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SFO - CPT

Find cheap flights from San Francisco to Cape Town from $832

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San Francisco to Cape Town departing on 8/25. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
0 bags
Mon 6/3
Mon 6/10

Search hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Cape Town

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Francisco to Cape Town.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from San Francisco to Cape Town.
In the last 7 days travelers have searched 43,693,958 times on KAYAK, and here is why:

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Cheap flight deals from San Francisco to Cape Town (SFO-CPT)

Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Francisco to Cape Town that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices and deals for you by selecting your travel dates.
Choose your dates
9:00 pm - 9:40 pmSFO-CPT
39h 40m2 stops
9:15 pm - 3:10 pmCPT-SFO
51h 55m2 stops
$1,077Kenya Airways
Find Deal
Tue, Oct 22 - Tue, Nov 5
10:45 pm - 1:40 pmSFO-CPT
53h 55m3 stops
2:30 pm - 3:10 pmCPT-SFO
34h 40m3 stops
$1,109Kenya Airways
Find Deal
Mon, Oct 21 - Tue, Nov 5
6:35 pm - 11:50 amSFO-CPT
32h 15m1 stop
5:15 pm - 5:45 pmCPT-SFO
34h 30m1 stop
$1,186Turkish Airlines
Find Deal
Mon, Oct 21 - Tue, Nov 5
1:15 pm - 11:50 amSFO-CPT
37h 35m1 stop
4:35 pm - 4:40 pmCPT-SFO
33h 05m1 stop
$1,198Turkish Airlines
Find Deal
Sun, Sep 22 - Sun, Oct 6
8:30 am - 9:55 amSFO-CPT
40h 25m3 stops
5:45 pm - 8:54 pmCPT-SFO
36h 09m2 stops
$1,452United Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Sep 3 - Tue, Sep 17
12:32 am - 5:00 pmSFO-CPT
31h 28m2 stops
6:30 pm - 5:19 pmCPT-SFO
32h 49m2 stops
$1,469United Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Oct 29 - Wed, Nov 13
3:30 pm - 11:00 amSFO-CPT
34h 30m1 stop
6:55 pm - 1:15 pmCPT-SFO
27h 20m1 stop
$1,476British Airways
Find Deal
Mon, Sep 30 - Sat, Oct 12
2:32 pm - 11:00 amSFO-CPT
35h 28m2 stops
6:45 pm - 2:15 pmCPT-SFO
29h 30m1 stop
$1,481British Airways
Find Deal
Wed, Oct 23 - Mon, Nov 4
9:20 pm - 7:00 pmSFO-CPT
36h 40m1 stop
12:30 am - 11:26 pmCPT-SFO
32h 56m2 stops
$1,508Delta
Find Deal
Wed, Oct 30 - Tue, Nov 12
10:05 pm - 9:25 pmSFO-CPT
38h 20m2 stops
9:30 pm - 8:45 pmCPT-SFO
32h 15m1 stop
$1,509Delta
Find Deal
Fri, May 24 - Fri, Jun 7

Flights from San Francisco to Cape Town - Travel Insights & Trends

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from San Francisco to Cape Town to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from San Francisco to Cape Town?

The average price of all flights from San Francisco to Cape Town clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.
If you are looking for a flight deal from San Francisco to Cape Town, look for departures on Mondays and avoid leaving on a Sunday, as it's usually the priciest day. When flying back from Cape Town, Wednesday is the cheapest day to fly and Saturday is the most expensive.

What is the cheapest month to fly from San Francisco to Cape Town?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from San Francisco to Cape Town, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.
The cheapest month for flights from San Francisco to Cape Town is January, where tickets cost $1,265 on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and July, where the average cost of tickets is $1,947 and $1,863 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from San Francisco to Cape Town?

To calculate daily average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each day before departure over the last year for flights from San Francisco to Cape Town, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each month.
To get a below average price on the flight from San Francisco to Cape Town, you should book around 2 days before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 48 days before departure.

Which airlines provide the cheapest flights from San Francisco to Cape Town?

