How far is Cape Town from the sea?
Cape Town is on the coast: the nearest shoreline is 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away in a straight line. The nearest stretch of coast is in Western Cape, South Africa.
To the coast
1.5 km
0.9 miles · straight line
Nearest land border
553 km
with Namibia
Setting
On the coast
151st farthest from the sea of 182 cities
Cape TownNearest point on the coast
How far are you from the sea?
Measure from where you are standing. On a phone this uses GPS, so the answer is for your exact spot, not the city centre.
Cape Town at a glance
- Coordinates
- 33.9258° S, 18.4232° E
- Region
- Western Cape, South Africa
- Distance to the coast
- 1.5 km (0.9 miles), in a straight line
- Nearest point on the coast
- 33.9159° S, 18.4339° E (Western Cape, South Africa)
- Nearest land border
- 553 km (344 miles), with Namibia
- Among South Africa's cities
- 2nd farthest from the sea of the 3 cities measured
Nearby cities and the coast
| City | Country | To the coast |
|---|---|---|
| Johannesburg | South Africa | 448 km (279 miles) |
| Durban | South Africa | 0.5 km (0.3 miles) |
| Nairobi | Kenya | 409 km (254 miles) |
| Lagos | Nigeria | 5.6 km (3.5 miles) |
| Kano | Nigeria | 767 km (477 miles) |
| Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 1 km (0.6 miles) |
Questions
How far is Cape Town from the sea?
Cape Town is on the coast: the nearest shoreline is 1.5 km (0.9 miles) away in a straight line. The nearest stretch of coast is in Western Cape, South Africa.
Is that the driving distance?
No. 1.5 km (0.9 miles) is the straight-line distance from the city centre to the nearest point on the shore. The drive to a beach is longer, often much longer, and depends on the roads.
How far is Cape Town from the nearest border?
Cape Town is 553 km (344 miles) from the nearest land border, with Namibia, in a straight line.
Where in Cape Town is this measured from?
From the city's centre point (33.9258° S, 18.4232° E). A large city spreads out, so some neighbourhoods are closer to the sea than this and some farther. For an exact figure from where you are, use your own location.
Measured by MapGO on October 8, 2026 with the same coastline data as the distance to coastline calculator. All distances are straight lines over the Earth's surface.