All you need to know for your visit to the Penguins of Betty’s Bay – Bettysbaai South Africa

If you visit South Africa, don’t miss the cute penquins of Betty’s Bay! Before I went to South Africa, I wouldn’t have thought of this myself. When I thought of penguins I always thought of cold and white snowy places, but that changed forever. How I enjoyed seeing them!

There are places and beaches all along the coast where many penguins hang out. I went to two places during my tour of South Africa where you can see penguins. In this blog I will tell you more about Betty’s Bay, also called Bettysbaai.

Spotting the penquins of Betty’s Bay, South Africa

A taste of the famous Garden Route – South Africa

Where can you spot penquins in South Africa?

When I was in Cape Town I made a trip to the Cape of Good Hope and on the way we stopped at Simonstad or also called Simon’s Town. At Simonstad you have Boulders Beach, where you can just walk to the beach. I thought it was a very nice place to take a look at the penguins. It is free and somewhat easier to access than Betty’s Bay. Later in this blog I will tell you how to get there, what the location of Boulders Beach is.

But now I’m going to tell you more about the penquins of Betty’s Bay and the Stony Point Nature Reserve.

Bettysbaai of Betty’s Bay?

Bettysbaai or Betty’s Bay is named after Betty Youlden. The daughter of the developer of this area. And then we have the double name because much is named in English, but Afrikaans has determined the final first name, so Bettysbaai.

Driving to Betty’s Bay – tasting a piece of the garden route

That morning I left Cape Town with my mother. We first drove to Stellenbosch on a beautiful and well-maintained coastal road. Very nice city and definitely worth a walk around. We had lunch here and walked around a bit. Then we drove further along the beautiful coastal road to Betty’s Bay to visit the penguins of course.

From Cape Town to Betty’s Bay

It is about a 60 km drive from Cape Town and the route on the R44 takes you along the beautiful coast of South Africa.  It is a foretaste of the famous garden route, you can enjoy great panoramic views along the way. Did you know that the garden route is called that because the area is so green? It’s not like you come across many gardens along the way.

Stop along the Panoramic Garden Route

There are quite a few places along the side of the road to stop and take photos. And of course we did that. Look at those mountains in the background! Because you drive along the coast, you have a new view to admire after every bend.  I thought it was a really beautiful route and I would have really liked to ride the garden route. The actual garden route starts in Mosselbay, a bit further along the coast and continues to Port Elisabeth.

When you drive into the town of Bettys Bay you will immediately see signs with references to the place where you will see the penguins. We carefully followed these signs and ended up in a kind of neighborhood. We actually had the feeling that we were not in the right place. Just when we thought: we should turn around… We saw a sign that we had arrived!

Penguins of Betty’s Bay

When we parked the car we already heard noises in the background.
I only later recognized these as the penguins of Betty’s Bay!

After this it was easy, just follow the signs to Stony Point Nature Reserve.

You pay an entrance fee to enter the Stony Point Nature Reserve

When you start walking, the sound gets closer and if you look closely you can already see the penguins among the greenery. They walk there in couples. They are the little African penguins.

They say there are 180,000 penguins in Betty’s Bay left. For us that is a big number. But unfortunately it is not as much as it once was.

In 1910 there were 1.45 million penguins on the African coast. In previous years, approximately 450,000 eggs were collected and used for consumption each year.

So now parts of it have been secured as habitat to protect the penguin population from us, humanity. And then we just hope that the population will grow again, of course. At Bettys Bay the habitat is Stony Point Nature Reserve and in this way they are protected.

The boardwalk at Betty’s Bay

I thought they did a nice job at Betty’s Bay. Of course you all want to be at the front looking at the nice penguins. They saw that clearly and so they made a boardwalk. Even though you walk on the boardwalk with many tourists, you still have the feeling that you are alone watching. That’s a nice feeling, mass tourism is not really my thing. But where the masses go is apparently worth it, so that’s where you want to go. Here you walk along the coast and can therefore look towards the land or sea where the penguins walk and no people.

The boardwalk is long so you are all ringside watching.

There is enough space on the boardwalk at Bettys Bay so that everyone can get a front row seat. There is something to see on both sides and sometimes they walk under the boardwalk. So you can admire penguins up close at Bettys Bay, much closer than at Simon’s Town.

First thing we saw walking around the first corner.

Isn’t that just great?

Don’t you just love those little Penquins of Betty’s Bay

There was a rough sea for those little Penquins

Betty’s Bay – South Africa

We saw several penguins swimming in the sea. And that sea was quite rough and restless. They look so small and fragile when you see them waddling around. But they dive right in, they wait for a good wave and off they go… close to the rocks.. As a human being you worry because you see them crashing into a rock in your mind. But I haven’t seen one hit a rock…

What skilled divers and swimmers penguins are.

Everywhere you see penguins walking and standing in the area 🙂

Little family penquin together. Most of the times you see them in pairs.

Aren’t they cute? Penquins of Betty’s Bay

Betty’s Bay versus Boulders Place in Simonstown

Later this trip I also went to Boulders Beach in Simonstad. There are also many penguins to admire on the white beach! The place to view them is perhaps nicer because there is also more for the tourist. You can have a cup of coffee there and buy some souvenirs. Still, I liked Betty’s Bay better in terms of where you see the penguins. The rough coast and how close you could get to the penguins without them being bothered.

At Boulders Beach we walked with many tourists on a smaller stretch, some viewpoints had been created where we all stood together. To get to the front row, you just have to wait a little longer. I don’t want to stand there for half an hour and watch, daydreaming about the beautiful view. Behind you, the next tourists are already eager to admire the penguins.

The penguins are of course just as fun and wonderful to see!

At Betty’s Bay we also saw the African Rock Hyrax or also called Dassie in Afrikaans.

What a cute animal! I thought it looked a bit like a meerkat from a distance.

Costs for Betty’s Bay

The entrance fee to Betty’s Bay in 2025 is 40 Rand (€2) for adults and 25 Rand for children. Stony Point Nature Reserve is included in the Wild Card if you purchased it for your trip through South Africa.

GPS locations for the penguins

Would you also like to admire the penguins at Betty’s Bay? Then enter GPS Stony Point Nature Reserve and arrive in front of the park entrance. Also take the beautiful route along the coast of South Africa and admire the beautiful views along the way.

If you choose to go to Boulder’s Beach near Simonstad, enter this GPS Boulder’s Beach. You can easily drive there from Cape Town if you head towards the Cape of Good Hope.

Will you book the day trip from Cape Town to Betty’s Bay with stops in Hermanus, Struisbaai and Cape Agalhus?

Stay in Betty’s Bay

A bit inland you will find the beautiful The Trailhead. It is located at the foot of the Kogelberg and at the start of a beautiful hiking trail.

The penguin colony is 3 km from this hotel. The hotel has a few rooms and a communal dining room with a microwave and some basic kitchen items. If you want to cook yourself, you can opt for the detached studio.

Don’t you love this place and those cute animals?

Share them for others too!

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