Robben Island Prison, History museum in Cape Town, South Africa
This prison complex on an island in Table Bay spans 5.18 square kilometers and contains cells, guard towers, and administrative buildings.
The facility operated from 1961 to 1996, holding political prisoners during the apartheid era, including Nelson Mandela for 18 years.
The prison cells, courtyards, and work areas display photographs and artifacts that document the experiences of political detainees.
Visitors reach the island by ferry from Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, with guided tours lasting approximately 3.5 hours including transportation.
Three former inmates of this prison, Nelson Mandela, Kgalema Motlanthe, and Jacob Zuma, later became presidents of South Africa.
Location: City of Cape Town
Address: Robben Island, Cape Town, 7400, South Africa 7400 Cape Town 7400 Cape Town
Phone: +27214095100
Website: https://robben-island.org.za
GPS coordinates: -33.80025,18.37127
Latest update: March 3, 2025 01:44
From the windy tip of the Cape to the blue line of the Drakensberg, South Africa stacks landscapes that do not resemble each other. A morning on Table Mountain, an evening facing the whales of Hermanus, and between them red trails, deep canyons, lagoons, vineyards, and reserves where large animals pass through. Kruger opens its roads at dawn, Pilanesberg sketches an ancient crater, iSimangaliso blends reefs and wetlands. Further afield, the rugged coast preserves its cliffs, the Richtersveld its succulent deserts, and the Valley of Desolation its frozen lava columns. Here, travel is at eye and light level, to the rhythm of a vast land that changes its face at every turn.
Robben Island
541 m
Robben Island Maximum Security Prison
15 m
Non-Violence
12.5 km
Two Oceans Aquarium
12.7 km
Granger Bay Boulevard
12.2 km
Green Point Stadium
12.2 km
Green Point Lighthouse
11.6 km
Nobel Square
12.7 km
Chavonnes Battery
12.8 km
Green Point Common
11.9 km
Bloubergstrand Beach
10.2 km
Cape Medical Museum
12.6 km
Robben Island Lighthouse
1.6 km
Mouille Point Lighthouse
12.1 km
Breekwatervuurtoring, Kaapstadhawe
12.4 km
Robben Island Museum
101 m
V&A Waterfront clock tower
12.7 km
Church of the Good Shepherd, Robben Island
770 m
Robben Island Embarkation Building
12.5 km
Iziko South African Maritime Centre
12.6 km
Victoria and Alfred Waterfront Swing Bridge
12.7 km
Highfields
11 km
Old Port Captain's Building, V&A Waterfront
12.7 km
Morphous
11.5 km
Time ball tower, V&A Waterfront
12.6 km
Dolphin Coast
7.5 km
The Blue Peter Hotel
7.9 km
Treadmill, Breakwater Prison
12.5 kmReviews
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