Clifton Beaches (First to Fourth)

What to expect at Clifton Beaches (First to Fourth)

Clifton is not one beach but four, numbered First to Fourth from south to north, each a pocket of fine white sand hemmed in by rounded granite boulders and reached by its own stairway down from Victoria Road. The sand here is famously fine and pale, quite different from the coarser grains at Camps Bay a kilometre south, and the boulders that divide the coves create a natural windbreak that keeps Clifton usable on days when the southeaster has driven everyone off the rest of the Atlantic seaboard. Fourth Beach has repeatedly carried Blue Flag status. The bungalows stacked up the slope behind the beaches began as modest wood-and-iron holiday shacks in the early twentieth century and are now among the most valuable homes on the continent. There is no promenade, no strip of restaurants and no road-level parking area: the whole place is stairs.

Each cove has a character. First Beach, the southernmost, is the biggest and takes the most swell, popular with bodyboarders. Second is quieter and favoured by people who want space. Third has long been the most relaxed and inclusive of the four and has a strong LGBTQ+ following. Fourth is the widest, the most family-oriented and the only one with a proper block of toilets and changing rooms, plus the easiest access from the road. Walking between them at low tide is possible over the boulders in places, but the reliable route is back up the steps and along Victoria Road. Vendors carry cool boxes of drinks and ice creams down onto the sand, and small boat operators sometimes sell sunset cruises off Fourth. The water is Atlantic cold, roughly 12-16C, and clear.

Plan for the steps and for the wind. Every beach involves between roughly 80 and 150 steps down from Victoria Road, which is fine going down with a cool box and much less fine coming back up in the afternoon heat. Pack light: one bag, one umbrella, water. Choose Fourth Beach if you want facilities or are with children, First if you want surf, Third if you want the friendliest crowd. There is nothing to book and nothing to skip except the mid-afternoon parking hunt. On a windy day, check whether the southeaster is blowing over the mountain before you drive out; Clifton usually holds up, but a strong northwester in winter makes all four coves unpleasant and the swell dangerous.

From the City Bowl the drive is about fifteen to twenty minutes: up Kloof Nek Road, right at the roundabout onto Camps Bay Drive, then north along Victoria Road, or via Sea Point and the coastal road for a slower, prettier approach. MyCiTi buses running the coastal route between the Civic Centre, Sea Point and Camps Bay stop on Victoria Road at the top of the Clifton stairways, and a myconnect card fare from the city is usually in the R12-R20 range with the card costing about R35. Parking is the hard part: it is roadside only, single-file along Victoria Road and the narrow side lanes, and by 11:00 on a summer Saturday the nearest space can be a fifteen-minute walk away. E-hailing from the city centre costs roughly R110-R170 and removes the entire problem.

Costs are minimal. There is no entry charge for any of the four beaches, no charge for the stairways and no charge for the toilets and changing rooms at Fourth. Umbrella and sunbed hire from operators on Fourth Beach is around R150-R250 for a set for the day. Drinks from the beach vendors run R25-R50, ice creams R25-R40. Roadside parking meters, where they exist, are roughly R10-R15 an hour, and informal car guards expect R10-R20. There is no restaurant on the sand at all, so either bring a picnic or plan to eat afterwards in Camps Bay, three minutes south by car, or Sea Point, ten minutes north. Sunset boat trips sold off the beach vary widely, commonly R400-R700 a person, and are not run to a fixed schedule.

Mornings are the reliable window. Between 08:00 and 11:00 the coves are calm, the light is soft and the steps are shaded. From noon the crowds and the sun both arrive, and by 16:00 in high summer Fourth Beach can be shoulder to shoulder. Sunset here, with the sun dropping straight into the Atlantic and the boulders turning orange, is the single best hour of the day and worth the awkward walk back up in the dark. December to February is peak: hot, crowded and busy with the Christmas holiday. March and April are warmer in the water and far calmer. Winter is for walking, swell-watching and photography rather than swimming, and lifeguard cover shrinks to weekends and school holidays from May to September.

Clifton suits confident swimmers, sunbathers, photographers and anyone happy on stairs. Families are best served by Fourth Beach, which has the toilets and the gentlest entry. Teenagers gravitate to First for the bodyboarding. It is a poor choice for wheelchair users and for anyone with knees, hips or a pram, because there is no ramp to any of the four coves and no lift; the flat alternative is the Sea Point Promenade, ten minutes north. Anyone who wants a warm swim should cross to False Bay instead. If you have only an hour before an appointment, do not attempt Clifton in peak season: the parking alone can eat the hour.

Nearby, Camps Bay Beach and its restaurant strip are a three-minute drive or fifteen-minute walk south, Maiden's Cove tidal pools sit between the two, and Glen Beach, a small surf spot, hides between Clifton and Camps Bay. The Sea Point Promenade begins about ten minutes north by car. Honest caveats: the steps are steeper and longer than photographs suggest, there is no shade at all on the sand after mid-morning, and the water is cold enough to shorten most swims to a few minutes. The famed exclusivity is a myth in practice, since all four beaches are public and busy. And the parking situation in January is the single most common reason visitors leave in a bad mood.

Plan your visit TicketsFree Free entryYes Time neededHalf day WhereClifton Opening hours Beaches open 24 hours; lifeguards daily 10:00-18:00 in summer Lifeguards weekends and school holidays only, May-September Best light and least wind 08:00-12:00 year-round Hotels near Clifton Beaches (First to Fourth)

Questions about Clifton Beaches (First to Fourth)

Live prices · free cancellation

4★

0.8 km away Camps Bay Retreat Hotel

4.4/5 R4634/ night

1 km away Sea Castle Hotel Camps Bay

4.2/5 R2993/ night

4★

1.3 km away The Bay Hotel

4.5/5 R4891/ night

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