Robben Island Museum, Bus Tour, And Ferry Tickets From Cape Town

Excellent, moving tour. Our tour guide was a former political prisoner, so he knew Robben Island from the inside. The bus around the island was well-organized and timely. The boat ride there and back was good, too -- plenty of space to be on deck and watch for whales and dolphins.

This is a sobering activity. It provides insight into what humans are capable of and what they can endure. The trip over was on a large ferry which was crowded and had minimal air flow. A video depicting the history of the island looked interesting but could not be heard and while there were closed captions, at times these were lengthy and could not be appreciated Our tour guide was incredible and relegated several stories. Unfortunately, there were a couple of families with small children who allowed them to run around and talk loudly, making it difficult to hear the guide. While we understand children are allowed, a supervised and centralised area for younger children would enhance the experience for those who are interested in the history of Robben Island. An added benefit was seeing the African Penguins.

My ticket was cancelled less than 24 hours before the trip - with no real explanation. My friends, who also booked through Viator, did not have their trips cancelled. I then had to struggle to get my trip refunded, as it had been cancelled within the 24 hour refund window. However I did eventually manage to get it refunded.

This was such a amazing experience! Our guide was amazing. He shared his story with great passion. A truly special experience.

What an eye opening and educational experience this was. Our prison tour guide, Derek Basson, shared not only his personal experience as a prisoner in the late 80/early 90s, but many stories of Nelson Mandela and Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, who was the founding president of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Tears came to my eyes hearing the injustices prisoners faced during their time at the prison. Although it was a sobering experience it was worth the visit.

As a history buff, this was a must see, and finally made it there on my 3rd trip to Cape Town. The view was great, even saw some penguins. But the tour was a bit random be shuttled around on a bus, only to be kept in a room with a guide that gave us a spiel that gave very little information about the island prison or its history, but may have qualified as a political pitch for the EFF party. Really had to bite my tongue.

"My name is Modise" I have mentioned before the importance of recognizing amazing hospitality, today was such a day while visting Robben Island. Modise, our outstanding guide, who was a prisoner on the island for five years, spoke with authority and power about the time he spent incarcerated along with Nelson Mandela. You could hear a pin drop as he described their harrowing lives as political prisoners under the apartheid regime. Tears came to our eyes as he recalled the torture he endured at the hands of his captors. As our tour came to an end he thanked us for visiting his country and the opportunity to give us an insight into his life as a prisoner. It was a very humbling experience and one we shall remember forever.

The day we went it was exceptionally hot (103F/39C) and that unfortunately affected the experience. The ferry ride was about 45 minutes, and we saw many seals and even whales on the journey. The boat was pretty packed, so you want to try to get on early to get a good seat. Sit up top for breeze and better visibility. Upon arrival, you're loaded onto buses for a tour of the island. The buses have no air conditioning, no fans, and the seats are 5 across and very tight. They waited until every seat was full. If you're over 6 feet tall or are wide, you'll be VERY uncomfortable. Further, it's difficult to see across the people next to you and forget about pictures unless you have a prime seat. The state really needs to use an open-air bus or one that is more suited for a tour. That would greatly improve the experience. The prison tour was interesting. Our tour guide actually spent time in the prison, even overlapping with Mandela, and had many stories to tell. He was easily the highlight of the tour and I could have listened to him all day. The prison itself was smaller than I thought and there were fewer pictures, etc. than I anticipated. There is a gift shop, but the island itself did not have places for food/drink, so please keep that in mind since your tour may span normal lunch hours.

This was great. Educational. Inspiring. Infuriating. Our guide in the prison, former inmate Max, was really great, as was the film on the ferry.

The tour itself was a wonderful experience. We watched an informative video that played during the ferry ride. Once we arrived on the island, we were split into two groups. Our group did a walking tour of the grounds with an English speaking guide. Our guide, Max, was a former prisoner on Robben Island and provided great insight into his experience there and the history of the island. He was very passionate about sharing his story and we enjoyed our time with him. Next, our group boarded a bus and did a driving tour of other sections of the island. During the bus ride, another English speaking guide shared more information with us about the island. The ride ended back near the ferry area where we stopped at the gift shop before boarding the ferry back. Although the tour was great, I give this experience low stars because we paid $82 USD per person. I found out after the fact that we could have booked this directly with the Robbens Island Museum website for 600 Rand per person, which is only about $35 USD. I suggesting saving your money and booking with the museum website directly.

Delayed sailing, kept hundreds of people waiting in non air conditioned glass waiting area, people nearly passing out. Aparantly this is normal!, stick to departure times, it’s not complicated

We remember the day he walked out and a lot of what followed not least the World Rugby Cup Final. A great man. Coming here was important and not to be missed. We were guided found by an ex-political prisoner.

