Cape Town has some of the most spectacular driving roads in the world, and I don't say that lightly. I've lived here long enough to have driven most of them dozens of times, and they still make me pull over for photos. Here are the ones that are genuinely worth your time.

Chapman's Peak: The One Everyone Knows

And it deserves every bit of the reputation. The R44 from Hout Bay to Noordhoek is 9 kilometres of cliff-edge road carved into the mountainside, with the Atlantic spread out below you like something from a film. It's a toll road — about R60 per car — and it closes in bad weather and after rockfalls, so always check before you set out.

My advice: drive it in the late afternoon. The light hits the cliffs just right, and by then most of the tour buses have gone. If you're coming from the city side, stop at the lookout about halfway down. That's the view you came for.

Clarence Drive: The Local Favourite

The R44 from Gordon's Bay to Kleinmond doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves. It's every bit as dramatic as Chapman's Peak — ocean on one side, mountains on the other — but without the toll booth or the crowds. You'll share the road with baboons (seriously, they sit in the middle of it) and, between July and November, you can spot whales from the car.

This is the drive I take visiting friends on when I want to impress them without dealing with the tourist circuit. Pack a flask, stop at one of the pullover points, and just sit for a bit.

Franschhoek Pass and Bainskloof

If you want mountain passes with proper switchbacks and views that go on forever, these two are your best options close to the city. Franschhoek Pass on the R45 is short, steep, and rewarding — you'll be at the top in fifteen minutes with views over the whole valley. Bainskloof on the R301 is longer, rougher, and more dramatic. It winds through indigenous forest and rocky gorges, and it feels like you've left the Western Cape entirely.

Both are free, both are paved (though Bainskloof gets rough in places), and both are best on a clear day when you can see properly.

Sir Lowry's Pass to Elgin

Take the N2 over Sir Lowry's Pass and then turn onto the R44 towards Elgin. This one is criminally underrated. As you climb the pass, the views of False Bay behind you are enormous — you can see all the way from Muizenberg to Gordon's Bay on a good day. Once you drop into the Elgin Valley, you're in orchard country: apple farms, cool-climate wine estates, and farm stalls selling things you didn't know you needed.

Combine the drive with an afternoon in Elgin and you've got yourself a perfect day out of the city.

Tips for Driving

A few things I've learned from years of doing these routes. Go early morning or during golden hour if you want decent photos — midday light flattens everything. Always fill up your tank before heading into the mountain passes, because petrol stations are scarce once you leave the main roads. Check road closures on social media before you go, especially in winter — Chapman's Peak and Bainskloof both close regularly.

And one thing nobody tells you: sunscreen through the car window is real. The Western Cape sun doesn't care that you're behind glass. Your right arm will tell you that by the end of the day.