Robben Island Tour: Explore Mandela's Legacy

Discover Robben Island’s history with a former political prisoner. Visit Nelson Mandela’s cell and explore the island’s past. Book your half-day tour now.

Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Robben Island Museum - One of the most popular museums in South Africa, Robben Island excursions are best planned well in advance. This half-day package guarantees a hassle-free vacation by including round-trip transportation from your Cape Town lodging and museum admission. Make reservations in advance to prevent disappointment on the day of the…
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • WiFi on board
  • Bottled water
  • Entry/Admission to Robben Island
What's Not Included
  • Food and Drinks
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Upon pickup from your accommodation in Cape Town, we will take you to the Silo District, where you will be greeted by a former political prisoner and taken to the Nelson Mandela Gateway. Upon arrival at Robben Island Museum, you will be greeted by a former political prisoner and given a tour. The excursion lasts approximately four hours, including…

Location
Robben Island Museum
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.5
(54 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Orn_b
Jan 25, 2026
Great educational experience - This was the most educational and intellectually fulfilling tour I’ve taken. This tour is much less about seeing sights and much more about learning about some critical South African history, and hearing about it from a former political prisoner on Robben Island. There’s a beautiful 30-45 minute boat ride in each direction and touring of the village and prison. Visiting the prison is sobering. The staff out at Robben Island are wonderful and have much knowledge to share. I highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Diana_w
Jan 25, 2026
The pick up and drop off... - The pick up and drop off was seamless. The driver was good at communicating and sending all instructions in good time. I enjoyed the tour
Review provided by Viator
Leigh_c
Jan 15, 2026
Very interesting... - Very interesting information shared about the prison and Nelson Mandella. It was interesting to listen to first hand experiences of being in the prison, and meeting and talking with family members of prisoners.
Review provided by Viator
M_n
Dec 29, 2025
Smooth experience - It was great and seamless experience, I would mind using the same in future travels and trip. We were handled well
Review provided by Viator
Irma_h
Dec 28, 2025
Interesting experience - Very interesting tour, learning experience. The drive was nice and on time picked us up and took straight to the boat, explained the process and then we had 2 incredible guides on the island who were very knowledgeable.
Review provided by Viator
Lynette_s
Nov 14, 2025
Isaac was fantastic,... - Isaac was fantastic, friendly, and punctual. He made sure everything was in order for the Robben Island tour, and I felt well taken care of from start to finish. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Emog591
Sep 23, 2025
It was a really great experience having to learn about the history and culture of that prison. - Having to see mandela’s cell…..that had been one of the things i’d hoped I’d see one day.The historical significance of that prison plays a big role in our history and mandela had to go through that to get to where we are now which is a democratic South Africa.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Diana_e
Jan 21, 2026
Robben Island Synopsis - This experience was the most important to me during my visit to Capetown (Cpt) Readers should know that it is extremely windy at times in Cpt which causes the excursion. So as they say “Third time is a charm.” So we set off on the ferry to Robben Island with beautiful weather and slightly choppy waves at times. The ferry is approximately 30 minutes. Buses are waiting for riders to take us around the island. We were then met by a former political prisoner who was incarcerated there at the age of 15. His retelling of events was very passionate and emotional at times. Although his speech was English, the accent and emotion made it difficult to understand. Regardless, I was enlightened. I don’t want to use the word enjoy to describe the experience due to the horrible treatment the prisoners received. It was truly an enlightening and educational experience. I highly recommend the tour. I appreciated the transportation there and back as the driver kept in communication with me regarding cancellation and pickup times. I possibly could have saved $ as the Hotel provided courtesy transportation to the Waterfront where the ferry departed. Another point is the half-day tour didn’t have enough time to browse the gift shop. I learned a lot.
Review provided by Viator
Sweta_s
Nov 24, 2025
Good but the best part was cut short! - Overall the tour was good, the guides were good and I learned a lot. Because the tours are generally huge, it takes so much time to move people from the boat to the bus etc... that we lost time for the actual prison tour. The prison tour was the most important and this was cut to about 45 min or less which was really not enough. I would suggest the prison tour be at least 1 hour and for there to be smaller groups so time isn't wasted on waiting for people to walk.
Review provided by Viator
Bernard_k
Jan 23, 2026
Through this ticket money beating - Booking cost twice as much as a regular ticket and we didn’t get anything extra for it not even a bottle of water as promised. The Tour itself was fine but that was not necessary through this booking. Bizarre money knocking.
Review provided by Viator
From $58
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).