The superbly located Cape Town Harbour, at the heart of the city, accessed via Dock Road, off Coen Steytler Avenue, Portswood or Beach Road, or via Ebenezer Road, off the Western Boulevard, is overseen by South African Port Operations (tel: (021) 449 2405; www.saponet.co.za), and is the second busiest port in South Africa, handling a huge volume of freight every year. Cruise liners regularly call here and it is also a major fishing port.

There are two main sections of the harbour. While the massive working area, comprising the Duncan Dock, Ben Schoeman Dock and Sturrock Dock, is off limits to the casual visitor, the Victoria Basin, Alfred Basin and the New Basin, known collectively as the V&A Waterfront (tel: (021) 408 7600; www.waterfront.co.za) is one of South Africa's premium tourist attractions (see Key Attractions) as well as a working harbour. There is no dedicated passenger terminal at Cape Town Harbour. Cruise liners longer than 200m (656ft) are accommodated at various berths at the Duncan Dock, while smaller liners dock at the V&A Waterfront.

Boat services: Andrew Weir Shipping (tel: (021) 425 1165; www.rms-st-helena.com) offers round-trip cruises from Cape Town to St Helena and Ascension Island via Walvis Bay and Luderitz in Namibia (journey time - 23 days), on-board the RMS St Helena (a working Royal Mail ship). Twice a year it continues on to Tenerife and the UK.