Neighborhood 48H guide
V&A Waterfront: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
Harbour, museums and the Robben Island ferry.
Cape Town’s working harbour is now a waterfront district of shops, restaurants and hotels, with Zeitz MOCAA in a converted grain silo, the Two Oceans Aquarium and the Nelson Mandela Gateway ferry to Robben Island.
Photo gallery
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: HelenOnline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Safe and walkable, with restaurants, museums and the Robben Island ferry.
Who it's for: First-timers and families.
Pros
- Attractions
- Restaurants
- Walkable
Cons
- Pricey
- Touristy
- Mall feel
48H in V&A Waterfront
Harbour, museums and the Robben Island ferry.
10:00 – Zeitz MOCAA
Contemporary African art in the Silo.
14:00 – Two Oceans Aquarium
Kelp forest and penguins.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
See / do
See / do
Zeitz MOCAA
Silo District, V&A Waterfront
Museum of contemporary African art in the converted grain silo, with 2026 exhibitions.
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →See / do
Two Oceans Aquarium
Dock Road, V&A Waterfront
Aquarium of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts, with a kelp forest exhibit.
Photo: HelenOnline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
Cape Grace, A Fairmont Managed Hotel
West Quay Road
Luxury hotel on its own quay in the marina.
Check rates on Expedia →Hotel · Expedia
The Silo Hotel
Silo District
Luxury hotel above Zeitz MOCAA with a rooftop pool.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for V&A Waterfront.
Cape Town is drafting a Short-Term Letting By-law that would make every short-term rental register with the City and show a registration number; under the 2026/27 Rates Policy, homes let for more than half of the year’s room nights can be rated as commercial. The by-law is still a draft, so check a listing’s details and house rules before booking.
Browse vacation rentals in V&A Waterfront on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Cape Town
- City Centre & Bo-Kaap — Colourful Bo-Kaap, Company’s Garden and city museums.
- Gardens & Tamboerskloof — Kloof Street cafés and trails up Lion’s Head.
- Sea Point — The promenade, the ocean and Signal Hill sunsets.
- Camps Bay & Clifton — White-sand beaches below the Twelve Apostles.
- Constantia & Newlands — Wine estates and Kirstenbosch.
- Muizenberg & Kalk Bay — Surf, beach huts and a fishing harbour.
- Simon’s Town — Naval town and the Boulders penguins.