There are many ways to get to know Cape Town: you can drive along Chapman’s Peak with the windows down or participate in a battle with fifty strangers for one photo on Lion’s Head. However, if you want to see Cape Town while avoiding traffic jams and queues, it is worth looking up.
Recently, the authors visited the Cape Town Helicopters base at V&A Waterfront to take a cruise around the peninsula and noted that no city tour compares to this experience.
The Cape Town Helicopters base is located in the only hangar on the Waterfront with fully glass doors, allowing visitors to observe the helipad and aircraft park right from the registration area. This small but important detail sets the right tone.
Despite some visitors feeling apprehensive about heights, the event management team reassured them during the safety briefing. By the time they reached the helipad, it was clear that the company was professional.
For those who have never flown in a helicopter, the takeoff itself is an adventure. But as soon as they rose into the air, the city before them changed as if never before. Table Mountain looked flat in a way that cannot be understood from the ground. The Atlantic coast mansions shrank to the size of dollhouses, and cars in traffic jams resembled colorful embroidery on a concrete blanket. Furthermore, an endless blue expanse stretched out, leading to Robben Island and beyond.
The flight was surprisingly smooth from takeoff to landing, which is not what you expect from a rotorcraft instead of a fixed-wing aircraft. The pilot acted as a guide throughout the journey, naming landmarks as they flew over the Mother City's coastline and mountains.
Cape Town Helicopters is the only operator on the Waterfront using a fleet of Airbus helicopters. The choice of Airbus is justified because these helicopters are among the lightest and quietest in the world, minimizing vibration and noise, allowing focus on the scenery rather than the vehicle carrying you.
Thanks to an impeccable safety record, modern aircraft, and pilots who know the city as well as their instruments, this experience feels not just like an extra tourist option, but like the most comprehensive way to see Cape Town.
The only drawback of this experience is that you eventually have to return to the ground. After viewing the peninsula from an altitude of several thousand feet, everything on the ground seems somewhat ordinary.
Cape Town Helicopters also organizes a range of specialized tours for bolder tourists. You can fly to Baskloof Nature Reserve to enjoy a G&T on a mountain top, take whale watching trips off Cape Agulhas, choose an open-door flight for photos over the Peninsula, or book a shark diving package that includes a flight, shark swimming, and a return flight.
To learn about the full range of tours, visit helicopterscapetown.co.za.
Currently, Cape Town Helicopters is running a promotion: two readers of 2oceansvibe receive a spot on the signature City Hopper tour. To participate, you need to go to the Instagram page, follow the instructions, and you and your friend can add this experience to your wish list.