The cheapest price for the route for each airline clicked by KAYAK users in the last 72 hours.
In the past 3 days, the cheapest one-way tickets to Cape Town from San Francisco were found on RwandAir ($916) and Lufthansa ($926), and the lowest round-trip tickets were found on Kenya Airways ($1,077) and Turkish Airlines ($1,186).

Good to know

Low season

May

High season

December

Cheapest flight

$832
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 3% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 15% increase in price.
Flight from San Francisco to Cape Town

When to book flights from San Francisco to Cape Town

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from San Francisco to Cape Town based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from San Francisco to Cape Town

  • Is it necessary for me to obtain a visa before my flight from San Francisco to Cape Town?

    For those travelers that are taking a vacation in Cape Town, there is no need to get a visa to travel to this country so long as you're not going to stay there for more than 90 days. Do you check to make sure that your passport is valid for at least 30 days beyond your date of arrival in South Africa.

  • What are some good transportation choices to get from the Cape Town International Airport (CPT) into Cape Town?

    There is a bus Line A01 operated by My Citi that can take you from the airport to the downtown area in about 30 minutes. If you prefer to travel by taxi, you should expect to travel for about 17min.

  • Does the Cape Town International Airport offer any shower facilities to help get cleaned up after a long flight from San Francisco?

    There are showers available in the Bidvest Lounge location that you will find on the third level of the International Terminal on the Airside.

  • What type of hotel choices are available at the Cape Town International Airport they have a location close to the terminal buildings?

    There are two hotels that have a location either right at the airport or just a short walk from the terminal buildings. The Road Lodge Cape Town International Airport sits right on the airport grounds and is a short walk from the terminal buildings. The Hotel Verde Cape Town Airport is about 1300 feet from the terminal and when passengers want to get to this hotel without walking, there is a free airport shuttle.

  • What is the cheapest flight from San Francisco to Cape Town?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from San Francisco to Cape Town was $832 for a one-way ticket and $1,077 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between San Francisco and Cape Town?

    Yes, you'll most likely have to show a valid passport before boarding the plane in San Francisco and on arrival in Cape Town.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from San Francisco to Cape Town?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from San Francisco to Cape Town?

    Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam are the airline alliances operating flights between San Francisco and Cape Town, with Star Alliance being the most commonly used for this route.

  • What is the most popular layover when flying to Cape Town from San Francisco?

    London is the most popular layover city among KAYAK users traveling from San Francisco to Cape Town.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from San Francisco to Cape Town, Emirates or Delta?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from San Francisco to Cape Town are Emirates and Delta. With an average price for the route of $1,725 and an overall rating of 8.1, Emirates is the most popular choice. Delta is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of $1,599 and an overall rating of 8.0.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Francisco to Cape Town?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from San Francisco to Cape Town.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Francisco to Cape Town?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cape Town from San Francisco is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from San Francisco to Cape Town?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Cape Town with an airline and back to San Francisco with another airline. Booking your flights between San Francisco and CPT can sometimes prove cheaper using this method.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from San Francisco to Cape Town?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Cape Town from San Francisco up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding a cheap flight from SFO to Cape Town

  • One of the most convenient ways to get from the downtown San Francisco area to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) before a flight that does not involve driving your car is to take the Yellow or Red Line BART train that makes the trip from Civic Center in downtown San Francisco to the airport in around 30min.
  • If someone plans on dropping you off at San Francisco International Airport before a flight, a very convenient option is to do so at the Kiss and Fly drop-off point that sits right at the rental car center adjacent to the airport property. Once drivers and passengers have said get their goodbyes, travelers can ride aboard the Blue Line AirTrain to all of the terminal buildings at the airport.
  • Passengers that plan on driving their own car to the San Francisco International Airport should consider booking their parking online with ParkRight@SFO. Some of the advantages of using the service are that you can book your parking up to you 2 hours before your arrival time, you can choose any parking area on the airport property, plus you get sent a QR code that means contactless entry and exit from the parking lots.
  • If you plan on taking a service animal for a pet with you from the San Francisco International Airport, it is good to know that this airport offers seven different pet relief areas with two outdoor locations marked with painted paw prints to show travelers where these pet relief areas sit.
  • If you are going to ride your bicycle to the San Francisco International Airport before a flight, you can do so for up to 14 days. Passengers will find bike lock-up locations outside the International Terminal, the Westfield Garage, the Rental Car Center, and at the valet parking location in the Domestic Garage on Level Four.
See more tips

