katsuma tanaka / UnsplashBest time to visit
Year-round; book the ferry from the V&A Waterfront well ahead, as weather can cancel sailings
Off the coast of Cape Town in Table Bay, Robben Island held political prisoners under apartheid most famously Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned here for 18 of his 27 years behind bars. It was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
Ferries depart from the V&A Waterfront for guided tours of the prison and the island, many led by former inmates whose first-hand accounts make the visit one of South Africa's most moving experiences.
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