Let’s get started!

1. Sport Helicopters: a Safe and Reliable Company

The most important thing you’ll want to keep in mind when joining one the many Helicopter flights in Cape Town is: safety first!

Choosing a reliable and professional company with a track record of excellence I believe it’s utmost important to enjoy your experience with peace of mind… when traveling, there are many things on which you can save (a big lunch, a night out, public transports, museums tickets, etc.), and some of which you should not: safety!

That’s why I feel like stressing to promote Sport Helicopters. 

When I first heard about this company, I was on a sunset cruise around Cape Town, and talking with the captain of the boat about the many helicopters in the sky he explained to me that those are commercial tours to see the island from above.

He gave me the name of Sport Helicopters, as I showed interest in the flights.

Of course, before joining any tour, I had to do some throughout research about the company (I’m like that, I always need to see things by myself!)

After some research, I found out that Sport Helicopters has been providing helicopter flights from the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town for over 25 years (!!).

Over the years they have accumulated an outstanding 5-star rating on TripAdvisor, based on over 700 reviews.

Sport is the preferred helicopter service for top hotels in Cape Town too and is well-known for conducting the highest number of helicopter flights from the V&A Waterfront each year.

That gave me a lot of peace of mind to join the tour! 🙂

2. Enjoying the Ride:

an Unconventional Way to Discover Cape Town

Cape Town is a buzzing city: chaotic traffic, people everywhere, crazy drivers, music, horns… from above all of that rowdy ant’s nest falls into perspective. 

The only sound you will hear on an helicopter ride are the deadened sound of the propellers and the voices of your companions and the tour guide/pilot (you’ll be wearing badass headphones! ;D ).

From the vantage point of a helicopter, Cape Town reveals its breathtaking beauty like in no other way and you’ll have the chance to witness the complexity of one of the three South Africa’s capitals in all its splendor!

The iconic Table Mountain majestically overlooks the city,  the sparkling blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean stretch out for miles, the vibrant colors of the bustling cityscape blending seamlessly with the lush greenery of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and the pristine white sands of Clifton Beaches are just some of the panoramas you might admire 🙂

All in all, Cape Town’s natural wonders come alive in this awe-inspiring aerial experience!

The excitement of being on a helicopter (if you’re not used to it like I wasn’t) adds adventure and adrenaline to the experience 😀

I felt completely safe at all times (but well…also true that I like skydiving too, so I’d say I’m comfortable with slightly out-of-the-norm high-altitude adventures ;D).

3. A Chance to Chat with the Pilot

and Discover new Places

While chartering a helicopter may not be a conventional mode of transportation in Cape Town and its surroundings, it offers unique benefits.

One of those, is the opportunity for chatting with a friendly pilot, which in our case was more than happy to provide information about the latest attractions, hidden gems, and events in and around Cape Town.

Feel free to ask questions while you enjoy soaring through the sky, the pilots are also experts that know the city inside out!

With the headphones you’ll be wearing when on the helicopter, you will hear the voices of the other passengers loud and clear, and that factor feels like being catapulted in each other’s head (hard to explain eh eh), creating a relaxed and intimate experience! 🙂

 

4. Which Route Should you Choose?

There are 7!

The Sport Helicopters company offers 7 scenic flight routes to choose from, which differ in terms of flight time, distance traveled, and, of course, price!

Depending on your budget, you can choose a route ranging from 12 minutes to 56 minutes.

The Rides are:

• The Hopper: 12min|95Euro –> Lion’s Head, Clifton, Camps Bay, 12 Apostles
• Camps & Hout Bay: 16min|137Euro –> Lion’s Head, Clifton, Camps Bay, 12 Apostles, Cape Town Stadium
• Robben Island: 16min|137Euro –> Robben Island
• Robben Island & Hopper 20min|158Euro –> Robben Island, Camps Bay
• Two Ocean Half Peninsula 24min|184Euro –> Cape Town Bays, Two Ocean Marathon
• Cape Point Full Peninsula: 48min|356Euro –> Cape of Good Hope, Cape Point, Table Mountain National Park, Bays
• Robben Island & Cape Point 56min|394Euro –> All of the previous tours together!

All flights depart from the V&A Waterfront and fly along the coastline past Table Mountain.

 

5. Extra Curiosity: You can Also Try

a War Helicopter!

 

In addition of being able to choose different routes, Sport Helicopters offers also the possibility of choosing on which between different commercial helicopters, all with slightly different comforts.

When we were in the base airport, we have also two helicopters marked as “Police” and “Army”, and our pilot explained us that also those are also used for commercial flights to provide adrenaline-filled experiences to the travelers bold enough to try them.

Later we found out Sport Helicopters is also the exclusive provider of daily “Huey Combat Flight” from the V&A Waterfront.

Their Huey is the only Bell HU-1 “Huey” helicopter licenced to transport civilian passengers on a “Combat Flight” demonstrating the flight capabilities of a Huey as flow during the Vietnam War.

Here is a video showing what you can expect 😉

6. How to Book a Helicopter Ride

at the Best Price?

To get the best rates for an helicopter ride in Cape Town the best way is to book at least 10-15 days in advance. 

This will make sure that spots for your desired flights will be available too (as the demand is way higher than the supply, they sell out fast, at least in the weeks of January we were there!).

To book your flight, you can either:

• book in advance through the Official Sport Aviation website
• or make reservations at the office located on the quayside in Shop 8, Quay 5 at the V&A Waterfront.

Upon arrival the day of the flight, they will transport you via golf carts to the Helipad area for a safety briefing and then proceed to board. 

Conclusion

And here we are at the end of the article!

In this article I wanted to show you another extremely original way of visiting the gorgeous surroundings of Cape Town.

Having taken both a sunset cruise tour, an helicopter tour, hiked all the way up the table mountain and skydived over the Bays, I have to say that Cape Town is so vast and unique that every experience felt special in its own way: it’s a micro-cosmo, chaotic, different, rowdy, yet so hauntingly beautiful; a must-see destination for every traveler!

All in all, I hope this short article was of use to you 🙂 As always, before going I’d like to ask you what you think about this article? Do you have any feedback?

Have you already visited Cape Town too?

Have you ever tried flying on a helicopter before?

Let me know in the comments below! (I always like chatting and meeting new people!).

Thanks for reading, and I wish you a happy life!

See you in the next article 🙂