African and diaspora · One place

Robben Island

The ferry from the Waterfront, the prison, and a guide who was held in it. A single place that is a journey on its own.

Robben Island Museum
Photo: South African Tourism from South Africa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe island seen across Table Bay.

The journey in one line

One place in South Africa. Arriving is the journey.

Robben Island sits in Table Bay, close enough to Cape Town that prisoners could see the mountain and never reach it. It has been a leper colony, a military base and a maximum security prison. Most people go once, for an afternoon, and find it is enough to think about for a long time.

From 1961 the apartheid government held political prisoners here. Nelson Mandela spent eighteen of his twenty-seven years in a cell in B section, and Walter Sisulu, Ahmed Kathrada, Robert Sobukwe and thousands of others were held on the island too. The prison tours are led by former prisoners. That is the reason to go rather than read about it.

The ferry leaves from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront and the whole trip takes about three and a half to four hours, including two crossings. Book well ahead. The museum cancels sailings in rough weather and reserves the right to change or refund at short notice. Build slack into the day.

Where it goes

Preparing the map. The order below is the same information.

  1. 1Robben Island Museum, Cape Town, South Africa

1 places on this journey, in order.

The places on this journey

What a visit means here. Taking the ferry and the island tour is the journey. One place, visited.

  1. 1

    Robben Island Museum

    Cape Town, South Africa

    Robben Island Museum
    Photo: South African Tourism from South Africa, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThe island seen across Table Bay.

    A prison island in Table Bay where the apartheid government held political prisoners from 1961. Nelson Mandela was held here for eighteen years. The maximum security prison, the lime quarry and the village are all part of the museum, and tours are led by former prisoners.

    What counts as a visit

    The island tour, including the maximum security prison, reached by the museum's ferry.

    Access

    About three and a half to four hours including two ferry crossings. Sailings are cancelled in rough weather and bookings can be moved at short notice. Checked 2026-09-16.

    A place of reflection

    Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

Respect and access

The guides are telling you about years of their own lives. Listen rather than interview. Photography is allowed in most of the prison but consider whether you want it in the cells. Visiting records that you went. It is not a political statement and this app does not treat it as one.

A place of reflection
This is a memorial or a site of atrocity. Visitors are asked to be quiet, to follow the custodian's guidance on photography, and to treat it as somewhere people grieve.

Opening times, prices, permits and eligibility change. Nothing on this page is a statement about today. Follow the Check access link on a place before you plan around it.

Sources

TravelDay selected and grouped these places. Naming a custodian, a government agency or UNESCO as a source is not a claim that any of them endorsed this journey.

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