Boulders Beach: penguins from the boardwalks, swimming next door
The colony lies in the middle of a residential area of Simon’s Town and belongs to Table Mountain National Park.
At Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town lives a colony of African penguins, one of the few in the world you can watch so closely on land. According to SANParks the section consists of three beaches, a viewing area and three boardwalks. The penguins are best seen from the boardwalks over Foxy Beach; you can swim at Boulders Beach next door.
International visitors pay R245 per adult and R120 per child until 31 October 2026, then R282 and R138. SANParks takes cards only at the pay point. Depending on the month it is open from 7:00 or 8:00 until 17:00, 18:30 or 19:30.
The colony began in 1982 with two breeding pairs. SANParks counted 3,900 birds in 2005 and about 2,100 in 2011. The species is now critically endangered: the environment department puts the number at fewer than 9,000 breeding pairs in all of South Africa.
SANParks: Boulders Penguin Colony ↗
In numbers
- International entry to 31 Oct 2026
- R245
- from 1 Nov 2026
- R282
- Breeding pairs 1982
- 2
- Birds 2005
- 3,900
- Birds 2011
- about 2,100
- Breeding pairs in South Africa
- fewer than 9,000
- Beaches
- 3
- Boardwalks
- 3
- Age of the granite boulders
- 540 million years
- Penguin swimming speed
- 7 km/h (4 mph)
