About Dolphin Beach

Dolphin Beach is located on the lower Cape West Coast, between Sunset Beach and the southern end of Bloubergstrand Beach. This beach, like most of the beaches along this coastline, is popular with Kite Boarders and those who enjoy, sunbathing or long walks/runs on the relatively flat sandy beach, or along the pathways that extend northwards to Big Bay.

The primary access points to Dolphin Beach, are the small parking area located adjacent to the driveway of the popular Dolphin Beach Hotel and the public parking area located a short distance from the hotel entrance, which also houses a public ablution facility. Additional pathways and access points are also available along the ‘promenade’ and it is requested that you don’t walk over the dunes (see Dune Rehabilitation below).

The beach itself is approximately 1km in length comprising a clean sandy beach with some minor areas strewn with broken shells. While it isn’t as popular as the more northern west coast beaches (Bloubergstrand Beach or Big Bay Beach), it is frequented by Kite-boarders looking for some space away from the busier beaches. The stretch of lawn separating the beach from the roadway is popular for picnics and occasionally used as a take-off and landing area for powered paragliders.

Swimming can be somewhat dangerous as the shore break is quite powerful with a strong back/side current. There are no lifeguards on duty, so swimming is at your own risk and not recommended. Like many of Cape Town’s beaches, it’s best to visit Dolphin Beach in the morning as afternoons can get pretty windy.

The two big attractions near this beach, is of course the Dolphin Beach Hotel,the Blowfish Restaurant within the hotel and the Rietvlei Wetland Nature Reserve, which is part of the Table Bay Nature Reserve.

* Note: While dogs are currently permitted off-leash, these rules change frequently, so be aware and keep a look out for signage stating differently. Also, while nearby public ablutions are available they are often locked or in dis-repair and are often used as meeting points for the more unsavoury characters…

Additional Information

There is currently (2023) a dune rehabilitation programme taking place along this stretch of coastline and it is requested that beach-goers refrain from walking over or disturbing the dunes in any way. While it is recommended that you use the boardwalk’s and other formal access point to access Dolphin Beach and the other surrounding beaches, these access ways are often broken or engulfed by the wind blown sands.

All along this beach-front, from Dolphin Beach to Bokkombaai, you will find temporary barriers and irrigation infrastructure in place to aid in the restoration of the Dunes and the sensitive ecosystem, which includes fynbos, specific to this area.

One of the many challenges has been to control the local homeless community who have been making use of the dunes to establish temporary dwellings. This raised concerns for safety along the Table View/Blouberg beach front and while it is improving due to more active patrols by law enforcement, it is still not recommended to walk alone, especially in times of low-light. You can read more about this, here.

On a more positive note, there is also a massive re-development project, ‘The Table View Beach Front Project‘, underway, which working with the Dune Management Team, will see this entire coastline get a facelift. This project will include upgrades to roads, parking, storm-water facilities, pathways, ablutions and more. It is hoped that this will also alleviate the vagrant camping issue mentioned above too. Overall the facilities this development project will bring to the area is set to uplift the area in a big way, which will hopefully see more of Cape Town’s West Coast Beaches getting ‘Blue Flag Status’, in years to come.

Source: https://www.capetown.gov.za/