Robben Island Museum

Robben Island lies about 11 kilometres off Cape Town in Table Bay, and for centuries it was used as a place of banishment, a leper colony and a military base. It is best known as the maximum security prison where the apartheid government held political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, who spent 18 of his 27 years behind bars here. The island became a museum in 1997 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

The standard visit is a guided tour that combines the ferry crossing with a bus circuit of the island and a walk through the maximum security prison. Stops usually include the cell block where Mandela was held, the lime quarry where prisoners laboured, the island's graveyard and the house where Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan Africanist Congress, was kept in isolation. Many guides at the prison are former political prisoners, which gives the visit a personal and often moving quality.

The whole trip takes about three and a half hours, including the ferry to and from the island. Ferries leave from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront, next to the Clock Tower, where there is also a small exhibition worth seeing while you wait. The museum lists tour departures at 09:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00, and also offers a walking tour on some days.

Book online well in advance, especially in the summer holidays, because tours sell out and the official booking site is the safest way to buy. Crossings can be cancelled at short notice when the sea is rough, so build some flexibility into your plans and avoid leaving it until your last day. Bring a warm layer and a windproof jacket for the boat, even in summer, and some water and sun protection for the island itself.

This is one of the most important visits in South Africa for understanding the country's recent history, and it suits older children, families and anyone interested in the anti-apartheid struggle. Combine it with time at the V&A Waterfront afterwards, or with the District Six Museum and Castle of Good Hope on another day for a fuller picture of the city's past.