Freighter Travel from Cape Town: Routes, Lines and What a Berth Costs

Freighter travel from Cape Town puts you on a working cargo ship with a cabin, three meals a day and no entertainment programme — and takes you to Europe without boarding an aircraft. This is what sails from Cape Town, what a berth costs and how to join the ship.

Where Cape Town is, and what it handles

Cape Town sits on the Table Bay in South Africa, in the city of the same name. The port works containers, deciduous fruit, fishing and ship repair.

Cape Town’s harbour sits directly below Table Mountain and the city station is on the dock edge, so arriving by sea puts you in the centre on foot.

Which lines carry passengers from Cape Town

Only a minority of cargo lines take passengers at all, and which of them calls at Cape Town changes from season to season as rotations are redrawn. That is the single thing most people get wrong when planning a voyage: a line that carried passengers here last year may not be running the route this year.

A freighter carries between two and twelve passengers. There is no tender, no second sitting and no alternative if the ship is full, so the practical constraint on freighter travel from Cape Town is availability rather than price. Tell us the month you want and we will tell you which ships have a berth.

Where you can sail from Cape Town

From Cape Town the scheduled trades run to Europe, South America, Asia and the rest of Africa.

What it costs

A berth is priced by the day rather than by the voyage, and the fare is full board: a private cabin with a window, usually with a separate sitting area, and every meal. There is no cheaper class, because there is only one standard of passenger cabin on a working ship.

Against a flight it looks expensive. Against a cruise of the same length it rarely does, and almost nothing is extra once you are aboard — bar drinks and the occasional port fee, and that is the list. Fares from Cape Town move with the route and the season, so ask for a current figure for the sailing you want.

Getting to Cape Town

The nearest airport is Cape Town International. From there, Cape Town station, beside the harbour. Plan to be in Cape Town the evening before your sailing date: cargo ships bring their departure forward as readily as they delay it, and a ship that finishes loading early will sail early.

Who can travel

There is a doctor on very few freighters, so most lines set an upper age limit around 79 and ask for a fitness-to-travel certificate above about 65. Deviation insurance is required — it covers the cost of putting the ship off its route in an emergency, and no line will board you without it. Children are accepted by some lines and not others.

Questions people ask about Cape Town

Can you travel by cargo ship from Cape Town?

Yes — Cape Town handles containers, deciduous fruit, fishing and ship repair, and some of the lines calling here carry a small number of passengers. Berths are limited to a handful per sailing and are usually booked months ahead, so availability rather than price is the real constraint.

How much does freighter travel from Cape Town cost?

A freighter berth is priced by the day rather than by the voyage, and it is full board: a private cabin, every meal, and no second class. Fares move with the route and the season, so ask for a current figure for the sailing you want rather than working from a published table.

What is a freighter cabin like?

Larger than a cruise cabin and plainer. You get a private room with a window or porthole, a desk, a bathroom and usually a separate sitting area. There is no entertainment programme, no pool attendant and no wifi worth the name — which is the point for most people who choose it.

How do I get to the port?

Fly in to Cape Town International, then continue to the quay — Cape Town station, beside the harbour. Lines normally ask you to be in the port city the night before sailing, because a ship that finishes loading early will sail early and it will not wait.

Read next

• Freighter travel from Auckland — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Freighter travel from Melbourne — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Freighter travel from Fremantle — the other Southern hemisphere option on the same trades.
• Southern hemisphere freighter routes — how Cape Town fits the wider picture.
• Read about taking your car on a cargo ship.
• Read about freighter voyages in the Mediterranean.

Ask us what is sailing from Cape Town — tell us your month and we will tell you what has a berth.