Cape Town: weather and best time to visit
Cape Town (South Africa) reaches its warmest daytime temperatures in February at around 26°C; the coolest month is August at around 17°C. The sea is warmest in January at about 18°C.
Best time to visit
- 🏖 Beach
- 🏛 City trip
- 🥾 Hiking
Things to do in Cape Town
Tours, tickets and activities for your trip.
Cape Town climate, month by month
| Month | Day °C | Night °C | Sea °C | Rain d | Sun h | Beach | City | Hiking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25° | 17° | 18° | 4 | 13 | 68 | 89 | 76 |
| Feb | 26° | 18° | 18° | 3 | 12 | 72 | 89 | 73 |
| Mar | 25° | 17° | 17° | 3 | 11 | 68 | 91 | 80 |
| Apr | 22° | 15° | 16° | 5 | 10 | 61 | 88 | 88 |
| May | 20° | 13° | 15° | 10 | 9 | 48 | 75 | 77 |
| Jun | 17° | 11° | 15° | 12 | 8 | 39 | 60 | 72 |
| Jul | 17° | 11° | 15° | 10 | 8 | 43 | 63 | 77 |
| Aug | 17° | 11° | 15° | 11 | 9 | 43 | 62 | 76 |
| Sep | 18° | 12° | 15° | 9 | 10 | 48 | 72 | 80 |
| Oct | 20° | 13° | 15° | 7 | 12 | 54 | 83 | 83 |
| Nov | 22° | 15° | 16° | 6 | 12 | 59 | 85 | 85 |
| Dec | 24° | 16° | 17° | 5 | 13 | 64 | 87 | 81 |
Rain d = average rain days per month · Sun h = average sunshine hours per day · scores 0–100, higher is better.
Every month in detail
Cape Town in January
Daytime highs around 25°C, nights near 17°C. No month gets more sunshine. The sea is at its warmest now. Expect about 4 rain days and 13 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 18°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: goodCity: excellentHiking: goodMore destinations for January →
Cape Town in February
Daytime highs around 26°C, nights near 18°C. February is the warmest month of the year. It is also the driest month of the year. Expect about 3 rain days and 12 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 18°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: goodCity: excellentHiking: goodMore destinations for February →
Cape Town in March
Daytime highs around 25°C, nights near 17°C. Expect about 3 rain days and 11 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 17°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: goodCity: excellentHiking: excellentMore destinations for March →
Cape Town in April
Daytime highs around 22°C, nights near 15°C. Expect about 5 rain days and 10 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 16°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: goodCity: excellentHiking: excellentMore destinations for April →
Cape Town in May
Daytime highs around 20°C, nights near 13°C. Expect about 10 rain days and 9 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 15°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: mixedCity: goodHiking: goodMore destinations for May →
Cape Town in June
Daytime highs around 17°C, nights near 11°C. It is the rainiest month of the year. Expect about 12 rain days and 8 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 15°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: poorCity: goodHiking: goodMore destinations for June →
Cape Town in July
Daytime highs around 17°C, nights near 11°C. Expect about 10 rain days and 8 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 15°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: mixedCity: goodHiking: goodMore destinations for July →
Cape Town in August
Daytime highs around 17°C, nights near 11°C. August is the coldest month of the year. Expect about 11 rain days and 9 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 15°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: mixedCity: goodHiking: goodMore destinations for August →
Cape Town in September
Daytime highs around 18°C, nights near 12°C. Expect about 9 rain days and 10 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 15°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: mixedCity: goodHiking: excellentMore destinations for September →
Cape Town in October
Daytime highs around 20°C, nights near 13°C. Expect about 7 rain days and 12 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 15°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: mixedCity: excellentHiking: excellentMore destinations for October →
Cape Town in November
Daytime highs around 22°C, nights near 15°C. Expect about 6 rain days and 12 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 16°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: mixedCity: excellentHiking: excellentMore destinations for November →
Cape Town in December
Daytime highs around 24°C, nights near 16°C. Expect about 5 rain days and 13 hours of sunshine per day. The sea is cold at 17°C — not swimming weather.
Beach: goodCity: excellentHiking: excellentMore destinations for December →
Related destinations
More in South Africa: Durban · Nelspruit · Knysna · Johannesburg
Similar climate: Perth, Australia · Punta del Este, Uruguay · Melbourne, Australia · Buenos Aires, Argentina