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Accra ⇄ Cape Town · One stop · Via Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Nairobi or the Gulf

Flights from Accra to Cape Town: the far end of the continent

Cape Town sits at the very bottom of Africa, between Table Mountain and two oceans, and it is the most visited city on the continent. It is also a city with a hard history: the Dutch fort at its centre was built by the same company that held Elmina, and Robben Island, out in the bay, held Nelson Mandela for eighteen years. From Accra it takes one change, most easily with South African Airways in Johannesburg. Here are the routes, the entry rules, and Cape Town beyond the postcards.

The best one-stop routes from Accra

Flight times are approximate, without the connection. South Africa is two hours ahead of Ghana all year.

ViaAirline from AccraAccra → hubHub → Cape TownNote
JohannesburgSouth African Airwaysabout 6 habout 2 h 10You enter South Africa in Johannesburg: immigration and customs there, then a domestic flight.
Addis AbabaEthiopian Airlinesabout 5 h 45about 6 hNo transit visa if you stay airside.
NairobiKenya Airwaysabout 6 habout 4 h 15No transit visa if you stay airside.
Dubai / DohaEmirates, Qatar Airwaysabout 8–9 habout 9 h 30A long double detour; only for a very good fare.

Which one to pick

The usual choice: South African Airways via Johannesburg, the shortest total journey. Allow at least two and a half hours in Johannesburg, because you clear immigration, collect and re-check your bags, and change terminals for the domestic flight. Through-checked alternatives: Ethiopian via Addis Ababa or Kenya Airways via Nairobi, where you stay airside and enter South Africa only in Cape Town. Book Accra to Cape Town on one ticket.

Accra arrivals today Johannesburg flight page

Ghana and Cape Town right now

Local time in both cities, the weather at this moment, and a converter between cedis, South African rand and the main currencies.

Say it like a Capetonian

English works everywhere, but Cape Town also speaks Afrikaans and isiXhosa, and South African English has its own words.

  • Molo (isiXhosa): hello. Enkosi: thank you.
  • Dankie (Afrikaans): thank you.
  • Howzit?: how are you, what's up?
  • Lekker: great, nice, tasty.
  • Now now: soon, in a while. Just now: later, maybe much later.
  • Robot: a traffic light. "Turn left at the robot."

South Africa in brief

Key facts

  • Capitals: three. Pretoria is the executive capital, Cape Town the legislative capital where Parliament sits, and Bloemfontein the judicial capital.
  • Democracy: since the first free elections on 27 April 1994, now celebrated as Freedom Day.
  • Currency: South African rand (ZAR). Cards work almost everywhere.
  • Languages: twelve official languages, including English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans and South African Sign Language.
  • Time: South Africa Standard Time, UTC+2, two hours ahead of Ghana.
  • Entry for Ghanaians: South Africa and Ghana have moved towards visa-free travel for ordinary passport holders. Confirm the current rules with the South African High Commission in Accra before booking.
  • Entry for UK, EU and US passports: visa-free for up to 90 days. Your passport needs two blank pages.
  • Yellow fever: a certificate is required for travellers arriving from Ghana, a yellow fever country. Without it you can be refused entry.
  • Plugs: the large three round-pin type M plug, plus the smaller type N. Bring an adapter; Ghana's square-pin plugs do not fit.

Elmina, the Cape and Robben Island

In 1652 the Dutch East India Company set up a supply station at the Cape for its ships to Asia. Twenty years earlier its sister company, the Dutch West India Company, had taken Elmina Castle from the Portuguese. The stone Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town, built from 1666, is the oldest surviving colonial building in South Africa, and in many ways Elmina's southern cousin. The Cape colony ran on enslaved labour, brought mainly from Asia, Madagascar and East Africa; the story is told at the Iziko Slave Lodge, which once housed them.

Three centuries later, Robben Island in Table Bay held Nelson Mandela for eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison. Ghana, under Kwame Nkrumah, was among the first independent African states to back the struggle against apartheid, and South Africans in exile found support in Accra. When Mandela walked out of prison in 1990, he made his first public speech from the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall.

Cape Town and around: what to see

  • Robben IslandFerries from the V&A Waterfront, with tours led by former political prisoners. Book days ahead; sailings are cancelled in rough weather.
  • Table MountainThe cable car or the hike up Platteklip Gorge. The "tablecloth" of cloud can close the top within minutes.
  • District Six MuseumThe story of a whole neighbourhood bulldozed under apartheid and its people forced out.
  • Bo-KaapThe bright houses of the Cape Malay community, descended partly from people enslaved and exiled from Asia.
  • Cape Point and Boulders BeachThe rocky tip of the peninsula, and the African penguins at Simon's Town.
  • Kirstenbosch and the WinelandsThe great botanical garden under the mountain, and Stellenbosch and Franschhoek an hour inland.

Tours in and around Cape Town with local guides, booked before you travel. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but always welcome, and in South Africa a tip for guides and drivers is expected.

Arriving at Cape Town International Airport

  • The airport: Cape Town International (CPT), about 20 kilometres east of the city centre.
  • Immigration: if you came through Johannesburg, you have already entered South Africa and arrive as a domestic passenger. Via Addis, Nairobi or the Gulf, you clear immigration here: have your yellow fever card ready.
  • Into town: the MyCiTi airport bus runs to the Civic Centre in the city, or use the ride-hailing apps, which are widely used and safer than unofficial taxis.
  • Car hire: the best way to see the peninsula and the Winelands. South Africa drives on the left, unlike Ghana.

Honest tips for this route

  • Crime is real. Cape Town is beautiful and also one of the most violent cities in the world, though most of the crime is far from the tourist areas. Do not walk alone after dark, keep your phone out of sight, and use ride-hailing apps at night.
  • Yellow fever card. Coming from Ghana, it is checked. No card can mean no entry.
  • Johannesburg connections. Two and a half hours is the minimum. Bags must be collected and re-checked.
  • Seasons are reversed. June to August is winter: cold, wet and windy. December to February is summer and peak season, with prices to match.
  • The wind. The south-easter, the "Cape Doctor", blows hard in summer. Pack a jacket even in December.
  • Driving on the left. If you hire a car, remember it, especially at junctions and roundabouts.

Coming the other way: from South Africa to Ghana

South Africans visiting Ghana should check the Ghana visa rules before travel. Many come for the history of the forts, for the Nkrumah story, and increasingly for business. Ghana is cheaper and more relaxed than Cape Town, and its coast has more European castles than anywhere else in Africa.

Airport pickup with free internet, private vehicle hire and a three-destination tour, booked before you land. Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but always welcome.

Accra International Airport Embassies in Accra Ghana ETA and e-visa

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GhanaFlights.info belongs to an independent network of more than 70 African travel, heritage and information websites, online since December 2000. No Google advertising, no sponsored praise: just the routes and the countries, as they are.

Ghana-Net.com · Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park · Elmina Castle · Cape Coast Castle Museum · ZambiaVibes.com · KenyaWebNews.com · MyGhana2027.com · AfricanIndependence.com

Updated and fact-checked: 29 October 2026. Routes from the airline timetables on GhanaFlights.info; flight times approximate; entry and health rules checked in October 2026. Always confirm with the airline and the South African High Commission before booking. Text and research by Remo Kurka for GhanaFlights.info. This website carries no Google advertising.