Robben Island Museum
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Since the days of Dutch settlers in the 17th century, the island has been used primarily as a prison, a place of banishment and exile. It also housed people with leprosy and hospitalised the chronically and mentally ill. Under Apartheid it was known for its institutional brutality. The years Nelson Mandela spent there are etched in the memory.
The island is full of surprises: springbok graze on the nature reserve, penguins pose for pictures and rabbits dash across the limestone quarry that became Nelson Mandela’s ‘university’.
Tours last three-and-a-half hours and include the return boat trip across Table Bay to the island (about 30 minutes each way), a guided visit to the Maximum Security Prison and Nelson Mandela’s cell plus a 45-minute island bus tour with guided commentary.
Ferries depart daily at 10am, 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm, weather permitting. The complete tour with ferry crossings costs about £11, half price for children.
Rodden Island , Cape Town, South Africa
Contact tel: +27 21 413 4200, e-mail:
Cost adult ticket: £10 - £20 pp, child ticket: £5 - £10 pp
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Robben Island Museum
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