Beach vs. Boardwalk: Penguin Viewing in Simon's Town

I love penguins. I'm not entirely sure what it is about them that I find so endearing, but I could happily watch them waddle around for hours! I was so excited when I learned that a large colony of African Penguins (formerly named Jackass Penguins) was just 30 minutes from Nicks' house in Cape Town!

But Nick? Well, he just views them as a nuisance. According to him, they are, and I quote, "noisy, smelly and they've taken over the nicest beach in Cape Town!".

View from the boardwalk at Foxy Beach

Unfortunately, for my adorable little friends, this is all true. But depending on when you go and the direction of the wind, you might get lucky on the noise and smell front! And even if you don't...well that's all just part of the experience, eh?


In the 80's when Nick and his family first moved to Cape Town, the False Bay area of Simon's Town was totally penguin-free. Nick has fond memories of diving for crayfish in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and relaxing on the sheltered, sandy beaches. But restrictions on commercial fishing have made the area more amenable to penguins, and over the last 30 years, the colony has grown from 2 to 3, 000!

There are now two places where you can see the penguins: The Boardwalk at Foxy Beach and Boulders Beach. They're right next to each other and the admission fee covers both areas.

If you want a guaranteed sighting of penguins, and lots of them, you should totally make a beeline for the boardwalk. A short, 5-10 minute walk takes you to both sides of a beautiful, sheltered beach where the majority of the penguins hang out. There were at least 100 on the beach on the afternoon that we went. And quite a few nesting right next to the boardwalks as well!

I wish I'd taken a video of this one waddling around!

With a beach this nice, the penguins are almost a bonus!

But between the large number of tourists crammed onto viewing area and the fenced walkways, it feels like you're at the zoo. The birds were in a natural enclosure instead of a man-made one, but it had the same vibe.

I enjoyed Boulders Beach a lot more because it felt like a more natural encounter. You may not be guaranteed a penguin sighting on the beach, but if you do see one, there's a good chance he/she will be more active! When we went to Boulders Beach on my first visit to Cape Town 2 years ago, there were three penguins diving in and out of the water and hopping around on the rocks right next to us. You can even swim with them as long as you don't get too close and disturb them! I mean, how cool is that?

And even if you take the penguins out of the equation, Boulders Beach is just a beautiful place to be, period. The large rounded boulders make the coastline even more picturesque than it already is, and they're fun to clamber over! And since the majority of the tourists head straight for the boardwalk, there were fewer people at the beach!

It's definitely worth going to both, but the next time we go to Cape Town, we'll be heading straight for Boulders Beach!