Top 5 airlines serving from San Francisco to Cape Town

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from San Francisco to Cape Town. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Francisco to Cape Town? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
DeltaOverall score based on 10848 reviews
8.0Entertainment
7.9Comfort
7.4Food
8.2Boarding
8.6Crew
Airline reviews

There was a loud squeaky sound the whole time we were flying.

6.0 GoodEliza, Apr 2024SAN - LAX
Read more about Delta reviews

There was a loud squeaky sound the whole time we were flying.

I didn’t not like that I could not select my seat and ended up with the worse seat.

The landing was bad and the hostess came two times and i was sleeping but when she served the person that nexts to me I woke up and she didn’t even asked me if I need any drink or snacks two times!!!!

Plane was late because of a mechanical malfunction and the food listed as available was not. Flight attendants seem over worked and under paid. They just done seem happy. And that can be seen in their faces.

Waited 3 hours on a plane to de-ice due to manpower issues. Waited another hour and a half once we landed because of a gate issue. Missed my connections. Created. A total of 13 hours of delay.

Great, on time departure, friendly and accommodating crew, great leg room, Smith flight

Plane was turned around due to fog half way into the flight, Delta did not properly direct passengers to stay on same flight and instead failed to properly rebook on Alaska

Honestly, I didn’t expect that I will experience this long time wait during the check in. There was only one person who was taking care of the passengers for the economy class and it took us to wait about one hour to do our check i. As a result we barely get to the airplane as the gate was at the end of the airport. That is totally not professional where one crue is working at the registration desk with economy and 3-4 crues are helping for the business class.

Like most domestic flights in the US, you are basically on your own with this airline when it comes to food, so be sure to purchase meals and drinks ahead of time or expect to arrive starving and dehydrated (like I was).

You need to be a hacker to get the (Free) WiFi

Excellent service and comfort from the moment you check in. Flight crew is hyper focused on making passengers comfortable and at ease. It’s like a flying hotel!

Only chicken as a meat dish through out the flight

Nothing really was great as such. Seen other no name airlines perform better.

Quality of service on board was very inconsistent. FA service primarily seemed robotic and they barely engaged with passengers

I’m unclear why I had to pay extra for assigned seats as Turkish airlines did not honor the seating. We were placed across the aisle from each other on TK 34, and were seated behind one another on TK 694. Because my name was misspelled on e-ticket (Klawiter, instead of Klawitter) I could not log onto website to get the connection gate number in Istanbul. The monitors in the airport were a jumbled mess 1/2 Arabic and 1/2 English.

On line check in needs a lot of improvement. I tried and gave up.

Food not good, flight attendants not the best, not accommodating very ruff

the female flight attendant was racist towards me. I could tell she treated the two other passengers next to me with more softness.

Oh my god! For an13 hour flight they serve you food just one time. Also don’t be thirsty they give you a little small cup of soda to drink. They seem like their goal is to feed you one so they don’t have to be bothered with you. It quite surprise for such a long flight there are several times to eat at least three and the food was well lackluster. The food and lack of offering drinks which were always hot no ice provided.

We were traveling first class. Checkin counter lady and her manager, both were in bad mood and did not treat us well about checking in the handbag. The gate agent took care of it right away. I travel Turkish twice a year in first class. No one has ever refused to check in the hand bag. Not sure, why this agent and her manager refused. Everything else was excellent.

Hated every minute of it. This flight should have only taken 1.5hrs but was delayed over 10hours. Now I am being told I cannot be compensated or refunded my ticket price or extra leg room, which I purchased but did not receive, because the airline is throwing the blame on the 3rd party I purchased tickets through and 3rd party putting the blame on airline. No one wants to help. They received their money and that's all they care about. Im going on 3 days of still trying to get to my final destination, had to cancel car rental, car insurance and hotel. Currently staying in airport until hotels open up. Thank you Lufthansa, Kayak, Underpricer and United for making this trip the worst ever.

