How hike up, ride down works
You hike to the top with your guide, and at the top station you ride down on your own ticket. The guided hikes here do not include that ticket, so it is yours to buy — online beforehand or at the top station. Where exactly the guided part ends is set out on the product page.
One product needs a second look. Widevision Travel’s summit hike mentions a cable car descent in its title, but the cable car ticket appears in the list of what is not included. Treat it like every other hike here: descent ticket separately, or walk down.
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The cable car is not included in any hike on this site
We checked every guided hike against its product page. If you want to ride down, buy the descent ticket separately — online or at the top station. The only product here with the cable car in it is the cableway and hop-on hop-off bus combination, which is a sightseeing ticket, not a hike.
Where the routes reach the top
Hike up, ride down is simplest on the direct route. Platteklip Gorge, which starts close to the lower cable car station, comes out on the plateau near the top station. Skeleton Gorge is the opposite case: it starts in Kirstenbosch garden on the back of the mountain and tops out a long way from the cable car, so riding down means a further walk across the plateau first. For India Venster and Kasteelspoort, the product page and your guide will tell you how the hike ends; we have not been able to confirm the finish of every route to our standard, so we do not guess here. Our route comparison covers each route in detail.
When the cable car stops
The Table Mountain cable car stops running in strong wind — according to the operator on roughly 60 to 90 days a year. A closure can come while you are on the mountain, and then the way down is on foot: slow, steep and hard on the knees after the effort of the way up. Rescue teams have been called out for exactly this. In November 2025 a group was stranded on the mountain in the dark after the cable car had closed, and in February 2026 rescuers brought down hikers stranded after a cableway closure.
- Leave enough daylight for a descent on foot, even if you plan to ride.
- Check the cable car’s operating hours for your date before a late start — we could not verify the summer times, so we do not print them here.
- Keep energy and water in reserve for the way down.
- Watch the wind forecast. Our weather and wind page explains the southeaster and the tablecloth cloud.
Riding both ways: the cable car and bus combination
Some people in a group would rather not hike. For them, the cableway and hop-on hop-off combination is the product here that includes the cable car: a return ride plus a one-day ticket for the sightseeing bus, covering three routes, and the bus stops at the lower cable car station. How a wind closure is handled for this ticket is set out on the product page; check it before you book. Reviews of the combination bear out why that matters: several reviewers could not ride up because the cable car was closed for high winds or bad weather, and one found no visibility at the top. The summary of reviews on the product page also mentions long queues at the cable car, while one reviewer found no queue at around 10 to 10:30 in the morning in July. If the cable car ride matters to you, put it on an early day of your stay rather than your last. Our sister site hoponcapetown.com covers the hop-on hop-off bus in Cape Town in more detail.
A group can also split the day: the hikers go up on foot with a guide, the others ride up with the combination ticket, and the whole group meets on the plateau. The hikers still need their own ticket if they want to ride down.
Hike or ride — how to decide
- Hike up if you are reasonably fit, want the route itself as the experience, and have a morning free. The guided hikes run from about three to four and a half hours on Table Mountain.
- Ride both ways if time is short, if the heat or the effort does not appeal, or if someone in your group cannot manage a steep ascent.
- Hike up, ride down if you want both — with the descent ticket bought separately and a plan for a descent on foot if the wind closes the cable car.
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In short
Hike up with a guide, buy the descent ticket separately, and plan the day so that walking down would still work. For anyone who would rather ride, the cableway and bus combination covers the cable car both ways.
