Our most frequent South African destination. Containers sail direct from Felixstowe to Cape Town, clear SARS customs at the port and are delivered to your door, whether that is a city apartment, a Winelands farmhouse or a house on the Garden Route.
Removals to Cape Town and the Western Cape from the UK make up the largest share of our South African work, and the reason is simple: the Cape is where most people want to end up. Some are South Africans going home after years in British hospitals, universities and engineering firms. Some are British retirees who have bought an apartment with a view of the Atlantic or a cottage in the Winelands, and have worked out that a UK pension goes a good deal further in Rand. A growing number are families with one remote salary who have decided that Cape Town’s outdoor life is worth a long flight home at Christmas. What they share is a direct sea route, which makes Cape Town the most straightforward South African port to ship into.
Within the city itself, the deliveries we plan most often fall into three groups. The Atlantic Seaboard — Sea Point, Green Point, Camps Bay and down towards Hout Bay — is mostly apartments and steep hillside houses, and it draws the retirees and lock-up-and-leave buyers. The Southern Suburbs, from Rondebosch and Newlands through to Constantia, are leafier, quieter and popular with families because of the schools. The northern suburbs around Durbanville and the newer estates beyond the city are where many returning South Africans settle, often in a secure complex with a body corporate.
Beyond the city, the Winelands are a world of their own. Stellenbosch is a university town with a large international community, Paarl is bigger and more working-town in feel, and Franschhoek is a small, sought-after valley where a delivery can end on a farm road rather than a street. Further east, the Garden Route — George, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay — is several hundred kilometres along the N2 from Cape Town and a favourite with British retirees. The container still lands in Cape Town, and the Garden Route leg is a road delivery from there, which we build into the plan and the quote rather than treating it as an afterthought. Our South Africa removals overview covers the service as a whole; this page is about what is particular to the Cape.
Cape Town is a beautiful city to deliver into and an awkward one. Much of the Atlantic Seaboard is built into the slopes below Lion’s Head and the Twelve Apostles, so a house can sit well above or below the road, reached by a long flight of steps or a steep, narrow driveway that a delivery truck cannot use. In older inner-city areas such as the Bo-Kaap and parts of Tamboerskloof the streets are tight and parking is scarce. Apartment blocks usually have a body corporate that wants the lift booked and protected, and a delivery window agreed in advance.
The weather matters more than people expect. In summer the south-easter can blow hard for days, and carrying a large mirror, a glass table top or a headboard across an exposed hillside in that wind is slow, careful work. Winter is the Cape’s rainy season, so a delivery that includes a garden-level carry is better planned with a dry day in mind. None of this is a reason not to go; it is a reason to pack large flat items in purpose-built wooden crates rather than cardboard.
In the Winelands and on the Garden Route the challenge is often the last few kilometres: a gravel farm road, a gate, a low bridge or a long private drive. We ask for photos and directions at survey stage so our destination agent can decide whether a smaller vehicle is needed for the final leg.
Because the container sails direct, customs clearance for a Western Cape move happens at the port of Cape Town. Our destination agent there lodges the P1.160 application — the South African Revenue Service form for a rebate of duty on used personal effects — against your residency documents. The rebate covers used household goods you have owned and used for at least six months. It needs a qualifying status: a permanent residence permit, a critical-skills visa or a relative’s permit. A visitor visa does not qualify, and if you are retiring to the Cape on a temporary permit it is worth checking your category with us before the sailing is booked, not after the container arrives.
The detail that matters most for Western Cape movers is wine. Plenty of people moving to the Winelands own a cellar they are proud of, and alcohol sits outside the ordinary rebate: wine and spirits are limited under personal-import allowances, and permanent residents can apply for additional allowances after the move. If you have a serious collection, tell us early so it can be declared correctly and packed in export packing and crating designed for bottles on a long voyage. The official rules are published by SARS, and our guide to moving to South Africa from the UK explains the wider customs picture.
Cape Town is the quickest South African destination we ship to. Direct sea freight from Felixstowe to Cape Town runs 4–6 weeks, which is the figure we quote for the Western Cape. Clearance with SARS at the port is typically 5–14 working days once the container is presented, provided the inventory and the P1.160 paperwork are in order before it leaves Britain, which is why we finalise them a couple of weeks before packing day.
Two things move the date. A shared LCL consignment adds 2–3 weeks while the container is consolidated, which is the trade-off for paying by the cubic metre on a smaller move. And a Garden Route or remote Winelands address adds the road leg from Cape Town. If your house in the Cape is not ready when the ship would be, we can hold everything in storage before shipping overseas at our Lower Dicker depot and send it when you are.
We are a family-run firm in East Sussex, founded in 2017, and the Cape is the South African route we run most often. Mark or one of our senior surveyors walks every room with you — in person across East Sussex, Kent and West Sussex, or by video further afield — and flags anything bought in the last six months, because that is what SARS will look at first. Our crew pack and pad-wrap in your home using double-wall cartons from our Lower Dicker packing shop, and the same people load the container. Nothing is handed between strangers before it leaves Britain.
If you would rather not pack a single box, our full packing service covers the whole house; if you would rather do it yourself, we deliver export-grade packing materials in advance. A piano bound for a Constantia sitting room gets our specialist piano handling. We are a member of the British Association of Removers Overseas Group and work to the BS 8564 international removals standard. Read our customer reviews, find out more about our family firm, or call Mark on 01323 848 008 to talk through your move to the Cape. If you are comparing destinations, our pages on removals to Johannesburg and removals to Durban explain how those routes differ.
Not every South African move ends at the foot of Table Mountain. These are the other regions we ship to, each with its own port, road leg and delivery realities.
Allow 4–6 weeks door to door on direct sea freight from Felixstowe to Cape Town. A shared LCL consignment adds 2–3 weeks for consolidation, and a Garden Route or remote Winelands address adds the road leg from the port.
Yes. The container clears customs in Cape Town and our destination agent delivers onward by road to the Winelands and to George, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. Farm roads and long private drives are assessed from your photos at survey so the right vehicle is planned.
Wine is limited under South African personal-import allowances rather than covered by the ordinary used-effects rebate, although permanent residents can apply for additional allowances after the move. Tell us about a collection at survey so it is declared and packed correctly.
Usually a lift booking, protection for common areas and an agreed delivery window. Send us the managing agent’s contact details and our destination agent will arrange access in advance so the truck is not turned away at the gate.
Containers ship from Felixstowe or Southampton depending on the sailing, and for the Western Cape they run direct to the port of Cape Town, where SARS clearance takes place before delivery to your address.
Call us for a free, no-obligation quote, or use our online form. Whether it is a shared part-load or a whole house, we have handled the route before and we will handle yours with care.