Skydiving In Cape Town | Soaring Above The Cape

Cape Town, with its breathtaking landscapes and stunning coastlines, is a paradise for adventure seekers. If you want to elevate your adventurous experiences, take it to the sky and go skydiving in Cape Town! There’s nothing like skydiving to push you out of your comfort zone and recenter yourself emotionally. I’ve been skydiving twice now and love how invigorated I feel after a jump. This, with the view of the mountains in the distance, and the friendly people here, is definitely a win.

Skydiving In Cape Town

I chose Skydive Cape Town for my tandem skydiving adventure. They’re located about an hour drive north of central Cape Town, near Malmesbury.

I found the staff here to be very friendly and professional. This helped me feel very relaxed and very safe throughout my entire experience. My tandem professional was Timmy, who fell in love with skydiving years ago. He’s been skydiving here for many years and is very enthusiastic about the experience and about safety.

He fitted me into my harness soon after I arrived and gave me a brief overview of the process. After this, we drove off to the plane in the back of a pickup (which he called a “pickemup”).

The lady jumping with me was visiting from China and skydiving for her first time. This was before the trade agreements were finalized with China in April, so we had an interesting conversation about that before our jump.

As we boarded the plane, I felt the excitement starting to build.

Our plane took off and we headed up to the sky. As we soared to the 10,000’ height we would jump from, Timmy connected our harnesses together. The harness connection ensures we complete the jump as a team, with me strapped in front of him. This way, he can take control of the skydive, while I get to just enjoy it.

When we reached our jumping height, Timmy and I shimmied over to the door. This is not easy when you are harnessed together. My goals was to put my feet on the step below, which was extremely hard with the high wind we were experiencing.

It was so windy, the wind untied my shoelaces!

Strong winds are so common in the Cape Town area, they’ve even been given a name. They’re called the “Cape Doctor”, as when they come in, they “clear” the air of pollution and fog. These winds often move in in the afternoon, so skydiving is often scheduled for the morning.

I finally got both of my feet on the step, despite the wind continuously blowing them off. When I did, Timmy pushed us out of the plane together. We tumbled our head first.

The wind, the cold, and the view all assault your senses as you freefall headfirst at 120 mph (about 200 kph). After a short while, Timmy knocked on my back, which was the pre-arranged cue for me to make a slight arch in my back (like a banana).

You’re going so fast, the freefall only lasts about 35 seconds on a 10,000’ skydive, but this 35 seconds is the most exhilarating part of the jump.

At about 5,000’, Timmy opened the parachute to slow us down for our landing. This means you fall 5,000’ in about 35 seconds! After the parachute opens, our bodies shifted to a vertical position. Since you’re moving slower, this is when you have a little more time to take in the views.

This is also when Timmy let me take the handles of the parachute and taught me how to turn, or guide, our descent. This was pretty cool as I did not get to do this on my earlier skydive in New Zealand.

Timmy told me in advance that when we got close to the ground, he would tell me to either lift my legs up, or be prepared to land standing up. On this jump, he wanted me to land on my feet, which we both did successfully. I’ve read this is the sign of a good tandem instructor. On my jump in New Zealand, we slid onto the ground and landed in our bottoms.

As soon as we landed, someone ran over to help us stand properly and detach us from each other. While they took care of picking up the parachute and our harnesses, Timmy and I reminisced about our jump.

And did a high five for our safe landing.

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When we returned to the check-in area, there were several people sitting at a picnic table talking about their skydiving experiences. This was cool as everyone had a slightly different experience. One of the guys was telling us that he passed out briefly during his jump. This can happen, but I think it’s pretty rare. Always make sure to drink enough water before your jump as dehydration can cause this.

In addition to hearing everyone’s stories, it was also interesting to find out where everyone lived, as there were people here from around the world.

When the team finished putting the photos of my jump in a USB drive for me, Timmy came back out and talked to me about taking lessons to learn to skydive on my own. I felt that these guys really knew their stuff and would make great instructors, but this was my last day in Cape Town and not on my agenda. At least not for now.

How To Get To Skydive Cape Town

Skydive Cape Town is about 50 miles (78 km) north of central Cape Town. The drive takes about an hour, depending on traffic. Self-driving is possible, but traffic can be a little chaotic in the city, so doing this depends on your comfort level. Driving here is on the left side of the road, like the UK and New Zealand.

If you don’t have a car, Skydive Cape Town offers transportation. In fact, they picked me up directly from my hotel. My ride was less than the cost of an Uber, plus my driver waited for me while I did my skydive.

Other Skydiving Options

As noted above, I chose my tandem skydiving experience with Skydive Cape Town, but there are a couple of other options here. All three are affiliated with the Parachute Association of South Africa and have high safety standards. They are also all relatively close to each other, about an hour drive north of central Cape Town, and cost about the same.

• Two Oceans also offers tandem jumps at 10,000’. It’s located a little southwest of Skydive Cape Town, just north of Paarl (one of the wine regions of Cape Town).
• Mother City Skydive is another option. They provide jumps from 10,000’ and 12,000’. The latter gives you a slightly longer freefall at a slightly higher cost. Mother City, is slightly north of Skydive Cape Town.

I loved my jump, but honestly was a tiny bit disappointed that none of the skydiving locations were closer to the coast. I was hoping to see more of the sea. But since they are all relatively close to each other, the views from each should be very similar. The only one that may be a little different is Two Oceans, as it is closer to the wineries of Paarl.

Do you plan to go skydiving in Cape Town? If you do, drop me a note below. I’d love to hear about it.

Want More of Cape Town?

Here are my favorites places and things to do in and around South Africa.

• South Africa Travel Guide
• Top 25 Things To Do In Cape Town | Beaches, Mountains, Wine, & Adventure
• South Africa Wine Country | Constantia, Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Franschhoek
• Discovering Llandudno Beach | A Hidden Gem In Cape Town
• Hiking Lions Head | A Scenic Ascent To A Breathtaking Summit
• Secret Sunset Rock | Cape Town’s Hidden Gem For Spectacular Sunsets
• Exploring The Woodstock Street Art Scene In Cape Town
• Cool Creative Places | The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock
• Hiking The Majestic Jonkershoek Nature Reserve
• Inside Robben Island Museum | Walk In Nelson Mandela’s Footsteps
• Penguins, Cliffs, & Coastal Views | Tour To The Cape Of Good Hope
• Castle of Good Hope Museum | Unveiling Cape Town’s Rich Heritage

Safe Travels!

Julie