WAS - CPT

$592 Find Cheap Flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town departing on 2/7. 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
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

KAYAK searches 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 Washington, D.C. to Cape Town.
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town.
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Everything you should know

Cheapest round-trip
$1,256
American Airlines
Tue 2/24Thu 3/5
BWI - CPT • 2 stops
Cheapest non-stop
$1,336
Typical prices: $1,526-$2,505
United Airlines
Sat 1/17Fri 1/30
IAD - CPT • Non-stop
Our travelers' advice
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
Dulles offers convenient connections via the Silver Line.
CPT's shuttle services ease access to Cape Town CBD.
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Expert advice
Top airlines
American Airlines
Cheapest • from $1,335 (round-trip)
Delta
Best reviews • 7.9 score
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
+1
Airline reviews
Airline reviews
+1
Top routes
IAD-CPT
Cheapest
IAD-CPT
Most popular
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to book
2 weeks
in advance
Our data shows that travelers who book at least 2 weeks in advance save around 6% compared to booking last minute.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to travel
March
Cheapest • 25% price drop
December
Most popular
Good to know
Good to know
+1
+1
Good to know
Good to know
+1
Nonstop flights
3 days a week
There are direct flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town 3 days a week: Mon, Thu, Sat.
Direct flights
Direct flights
Direct flights
Direct flights
Start a new search
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We hope you love your trip to Cape Town!
Flight Deals
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Expert advice
Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town (WAS-CPT)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. 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 for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town

Tue, Feb 24 - Thu, Mar 5
American Airlines Logo
6:37 pm - 8:05 am
BWI
-
CPT
30h 28m2 stops
American Airlines Logo
6:55 pm - 6:45 pm
CPT
-
BWI
30h 50m1 stop
$1,256American Airlines
Tue, Feb 24 - Thu, Mar 5
American Airlines Logo
6:37 pm - 8:05 am
BWI
-
CPT
30h 28m2 stops
American Airlines Logo
10:10 pm - 5:04 pm
CPT
-
BWI
25h 54m2 stops
$1,276American Airlines
Sat, Feb 21 - Sat, Feb 28
Ethiopian Air Logo
8:50 pm - 1:45 pm
IAD
-
CPT
33h 55m2 stops
Ethiopian Air Logo
1:50 pm - 8:00 am
CPT
-
IAD
25h 10m2 stops
$1,296Ethiopian Air
Sat, Jan 17 - Fri, Jan 30
Multiple Airlines Logo
6:31 pm - 10:20 am
DCA
-
CPT
32h 49m2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
8:50 pm - 7:08 pm
CPT
-
DCA
29h 18m2 stops
$1,303Multiple Airlines
Mon, Mar 2 - Fri, Mar 20
British Airways Logo
7:52 pm - 12:10 pm
BWI
-
CPT
33h 18m2 stops
British Airways Logo
6:55 pm - 7:45 pm
CPT
-
BWI
30h 50m1 stop
$1,320British Airways
Wed, Mar 18 - Wed, Mar 25
British Airways Logo
9:35 pm - 12:40 pm
BWI
-
CPT
33h 05m2 stops
British Airways Logo
6:55 pm - 7:45 pm
CPT
-
BWI
30h 50m1 stop
$1,325British Airways
Tue, Jun 9 - Wed, Jun 17
Ethiopian Air Logo
10:55 am - 1:45 pm
IAD
-
CPT
20h 50m1 stop
Ethiopian Air Logo
2:35 pm - 8:55 am
CPT
-
IAD
24h 20m2 stops
$1,329Ethiopian Air
Sat, Jan 17 - Fri, Jan 30
United Airlines Logo
6:45 pm - 4:10 pm
IAD
-
CPT
14h 25mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
8:50 pm - 6:00 am
CPT
-
IAD
16h 10mnonstop
$1,336United Airlines
Sat, Jan 17 - Fri, Jan 30
United Airlines Logo
6:45 pm - 4:10 pm
IAD
-
CPT
14h 25mnonstop
United Airlines Logo
8:50 pm - 6:00 am
CPT
-
IAD
16h 10mnonstop
$1,337United Airlines
Sat, Feb 21 - Mon, Mar 2
Delta Logo
1:40 pm - 7:15 pm
DCA
-
CPT
22h 35m1 stop
Delta Logo
9:30 pm - 11:14 am
CPT
-
DCA
20h 44m1 stop
$1,352Delta
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Washington, D.C. to Cape Town flights