Crew was great and did their best to make us comfortable and captain came out at the beginning to announce why the flight was delayed, weather situation up ahead, and kept us updated throughout the flight.

United WiFi is consistently unusable (it can take 10 mins to load a single web page). If you need Wifi to do work, be prepared to lose half a day of productivity.

Awful. I got stuck next to a person carrying a dog and behind someone with a dog. People need to board these dogs downstairs. The cabin is crowded enough with your pets

Packed in like sardines, very uncomfortable. Sitting the aisle my shoulder was rammed into numerous times by rushing flight attendants. Also flight was very cold.

Beverage and food services are excellent. We enjoy paying the extra for economy plus for the 3 inches more leg room to be exact.

Flight was delayed by 3 hours. The pilot made up 1 hour during the flight, but that made the wait at the airport 5 hours once you factor getting there 2 hours early.

Airline did not explain reasons why flight was delayed two hours. Explanations were badly needed and rarely provided. Problem seemed to clearly be the airline’s fault and not the fault of the weather or airport.

Very uncomfortable seats and seat backs, and I am only 5’9”. Delayed due to crew issues, spent a long time with no ventilation. Teeny overhead bins. Wifi worked well. Arrived safely.

I was delighted that we were able to get on the 4:40 pm flight rather than our original booking at 6:55 pm!! Other than that, the flight was comfortable and landed early😊

It was a busy flight and all the crew were very helpful and gracious

I wish the flight attendant was a little bit kinder

I always try to book flights that don’t charge for baggage. Yet I was charged $75 for this flight.

Used to love Lufthansa, but Rowe are too close together in Economy and passengers are allowed to recline their seats so far back it is impossible for those behind them to even reach for carry-on essentials during flight - except for meal service when flight attendants ask for seat backs to be raised, we can’t sleep on planes so this flight was most uncomfortable ever! Rod Rose

Food was OK.. nothing to rave about but it was tasty enough. Many choices to choose from for entertainment. Seats tight but comfortable. Flight attendants cheerful & helpful.

Horrible crowding on the seats, headphones provided did not fit or work in the entertainment center, seriously the most uncomfortable flight I have taken in a LONG time. The people in front of me were literally 5 inches from my face the entire flight. Did they change their seats recently? I remember it being tight but wow this was a whole new level. Also I am a 5'3" small woman so I can't even imagine a larger person dealing with that for 11 hrs.

Seat controls of lights were broken, and only 1 of the 2 seat TVs ever worked on the long flight. On the short flight there were no USB connections, on the long one they were difficult to access. Part of my meal was frozen, though the hot portion was good.

Lufthansa fails at mentioning no luggage when booking through points. We had to pay added fees to take checked bags to Europe for 2 weeks. The staff at check in were not helpful at all. told us "if we don't like it, then book another flight". Food was bad, they ran out of half the options. Vegetarian was terrible. The flight crew was nice, and tried to make it work ok.

The accommodations are top-notch. The only negative was that both our initial flights were delayed, which caused us to miss one and almost miss the other. The staff immediately handled the missed flight and compensated us for the inconvenience.

Food could be better quality - everything else was excellent , thanks Lufthansa team . GOD bless you!!!

The seats were tiny, being of a fairly petite build, I don’t usually expect to feel crammed and cramped in a seat, but I definitely was on this flight. I couldn’t even bend over to get anything out from under the seat in front and getting up to go to the bathroom at night with the seat backs reclined was nearly impossible. I had to do gymnastics to get over and out. For an airline that does long flights overnight, it’s kind of ridiculous.

Not connecting flights. Missed my flight from Dublin to Liverpool because I arrived at Dublin one hour too late. For this mistake, they offered me a flight from Dublin to Manchester. Thats great and all, but I waste time and money to commute to Liverpool. Be sure to check the time of your connecting flights, because they sure don’t when they sell it to you

Excellent! Great flight attendants, good food (in business class, at least), very comfortable. Touchscreen and remote wasn’t great.

