Muizenberg, St James and Kalk Bay Guide

Cross to the eastern side of the peninsula and both the mood and the water temperature change completely. False Bay is a broad, shallow indentation sheltered from the coldest Atlantic currents, so the sea here is typically four to six degrees warmer than at Clifton or Camps Bay. Linked by a coastal path and a railway track that runs right along the sea wall, the three small towns of Muizenberg, St James and Kalk Bay make an effortless half-day or full-day outing.

Morning: Muizenberg and Surfer's Corner

Start at Muizenberg Beach, where a row of brightly painted wooden Victorian bathing boxes stands on the sand. Because the bay floor shelves very gently, the waves roll in as long, forgiving white-water swells, making Surfer's Corner the best place in South Africa for a beginner surf lesson. Several surf schools opposite the station rent boards and wetsuits by the hour, and a flag system run by the Shark Spotters team up on the mountainside keeps watch over the bay.

Late morning: the walk to St James

From the western corner of Muizenberg, follow the flat paved walkway wedged between the railway line and the crashing surf. After about twenty minutes you reach St James Beach, where a second row of colourful huts overlooks a large rock-walled tidal pool. Even when the open sea is choppy, the pool stays calm for a morning swim.

Lunch and afternoon: Kalk Bay

Continue along the coast path (or hop one stop on the train) into Kalk Bay, a bohemian hillside village built around a working fishing harbour.

• The harbour: colourful wooden trawlers unload snoek, yellowtail and tuna onto the pier in the early afternoon while resident Cape fur seals flop around the slipway hoping for scraps. Grab hot, newspaper-wrapped fish and chips at Kalky's right on the quay, or sit upstairs at Harbour House for white tablecloths over the waves.
• Main Road: browse independent bookshops, antique stores, vintage clothing racks and long-running Olympia Café & Deli, whose pastry counter smells of croissants and espresso from early morning.
• Dalebrook Tidal Pool: just before the village, passed via a short pedestrian underpass beneath the railway tracks, Dalebrook is a quiet, stone-walled pool sheltered from the main road and popular with early-morning swimmers.

Getting there

Drive via the M3 and Boyes Drive for panoramic views over False Bay (or combine this stretch with the start of your Cape Peninsula loop). Without a car, take the modern blue PRASA Southern Line train on a weekday daytime service from Cape Town Station right to Muizenberg or Kalk Bay.