It was nostalgic trip to Robben Island because I lived through the release of Nelson mandela and was part of the resistance as students from 1979 to 1983 The peak of the resistance. Tours well organized on busses and big boats. I specifically visted the karamat that mandela used to clean as part of his duties on robben island It was a long walk from dock to the mazaar no shuttles even though we senior citizens. My greatest complaint is that the waiting ateas are uncovered no bottled water offered to guests mostly international people. No shuttles for disabled people and we need tp be more proactive on these facilities even toilets and items for travelers to buy Please upgrade there is so much of revenue where is it going?

Great experience. My heart was filled with excitement getting there but being there felt different but I was glad to experience it with my beautiful partner.

We thought we will have a chance to go into the cell of specific prisoners i.e. Nelson or Ya Toivo ya

We were incredibly disappointed! The guide took far too many people on the tour and ushered us into a large room. He stood in the middle facing half the attendees for the entire duration. Considering the poor acoustics, half the room couldn’t hear a thing, leading to many people losing interest. The trip was supposed to last two and a half hours but should have been just one hour which only made things worse. Towards the end, the guide became quite aggressive shouting “I’m in charge you listen to me” which was impossible!

The ferry over to the island was uneventful as the ocean was pretty calm. The bus ride into the main prison area was just OK but once we got to the main prison areas, our final guide was a former prisoner and brought the entire story alive for us. It's just different when you are hearing intimate stories of what happened to your guide, his trials & tribulations as well as stories of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners. Highly recommended!

Nice reflection on a troubled past and ultimate correction. Well preserved structures and story presented by former prisoners is very interesting.

This was an incredibly emotional experience for me. The staff were amazing, the ferry was comfortable and the island tour incredible. To see where our great leaders were imprisoned, forced to do hard labor and to listen to an ex prisoner recall his experiences were heartbreaking and also inspiring. Our guide told us he was filled with hate and revenge but Mr Mandela gave him 2 weapons. Hope and forgiveness. A lesson to us all. I learnt not only the history of this island but the resilience of people who believe in a cause.

A Great informative trip. You need to arrive almost an hour early and you will need to queue for the boat service. Remember you ID. The boat crossing may be lumpy and they can close the ferry due to difficult water/sea, so be prepared for that. The experience was great, the guides informative and great value for money. However, when you arrive you are crammedinto a small bus and depending upon where you are sitting you will not be able to see all areas and certainly cannot take photos, which is a real pity. The walking tour with an 'ex-con' was fab. Time was a little tight, not helped by people that insisted in posing for multiple selfies and insta photos and videos (damn tiktok!!) rather than being a decent group member and taking one photo and moving along so everyone has time to see the attraction! But it was a worthwhile adventure and pleased I attended.

It’s really amazing, keep it up! I would love to be use this agency again …………………..👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏💯👌👌👌👌👌

Very disappointing, we booked 2 tickets via Get your Guide for £54 in September 2025, they were a similar price from Viator too. Both are rip off prices, DO NOT GET your tickets from Get Your Guide or Viator as it is a RIP OFF buy direct on line on Robben Island website as the cost is 600 South African rand which is around £25 half the price of GET YOUR GUIDE & VIATOR !!! The ferry takes 35 to 40 minutes each way and can be choppy! Then you get a bus with a lady giving you some brief interesting information as it takes y Or to the jail,it doesn’t look like a jail. We then met a gentleman called Monde who was an ex prisoner at the same time as Nelson Mandela 1971 to 1976, he gave us quite a long and unfortunately boring speech and the jail, how it was etc repeated himself quite a bit, my wife and I didn’t find it interesting, as it should have been as Nelson Mandela was a famous hero for South Africa and the world. So much so we let after 50 minutes bored. We also did some investigating about Monde the speaker only to find out yes he was in that jail in the 1970s, but he died in 2017……. Very disappointing and ridiculous to lie about it. My recommendation is that Robben Island it was a waste of time and the Nelson Mandela Museum is much more interesting and informative. So don’t go at all, but if you do go, don’t buy your tickets from GET YOUR GUIDE or VIATOR as you will pay twice as much as you need to from Robben Island directly.

Excellent tour, very emotive and lots of information from an ex detainee at the prison. Ferry was late but you didn’t miss out as you stayed later. Would highly recommend this tour.

I understand mistakes happen but when we arrived for our trip the agent had moved the time. We were sent to the ticket office who were unbelievably unhelpful and showed little if any customer service.

It’s very informative and emotional. The guide being a former inmate told his story based on the facts. My only suggestion is to make the group smaller.

Loved that the guide was former prisoner but could not understand him. Was very rushed. Were given no time to really view cells or walk property.

