husband Wouter.
These are some of the countries I have traveled to: Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Tunisia, and a little bit of Lesotho LOL .
While clearly not being African territory, but Spanish, I also visited Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and location-wise, I consider them “African”, because of their climate and nature, sue me :-p
The last trip I took was to South Africa in the year 2023, and it sure got the fevers for Africa back! From the Barberton mountains to the Drakensberg and the Southcoast, one month wasn’t enough at all to see the whole country, so we’ll be back! At ease and with a little bit more luxury than in my younger days haha!
I wish you happy travels!
Kind regards
Lizzy