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

What is the cheapest Washington, D.C. to Cape Town flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest return flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town costs $1,387 on the route between Washington, D.C. Dulles Intl Airport (IAD) and Cape Town (CPT). It is also the most popular route.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

Your flight ticket price will generally be cheaper if you fly to Cape Town on a Wednesday and more expensive on a Thursday. On your return trip to Washington, D.C., you should consider flying back on a Wednesday, and avoid Saturdays for better deals.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. to Cape Town is March, where tickets cost $1,102 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and July, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,837 and $1,661 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town, you should book around 2 weeks before departure, which saves you about 6% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 3 weeks before departure.

Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town

 
AI-powered summary based on content written by travel experts. AI can make mistakes.
KAYAK teamed up with top travel experts to share the best tips for your journey.
Airports
IAD

For international flights, Dulles offers convenient connections with the Silver Line Metro, taking about 50 minutes to downtown D.C.

CPT

Upon arrival at CPT, shuttle services provide easy access to Cape Town CBD and other destinations in the Western Cape.

Our travel experts
Daniel Scheffler

Daniel Scheffler

Expert on CPT

Daniel Scheffler

Daniel Scheffler

Daniel Scheffler is a travel writer, podcaster, and producer. Born in Africa, bred in Europe and now living in America he has traveled to 140 countries (and all 50 U.S. states). Plus he has stayed at over 2500 hotels across the globe. His original shows Everywhere and Without Maps (available on Spotify) showcase his beliefs, travel is about humanity and sharing that beauty. And thus it reminds you that you shouldn’t believe everything you think.

Read more
Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Expert on IAD

Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek is a freelance space, travel, and design writer based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her words have appeared in Space.com, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, and House Beautiful, among other publications. An expert in aviation and expedition cruising, Stefanie is frequently up in the air or on the sea, likely en route to Antarctica or the Arctic.

Read more

Good to know

Low seasonAugust
Cheapest flight$592
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 5% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 25% increase in price.
Flight from Washington Dulles Airport to Cape Town

When to book flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. to Cape Town

  • What is the cheapest flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town was $592 for a one-way ticket and $1,256 for a round-trip.

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Washington, D.C. and Cape Town?

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

  • Which airports will I be using when flying from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

    Washington, D.C. has 2 major airports: Washington, D.C. Reagan-National and Washington, D.C. Dulles Intl. Cape Town Intl is the only airport in Cape Town. You’ll usually find the cheapest deals if you fly from Washington Dulles Airport.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

    The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Washington, D.C. to Cape Town flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

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

  • On which days can I fly direct from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

    You can catch a nonstop flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town on on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town, Emirates or Delta?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town are Emirates and Delta. With an average price for the route of $1,514 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 $1,597 and an overall rating of 7.9.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. to Cape Town.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cape Town from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $1,188 or less one-way and $1,437 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly direct from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town Intl.
Find which airlines fly direct from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town Intl Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Washington, D.C. to Cape Town Intl

Monday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Thursday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Saturday

United Airlines

United Airlines

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Cape Town Intl to Washington, D.C.

Tuesday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Friday

United Airlines

United Airlines

Sunday

United Airlines

United Airlines

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. 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.
7.9
DeltaOverall score based on 8007 reviews
7.9Entertainment
7.3Food
8.5Crew
8.1Boarding
7.9Comfort
Airline reviews

Great. I had to modify a flight. That was easy and free. Thank You

10.0 ExcellentOlumuyiwa, Dec 2025
DTW - ATL
Read more Delta reviews

Great. I had to modify a flight. That was easy and free. Thank You

I noticed that the planes seem to be outdated. There was no entertainment per se. Also, the waiting area did not have any working electrical outlets

None of the airplane features were available during the flight.