Unfortunately, THE DAY BEFORE THE TRIP AFTER BOOKING ages ago, the trip was cancelled because of maintenance on the island… why on earth didn’t we get notified before… outrageous

HORRIBLE! Major scam. I bought my tickets prior to my trip and I had a sudden flight change from America. I reached out to the seller and IN WRITING she said she would honor my ticket for the follow day. I arrived in Cape Town from America and the ticket both at Robben Island said they couldn’t honor that due to it being a third party. I and the Robben Island staff tried contacting this seller and she yelled at ME on the phone saying I didn’t confirm with her when I have the message screenshot to prove it! My husband ended up buying his ticket and I was forced to spend AN extra 30.00 through Robben Island. This woman needs to be banned from any future business through Viator! Do not book with her!!

Excellent history of the Island which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our bus guide was very knowledgeable and interactive with our bus group.( I believe he was called in at the last minute because the regular guide was ill.) There was a very long queue for the ferry so be prepared to wait if is a weekend visit. We went on a Sunday and it is obviously an interesting place for local people to visit because it was very busy. I did find the guide at the prison very repetitive with his information. However this Island is well worth visiting for those interested in South African history and Nelson Mandela's life.

This historic destination is hugely popular, and mornings can be fully booked days prior. I booked 2 days ahead at the Nelson Mandela Gateway on the V&A Waterfront (a 20-30 minute walk from the CBD). The cost for non-South Africans was 600 rand, but worth every penny! Enjoy wonderful views back to Table Mountain on the way to the island. The bus tour and prison visit (with an ex-inmate as a guide) adds to the experience. Anyone viewing Mandela's spartan, tiny cell is sure to be deeply moved. The museum and exhibits within the prison are informative and cause for much personal reflection. The fields, yards , and fences appear exactly as they were in the 1960s. A highly recommended detour in any visit to Cape Town.

The last event in my fifteen day holiday in South Africa and after a wonderful time we ended with this disappointing rip off. I think the idea was to give an authentic experience because from start to finish we were herded around just like prisoners. We queued down a staircase in boiling heat for a ferry which ran an hour late only to be herded onto a rickety old bus on the other side for a most uncomfortable journey around he island. At each stop we we were kept on the bus whilst shown a site and given an explanation as to what it was. At one point some people stood up rather than sat down because the seats were so uncomfortable. We got a five minute comfort break before being rounded up and put back on the bus to continue the torture. When we finally got off the bus to enter the prison block we got a 40 minute in depth lecture suitable for serious scholars and not the mixed family group that our party was before being herded along corridors to have a ten second glimpse of the cell where Nelson Mandela had spent time. The history of the place is well enough documented. The atrocities and barbarism of the apartheid regime are well known and documented and we must all make sure that nothing like it ever happens again but... If you need to complete a pilgrimage do it but prepare to be disappointed in the way that it is carried out!

Was alot of money to go about in a bus most of the time then listen to a guy for 45 min that I could not understand and a quick walk past mandala cell and told us not a lot about him ( this is why we went to the island ) Not worth the money or time , a lot of people disappointed

The museum guide is an ex-prisoner, which adds a lot to an already extremely interesting tour of the jail facility

This trip is not worth considering as its cancelled so often. I can't comment on the trip as it failed to take place. The rebooked trip also failed to take place. It should we awarded ZERO STARS but the system does not allow this.

There is something very suspicious going on. Our trip was cancelled due to 'poor weather and rough conditions'. The sea was a mill pond with not a breaker in sight- even from the motorway. We were told by the manager that they go by the weather conditions on an app which he showed us and then told us the app was not always reliable. One of the other passengers had had his trip cancelled 3 times in 2 days. They take 7 days to refund one - 7 seconds to take payment. My friend has waited 20 years to go and this was the result. Some passengers believe they cancel if the boat is not at capacity but would never admit it and keep making interest on the payments they retain for 7 days. Somebody else needs to run these trips. The excuses are embarrassing and in a country where customer service is amazing Robben Island yours should hang their heads in shame!!!!

First thing to note .... the crossing can be rough and you may get very wet. If you are not good on boats ... don't go Having said that, the tour is very interesting and informative. I can't say it's a joy, because obviously a visit to where amazing people were incarcerated in inhuman conditions can neer be a joy. But it really does help to inform and remind us all of theose terrible years

I did this tour 10 years previously, and its become a lot more commercialised now, we were told we had plenty of time and then rushed through, very disappointing. I could only add one picture as this was so rushed.

The local company cancelled last minute, didn’t say why, did not respond to calls or text, could not get a refund and had to call viator to get a refund. Viator is great, the local company sucks

There wasnt any guide - i payed double !what you would do directly at the ferry….. no contact with the right persons. I cant see why i have to pay so many money for absolutly nothing…..