The crew on board were all very pleasant and happy to help. The flight had the old business class seats. The departure board in the business lounge did not update and kept on saying ' gate open' but never said boarding. When I got nervous about the departure time and walked to the gate I was told off rudely for being late.

This was an American Airlines flight. The crew were very unhappy and quite grumpy. Abrupt to the point of being rude. The food was dreadful. Indeed the breakfast was in edible. I will avoid AA at all costs in the future.

We have business class seats from Los Angeles to London. The crew is friendly and provided great service. The flight was very comfortable and very smooth. Will use this airlines again in the future.

Asked for a wheelchair multiple times. Got denied the wheelchair in London layover.

Flight delayed Got bags after 5 days Delivery of bags was done 500 meters as driver did not want to go into my street

It was below average experience overall. They did not have my food choice which was selected a month ago for 8+ hour flight. After landing I waited to collect my bag but my bag did not come and I wasn’t told it was delayed or lost. I had to find someone to help me to locate it and it was sent through next flight. Overall I would say at wasn’t very good experience

Great service and air hostesses, took care of all activities very well and smooth

Book cheap flights from San Francisco to Cape Town

Recent one-way flight deals

 
Only flying one-way? Below are some of the best one-way flight deals from San Francisco to Cape Town found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
8/25Sun
3 stops
45h 59mSFO-CPT
$832
8/25Sun
2 stops
59h 09mSFO-CPT
$836
8/8Thu
2 stops
59h 09mSFO-CPT
$870
6/12Wed
2 stopsLufthansa
27h 55mSFO-CPT
$926
6/7Fri
2 stopsLufthansa
35h 20mSFO-CPT
$1,046
8/23Fri
2 stopsDelta
32h 25mSFO-CPT
$1,212
6/11Tue
2 stopsUnited Airlines
31h 40mSFO-CPT
$1,218
6/19Wed
2 stopsDelta
36h 18mSFO-CPT
$1,245
7/12Fri
1 stopTurkish Airlines
32h 15mSFO-CPT
$3,335
6/20Thu
1 stopTurkish Airlines
32h 15mSFO-CPT
$3,599

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Last minute flights from San Francisco to Cape Town

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

 
These last-minute flight deals are the cheapest flights found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours for flights from San Francisco to Cape Town that are departing in the next 10 days.
5/6Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
33h 40mSFO-CPT
5/27Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
33h 50mCPT-SFO
$1,394
5/6Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
33h 40mSFO-CPT
6/7Fri
multi-stopQatar Airways
33h 50mCPT-SFO
$1,487
5/6Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
33h 40mSFO-CPT
5/27Mon
multi-stopQatar Airways
53h 24mCPT-SFO
$1,492
5/6Mon
multi-stopEmirates
33h 30mSFO-CPT
6/7Fri
multi-stopEmirates
28h 40mCPT-SFO
$1,614
5/5Sun
multi-stopUnited Airlines
30h 11mSFO-CPT
6/7Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
33h 55mCPT-SFO
$1,981
5/5Sun
multi-stopDelta
35h 40mSFO-CPT
6/7Fri
multi-stopDelta
25h 24mCPT-SFO
$2,009
5/6Mon
multi-stopDelta
35h 45mSFO-CPT
5/18Sat
multi-stopDelta
28h 13mCPT-SFO
$2,043
5/4Sat
multi-stopTurkish Airlines
32h 15mSFO-CPT
5/11Sat
multi-stopTurkish Airlines
33h 05mCPT-SFO
$2,717
5/5Sun
multi-stopTurkish Airlines
32h 15mSFO-CPT
5/28Tue
multi-stopTurkish Airlines
33h 05mCPT-SFO
$5,823
5/5Sun
multi-stopBritish Airways
38h 10mSFO-CPT
5/28Tue
multi-stopBritish Airways
32h 15mCPT-SFO
$8,460

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San Francisco - Cape Town Flights

Departure:

San Francisco (SFO)United States

Destination:

Cape Town (CPT)South Africa

Return flight deals:

Cape Town - San Francisco

Cabin classes:

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