How much does it cost to travel to Cape Town? (2026)
Budget, mid-range and luxury daily estimates for Cape Town, in USD and ZAR.
Daily and weekly costs
| Tier | Per day (USD) | Per day (ZAR) | 7 days (USD) | 7 days (ZAR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BudgetHostel bed, cheap meals, public transport | $40 | ZAR 720 | $280 | ZAR 5,000 |
| Mid-rangeThree-star hotel, restaurants, some taxis | $95 | ZAR 1,700 | $665 | ZAR 12,000 |
| LuxuryFour- or five-star hotel, dining out | $205 | ZAR 3,700 | $1,435 | ZAR 26,000 |
Every amount in this table is an estimateestimate, derived from the World Bank price level for South Africa rather than quoted by any seller.
How this is calculated
A US baseline of 90, 210 and 450 USD a day for the three tiers is multiplied by the price level of South Africa (0.4148024319600824, World Bank 2025) and by a city-size factor of 1.1, then rounded to the nearest 5 dollars. Local amounts use the World Bank exchange rate of 17.8887489855833 ZAR to the dollar, rounded to two significant digits.
These are modeled estimates, not quoted prices. Read the full formula on the methodology page.
Sample prices in Cape Town
Typical prices, every one an estimateestimate rather than a quoted price.
Hostel dorm bed
Typical rate for a shared room, estimate
$15
Mid-range hotel room
Double room in a standard hotel, estimate
$70
Cheap local meal
Takeaway or simple sit-down meal, estimate
$6
Restaurant meal
Two-course meal at a mid-range restaurant, estimate
$18
Local transport fare
Single ride on a bus or shared minibus, estimate
$2
Coffee
Regular coffee at a café, estimate
$3
Attraction ticket
Entry to a major sight such as a cable car or museum, estimate
$20
Prepaid SIM card
SIM with a basic data package, estimate
$10
Where the money goes
Across the three tiers, the difference in daily spending mostly reflects lodging quality and how many paid activities or restaurant meals are included. A budget day near $40 leans on hostel-style lodging, cheap meals and public transport, while a mid-range day near $95 allows for a private hotel room and a mix of casual and sit-down meals. At the luxury tier of about $205 a day, spending stretches to cover higher-end lodging, restaurant dining and paid attractions with more flexibility built in.
June, July and August form the off-season, when cooler, wetter weather brings fewer visitors and generally lower demand for lodging and services. Travelers aiming for the lower end of the budget or mid-range figures are likely to find it easiest to stay near those totals during these months, though the daily and weekly figures given here are estimates rather than fixed prices.
Cheapest months by climate demand: Jun, Jul and Aug.
Keep reading
More on Cape Town
Compare Cape Town
Sources
- GeoNames city database — CC BY 4.0, fetched September 14, 2026
- World Bank price level and exchange rate — CC BY 4.0, data year 2025
AI-written interpretation reviewed against the data above — claude-sonnet-5, generated September 21, 2026. Every number on this page comes from a dataset named here; the formulas are public.