The tour and the Island are truly amazing. The Organisation by Viator is the worst I‘ve ever seen! Other than they promise, you cannot skip any line. Contrarily to what they said, I‘ve got my tickets on Messages not on WhatsApp . The PRICE is insane!! You pay THREE TIMES the amount with Viator than with the normal Museum and it’s the exact same tour. We were the only two people who booked through Viator. The personal at the Museum and the guides were really friendly and helpful probably because they had nothing to do with Viator. Since I didn’t found my ticket on WhatsApp I tried to connect to the Tour operator through the app which obviously didn’t worked… Amazing Experience on the Island and with the official museum, worst I’ve ever had with Viator.

An interesting visit with a good guide on the bus and then turned over to one of the former prisoners for the walking portion. It could be so much better if they would develop a photographic exhibit. There is a video on the ferry going over, but it’s a blur of names and dates. The Mandela cell is rather unremarkable without any distinctive signage. You just need to know it’s the fourth cell on the right in the cell block section. There was one bump at the beginning. We thought our Viator paperwork with the bar code was our ferry ticket because that’s what it said it was. Silly us! Fortunately, the woman checking folks onto the ferry was able to find our names on her list. We also were not told in the Viator paperwork that we needed our passports or other picture identification to board the ferry. Could have been a disaster.

Very bad experience booking through this company. Booked for 3rd February. My tickets were issued for 24th January & were invalid.

very instructive. I did not realise how inhumane this prison really was to political prisoners. The boat ride was great

A real waste to time. Nelson Mandela and the other former inmates deserve a better historical tour to tell their stories. You have to wait in a crowded line to board the ferry, and when you arrive they herd you on to big crowded, hot buses for a drive around the island with a guide who is pretty incomprehensible because the sound system isn't great and he doesn't really give a serious history - makes jokes. By the time you get to the actual prison you've already been annoyed. The prison itself is the best part. Our guide was OK but we were rushed through the prison because we were stuck so long on the bus. Also, they only send you your actual tickets via Whats App the day before the tour so we weren't even sure they would come through even though we paid weeks in advance. Not at all worth it. Cape Town is so beautiful and has so much to offer so use the time doing something else.

The lecture not worth the amount of money paid. Consider reviewing the fees and this is not value for money

Our experience didn‘t take Place due to Bad weather. It can Happen, but the experience was neither refounded nor rescheduled

On our particular day which was New Year’s Eve at 1 pm we felt rushed throughout the tour we didn’t feel like we had enough time to take everything in. But as for the tour itself it was a good tour we learned so much and we enjoyed ourselves on the ferry to Robben Island and our bus guide was amazing and the guide at the prison was a very friendly guy he had actually was imprisoned on the island so he could tell us first hand how it was in there when he was there it was an amazing experience we wished everyone would be able to experience Robben island

First, I have to rave about the ex-inmate who led our tour. He was fascinating. Very open to questions, and entertaining. We were so lucky to meet him. Our bus tour guide on the island was also excellent and funny. Everything on the island was well orchestrated and ran smoothly—we were very impressed and touched by the tour. Now for the downside. Our tour was originally booked for the day before. It was cancelled at the last moment due to wind (do not schedule a tour for 5pm and risk this problem). We managed to reschedule for the following day. We arrived at the ferry building and went to board. When we went to have our tickets scanned, I realized the tour organizer had only sent 2/3 of our tickets. Fortunately, I had the emailed receipt to prove I had purchased a ticket for our daughter, and the woman graciously allowed us to board. The ferry to the island was fine; the weather was choppy, but everyone was inside, so we were warm and comfortable. Seats were luxurious. But they switched the boats on the return ride. We were on a tiny ferry with limited indoor seating that looked like plastic chairs. We got on the boat quickly, but there was no interior seating left. We were told to go upstairs. Once we got to the upper deck, we were forbidden to go inside the cabin. I glimpsed inside, and it appeared as though there were two benches for seating that accommodated about 15 people. That was it. We were stuck outside as the wind picked up and the air grew colder. Everyone on the top deck was freezing, despite having layers of clothing. The boat was smaller and didn’t manage the swells as well, so a 30 minute trip became 45 minutes. As we approached the harbor, we had to allow a larger ship to pass, so we were delayed another ten minutes. It was the worst return trip imaginable and quite the contrast to the ride to the island. One more quick tip: If you want souvenirs, you need to stop at the store in the harbor or quickly stop at the shop on the island immediately after you get off the ferry. Once your tour ends, you are hustled back onto the ferry with no time to stop for toilets or souvenirs. There is another bathroom at the first stop the bus makes on the island. Either go directly off the ferry or go at the first bus stop. We are awaiting our refund from Viator for the first cancelled tour.

Heavily over priced, boring tour, late departure, from the Ferry, into a bus, blurry stories, 30 minutes driving to an Instagram stop and a cash kiosk... Then to the prison, out of the bus, finally, but welcome from a former prisoner, then into a sleeping room for 50 minutes, listening to the guide again. No time to browse around, compared to eg Alcatraz the key story is poor. Shame that this heavy and important part of the history is destroyed with this experience