Cape Town has so much to offer including some absolutely stunning gay beaches. In fact, some of the beaches in Cape Town have been ranked among the best in the world!
With so many beaches to choose from, and with Cape Town being a very popular gay travel destination (check out our complete gay guide to Cape Town), it’s no surprise that there are now a couple of unofficial gay beaches in Cape Town, the is even a gay nude beach in Cape Town!
We say unofficial, because unlike the come of the best gay beaches in Europe, you won’t find huge pride flags lining the beach. There is nothing too obvious to let you know you have found one of the gay beaches in Cape Town. Here you need to know in advance where the gay beaches are in Cape Town else you would never spot them!
A lot of people ask why have a ‘gay beach’, what’s the point? But for us we view it the same reason that there are gay bars in Cape Town (or anywhere else). Because it is labelled as a ‘gay beach’ it’s a place where you can feel reassured and comfortable to be affectionate with your partner, wear those some of your favorite tiny gay swimwear that you might feel self-conscious in elsewhere and just be a little more at ease.
Is there a gay beach in Cape Town? Yes. There are two gay beaches in Cape Town, however they are not easy to find so we have provided full instructions below.
Here is everything you need to know including how to find these gay beaches in Cape Town.
Gay Beaches in Cape Town
We spent 3 months in Cape Town so had to check out the best gay beaches and gay nude beaches in Cape Town.
1. Clifton 3 Gay Beach, Cape Town
Clifton as a suburb is one of the most exclusive residential areas to live in with homes nestled into the hill.
These homes look over 4 beautiful white sand beaches, each separated by boulders which shelter you from the wind. The beaches are simply named Clifton 1, 2, 3 and 4.
So which is the gay beach in Clifton? To find Clifton gay beach, you should head to Clifton beach number 3.
Don’t forget, given that this beach is on the Atlantic Ocean side, the sea can be freezing! Although in the height of summer a quick dip can be quite welcome.
To get to the gay beach at Clifton you can either:
- Drive: just put Clifton 3 into your sat nav. Parking is available on Victoria Road but in the height of season you have to arrive very early to get a space as it fills up very quickly.
- Taxi: we recommend using Uber as the safest option for getting taxis around Cape Town (read these other safety tips for Cape Town).
- Bus: You can get the Citibus and alight the bus at the bus stop ‘Clifton 3’. See the image below.
For any of the above options, you can access the beach from the roadside. The steps down to the beach are opposite the Clifton 3 bus stop and it’s a short and steep walk down to the beach.
2. Sandy Bay, Gay Nude Beach Cape Town
Sandy Bay beach is perhaps the ‘gayer’ of these two gay beaches in Cape Town being the nudist beach option. The views from the beach are stunning with the Twelve Apostles mountain range as a backdrop.
However, as with most gay nudist beaches, Sandy Bay is a little more difficult to access!
Sandy Bay gay beach can be accessed one of two ways.
It is located south of the popular Llandudno beach and one option is to walk along the coastline between the two beaches. This takes around 45 minutes and is very scenic along the way.
The easier option is to drive or get a taxi to the nearest car park – Sandy Bay parking. The car park is quite small so again, in the height of season you might want to get here early to get a spot!
From here you have a 20 minute trek. Head up the road/path for a few minutes until you see a path on the left leading into the sand dunes and bushes. The path down to the beach is fairly well trodden and takes another 15 minutes to walk down until you finally get to the beach where you can strip off (only if you want to) and hang free!
The reason we liked the beach so much when we went was due to its seclusion. There wasn’t anyone there trying to sell you things (like at Camps Bay), no kids running around and no buildings. However, this means that you won’t find any facilities here and probably need to take food with you for the day.
3. Bonus: Camps Bay Beach
Make sure you visit both beaches but don’t just restrict yourself to the gay beaches of Cape Town.
While Camps Bay is not an exclusively gay beach, it is much busier, is of course LGBTQ friendly and is lined with lots of bars and restaurants which are well worth visiting. One restuarant, the 41 is particular is gay owned and does amazing food!
You can also head to some of the beaches on the warmer Indian Ocean side such as Houts Bay or Muizenberg which is known for its surfing and colourful beach huts!
We have completely fallen in love with Cape Town and hope you do to! Make sure you explore beyond Cape Town and travel down the Garden Route – it’s one of the best trips we have ever done!
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