Paragliding in Cape Town

For our one-year wedding anniversary, I decided to surprise my husband with a paragliding in Cape Town adventure.

As we’ve been in Cape Town so many times, it feels so normal that people paraglide on a nice day. It looks so peaceful and fun! I probably won’t paraglide anywhere else in the world.

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Booking Paragliding in Cape Town

There are several companies online. I went online to Viator and picked the company that had good pictures and good reviews. I chose The Tandem Flight Co. Paragliding School because of that on Viator.

As usual for myself, I use Viator or Get My Guide for bookings because sometimes local companies don’t accept American credit cards online. It’s not usual but I don’t want to deal with a cancellation because of payment.

From what I saw, the bad reviews for paragliding were because of cancellations due to weather so be sure to be in touch with whatever company you choose the day of your flight. I suggest you whatsapp them.

I booked our experience 3 weeks in advance but there are several slots open throughout the day for the different companies. At the time of our booking, the cost per person was USD 75 or R1400.

I suggest you arrive 15 minutes before your time-slot. There is parking at the end of the road on Signal Hill, where you’ll go for take-off. You may need to circle the lot a couple of times before you get a spot. Or, you can easily Uber or park at the bottom by the Sea Point promenade where you’ll land.

Finding your paragliding company will be easy. There is a tent with several companies listed. I went up and said we had an appointment and a representative from our company, Tandem Paragliding, was waiting for us. We signed the indemnity forms and filled out height and weight information…. and then we were off!

Safety

I felt very safe during my ride. In all honesty, from signing the indemnity form to liftoff, everything went so quickly that I didn’t have time to fear anything.

Right before take-off and the moment my legs lifted the ground!

I felt safe in my harness and the paragliding pilots made me feel like they had everything under control.

Paragliding from Lions Head or Signal Hill

Most flights take off from Signal Hill. The weather is better from this side of the hill. Plan to jump off from Signal Hill and feel lucky if you can go from Lions Head. Our pilots said that probably only 3% of jumps during the year are from Lions Head.

Weather

The right weather conditions are necessary to go paragliding in Cape Town. If you only have a couple of days in town then plan to go at the beginning of your trip so that you can reschedule for winds or rain.

These views omg!

As I mentioned, I suggest you should message the company on WhatsApp on the day of your flight to confirm your flight time and ask about the weather.

Paragliding Experience

Wowow. I felt amazing. I honestly was a little worried but there was no time to be anxious as I mentioned. I enjoyed how the pilot climbed the winds to get higher and higher.

Overall, the flight was about 15 minutes. The first 7ish were over Signal Hill. Then, we spent some time over Sea Point. Before we landed, we were over the ocean. Right as we went over the ocean, the pilot asked if we liked roller coasters and then did some light twists and turns before landing. Wilhelm’s pilot was more wild than mine!

The landing was so smooth. The pilot tells you when to put your legs down and stand up and that’s the end of it!

Back on land!

Pictures

You can buy pictures at an extra cost of R300 cash or R315 credit card. Totally worth it!! There were two videos taken, one as we took off and the other as we landed. Another important aspect for me was the high-quality pictures that the paragliding team offered. Tandem Paragliding had new (looking) go-pros and the pictures and video quality are amazing.

There were several pictures where my pilot said “For the ‘gram.” Love it! The pilots are basically your pro photographers too. They know the money shots.

After our ride was complete, our pilots put the photos directly onto our phones using a micro SD card reader that goes into the charging port. Make sure your phone has enough storage to handle pictures before you go on the flight.

This was literally the only moment I took both my hands off the harness. Even the pilot was like “thats not going to do anything for you.” I wish i put my hands up more!

Whether you’re in Cape Town for vacation or are a local in need of a cool birthday or anniversary gift, then consider paragliding in Cape Town!