Clifton
Four sheltered coves below the most expensive real estate in Africa, reached by long stairways and no parking whatsoever.
Clifton Fourth Beach seen from the stairway above, white sand between granite boulders
Why people stay in Clifton
Clifton is four sandy coves separated by granite headlands, tucked below Victoria Road between Camps Bay and Bantry Bay, with the Lion's Head slope rising behind. There is no village, no main street and almost no shop. What there is: white sand that stays out of the south-easter when Camps Bay is being sandblasted, water at about 13 degrees, and stairways of 120 to 180 steps down from the road to each beach. Nettleton Road above it is routinely quoted as the priciest residential street on the continent, and the accommodation prices reflect it.
The beaches have distinct characters that locals take seriously. First is the quietest and the longest walk, popular with families who want space. Second is young and toned. Third has historically been the gay beach and remains the friendliest. Fourth is the blue-flag one, the busiest, the one with lifeguards, ice-cream sellers walking the sand and the Bungalow bar on the road above. Beach vendors will offer you a lounger and umbrella for around R150 to R200 for the day, which is worth it on Fourth in January.
At 9pm Clifton is silent. There is no strip, no restaurant row, nothing open on the road except the Bungalow, which does cocktails and small plates on a terrace over the water and closes reasonably early. Dinner means driving five minutes to Camps Bay or ten to Sea Point. In practice you will do this every single night, and in high season that means finding a parking bay again when you return. Accept it up front or stay elsewhere.
Mid-January accommodation is R4,000 to R12,000 a night and heavily weighted toward villas and serviced apartments rather than hotels. This suits couples with a rental car, people who want a view they will remember for twenty years, and anyone whose priority is a beach day that does not get blown out. It suits families with toddlers badly, because of the stairs, and it suits anyone without a car very badly indeed.
Almost everything here is a self-catering apartment or a villa on the terraces below Victoria Road — Victoria Road itself, Kloof Road above it, and the bungalow lanes running down toward First and Second Beach. Budget R4,000 to R8,000 for a two-bedroom with a sea view in January, more for anything with a pool and direct beach steps. Ask two questions before booking: how many stairs from the parking to the front door, and how many from the front door to the sand. Ninety steps is normal, two hundred is possible, and there is no lift on most of these plots. Secure off-street parking is essential and not universal. If the budget is tighter, Bantry Bay immediately north gives you similar views, hotel stock rather than villas, and Sea Point restaurants ten minutes on foot.
Things to do in Clifton
The blue-flag beach, reached by the stairway opposite the bus stop on Victoria Road. Lifeguards in season, vendors hiring loungers and umbrellas for roughly R150 to R200, and the sheltered corner under the boulders that stays calm when the wind is up. Go before 10am on a January weekend or the stairs become a queue.
At low tide you can scramble around the granite headlands between all four beaches, roughly twenty minutes end to end. First Beach is the quietest and takes the longest stairway. Do it barefoot with a dry bag, check the tide table, and do not attempt the headlands at high tide or in a big swell.
On Victoria Road above Third Beach, a terrace bar and restaurant hanging over the rocks with the sea directly below. Cocktails around R140, small plates R120 upward, bookings strongly advised for sunset in season. The best paid seat on the Atlantic Seaboard for watching the light go orange over the horizon.
Five minutes south on Victoria Road toward Camps Bay, four sheltered tidal pools with lawns, toilets and braai facilities and free parking. Water is calmer and several degrees warmer than the open beaches, and there is shade. This is where Clifton residents actually take small children on a hot Sunday.
The trailhead is on Signal Hill Road at Kloof Nek, a fifteen-minute drive up from Clifton. Forty-five minutes of spiralling path, chains and a short scramble near the summit, and a 360-degree view down onto all four coves. Start at 6am in summer; the path is exposed and there is no water on the mountain.
South past Camps Bay and Bakoven, the road hugs the Twelve Apostles for 12 km to the Llandudno turn-off, with pull-offs at Oudekraal for the clearest snorkelling water on this coast. Oudekraal is a SANParks day-use site with a small entry fee and shaded picnic sites among the milkwoods.
What to see
Hotels near Clifton
No hotels are listed in Clifton yet. The nearest ones are on the region page.
Every hotel we cover in Clifton
- 21 Nettleton 5★ · 4.8/5
- The Clarendon Bantry Bay 5★ · 4.8/5
- The Clarendon Fresnaye 5★ · 4.8/5
- 52 De Wet 5★ · 4.7/5
- Wixy 5★ · 4.7/5
- Sea Haven 4★ · 4.7/5
- Compass House Boutique Hotel 5★ · 4.6/5
- Penthouse on Clifton 4★ · 4.4/5
- Fairmont 303 4★ · 3.5/5
- The Amalfi Hotel 3★ · 3.4/5
- Clifton Ezulwini 5★
- Clifton Spectacular Ocean View Apartment 5★
- Kaldene 5★
- 6 On Clifton 4★
- 8B Bay Point 4★
- Aegea 4★
- Alexander Road 7B 4★
- Ambassador Self Catering Apartments 4★
- Avanti Guest House 4★
- Bahati Executive Pad 4★
- Bantry Alanda Modern Apt in Bantry Bay with views 4★
- Bantry Bay 2bed 100m To Beach 4★
- Bantry Bay Apartment with Amazing Views and a Short Walk to the Beach 4★
- Bantry Beach Luxury Suites 4★
Getting around Clifton
MyCiTi route 108 runs Civic Centre to Camps Bay and Hout Bay along Victoria Road with stops above the Clifton stairways, roughly 20 to 30 minutes from town for about R21 with a myconnect card; check the last departure, which is early evening. From the airport, Uber or Bolt costs R450 to R550 and takes 40 to 60 minutes. Parking is the defining problem here: the Victoria Road bays are full by 9am from mid-December to mid-January and the roadside queue backs toward Camps Bay. Car guards work the stretch and expect R10 to R20. Once you are on the sand, everything is stairs and beach walking.
Questions about Clifton
Fourth Beach if you want lifeguards, loungers, ice cream and easy road access; it is the blue-flag beach and the busiest. Third is the friendliest and traditionally the gay beach. Second draws a younger crowd. First is the biggest and quietest with the longest stairway, so it stays calm even in early January. All four are sheltered from the south-easter, which is Clifton's real advantage.
Honestly, barely anywhere in high season. The roadside bays on Victoria Road fill by 9am from mid-December through January and there is no dedicated car park. Options are arriving very early, taking MyCiTi route 108 from Civic Centre, or Ubering in and out for R120 to R180 from Sea Point. Never leave valuables in the car; this stretch sees regular smash-and-grabs.
Essentially one: the Bungalow on Victoria Road, a bar and restaurant on a terrace above Third Beach, plus beach vendors selling drinks and snacks on the sand. Everything else is a drive — five minutes to the Camps Bay strip, ten to Sea Point's Regent Road, fifteen over Kloof Nek to the City Bowl. Factor that into the budget before booking a self-catering villa here.
Only with reservations. The stairways run 120 to 180 steps with no lift, no ramp and no trolleys, so prams and toddlers are hard work, and the water is 13 to 15 degrees. Families generally do better at the Maiden's Cove tidal pools five minutes away, or at Muizenberg and Fish Hoek on the False Bay side where the sea is warmer and flatter.
