Table Mountain Cable Car Operating Hours

First car up, last car up, last car down

The Cableway publishes three times for each season, and confusing them is the most common planning mistake. They are not interchangeable:

• First car up is when the Cableway starts taking visitors to the summit.
• Last car up is the final ascent. Arrive after this and you cannot go up, even though the Cableway is still running.
• Last car down is the final descent from the summit, which is the real closing time of the mountain.

The hours table above shows opening to last car down, because that is when the attraction actually closes. If you want time at the top, work backwards from last car up, not from the closing time.

Hours change by season

The Cableway runs a seasonal schedule rather than a fixed one, and it changes several times a year. The current season is shown above. The full published year is:

Season	First car up	Last car up	Last car down
2 February to 31 March	08h00	19h00	20h00
1 April to 30 April	08h00	18h30	19h30
1 May to 31 August	08h30	17h00	18h00
1 September to 31 October	08h30	18h00	19h00
1 November to 30 November	08h00	19h00	20h00
1 December to 31 January	08h00	20h00	21h00

Winter is the shortest season by a wide margin. Between May and August the last car down is 18h00, three hours earlier than over the December peak.

Weather closes the Cableway

Every published time carries the same condition: the Cableway operates weather permitting. High wind is the usual reason it stops, and it can close at short notice on a clear day or reopen after being shut in the morning.

Because of this, the schedule tells you when the Cableway intends to run, not whether it is running today. The official site shows current status alongside visibility and wind conditions, and it is worth checking on the morning of your visit rather than relying on the season table alone.

Restaurants and bars at the top

The summit venues keep their own hours, which are close to but not identical to the Cableway’s. Ten67 opens with the first car up and closes thirty minutes before the last car down. VIEWS, KLOUD and the TAP BAR each publish their own opening and closing times per season, and in some seasons KLOUD and the TAP BAR open later in the morning than the Cableway does.

If the trip is planned around eating or drinking at the top rather than the view alone, check that venue’s own hours for the season you are visiting.

Before you travel

Check the official operating hours page for the season you are visiting and the current running status on the day. Tickets are sold online and at the ticket office, and booking a specific timeslot in advance is possible, which matters most in the December peak when the last car up is at 20h00 and queues are longest.