Original flight was cancelled and when i was rebooked by the airline, they couldn't seat me in the same type of seat as I had originally booked (went from window/aisle to middle/middle and one was a bulkhead seat, and other wasn't in the same class)

Lady Pilot was perfect in every way wheels up to wheels down communication, professionalism, excellent on time departure and on time arrival, excellent communication! Fantastic job with Superb attitude!!

The food is terrible. The staff is wonderful. Comfort is good.

Left on time, a bit delayed due to headwinds most of the trip.

I fly Delta all the time, have Platinum Medallion status. But this route seems to have major problems with delays and seems to never leave on time! Have only taken it twice in the last two weeks, and each time it had delays of more than 1 hour... very disappointed!!!!

Getting to the flight was arduous and lengthy. The flight itself was good but the food option wasn’t a good selection. I need to do a Kosher option on my return. Flight crew were nice

Good seats in Main cabin, excellent service and excellent landing

Not great experience - we were super late boarding due to issues with aircraft. Then when we finally all got onboard and seated and they started taxiing out to the runway they just stopped then turned around and went back to the airport. Apparently the crew “ran out of time” to legally fly us. They mentioned that they were about 2 minutes away from taking off. I understand the rules and safety but kinda wonder why they would have bothered boarding us in the first place? Had to go all the way back and de plane and then wait in a HUGE line to get a hotel (this is somewhere around 2:30am) finally got to hotel by Uber (no shuttle after 20min so gave up) and they ended up putting us all back on the same aircraft at 10am next morning so got about 2.5 hours sleep. They did give us. $250 credit, but it was a São Paulo Brazil flight out of Dulles. The flight and everything was fine.

Starlink wifi on the Embraer E175 is an excellent experience. I was able to connect and work from IAD all the way to approach into BTV.

7 hours delayed due to operational issues on United’s end. Basically laziness.

Short flight but an "eager to help" crew made the journey more enjoyable!

During booking, I kept trying submitting my payment from the Mexican website and it didn't work. After I had the idea to change it to the Canadian website, it worked but I had to be charged the equivalent of 50 CAD more. I received the clear instruction that I would only be able to check-in at the airport and that it was impossible to select a seat 24 hours before departure, that I had to pay 144 CAD to do so, although not only was I able to check-in 24 hours before departure, but I could have selected my seats for free then. All in all, I almost threw $200 out the window due to misleading information. Besides, the app kept crashing, the information to get to the gate on the app was inaccurate, my gate was switched and I was only informed once in the air (luckily I had noticed the departure pannel), I was not addressed in my language beforehand and even if I tried I was immediately answered in English (which meant the crew understood but didn't want to answer accordingly), there was only one snack & beverage service on my medium haul flight and no beverage service on my short haul flight. To be fair, the planes were comfortable, the crew apart from the language issue was helpful, dynamic and engaging, the plane was clean and the directions were clear and direct. United has a lot of potential to be one of my favourite airlines, but the devil is in the details and a lot of them missed the target.

Better WiFi. I cannot understand that in 2025, United is so behind on a technology that is now a necessity and still painfully unreliable, slow and keeps disconnecting.

Great service on board. Boarding a bit slow due to process. Food was pretty average.

Very small cramped plane for an international flight. Everything else was good, but it was maybe the smallest comfort-wise I've ever been on for longer than 3-4 hours and the trip was 7.5

Flight was delayed 3 hours. No food and drink vouchers was provided. They offered a mini pretzel bag and water .

Staff was rude. Didn’t give water for 2 hours. Worst service

it was like a banya -so hot... They did provide a great experience with special food. one toilet broke midflight In general it was a peaceful and relaxing flight - for business class it was good.

Chicago to Istanbul was a much better experience than I expected since I’m more accustomed to Qatar Airways business class. The business lounge in the Istanbul airport was amazing - loved the lockers and phone charging stations, and the bathroom was a spa experience in itself. The onward leg from Istanbul to Karachi was utterly disappointing. Terrible plane, and I felt like I was in economy - the seats don’t come near to lying flat and the food was mediocre. What a sad downgrade - it isn’t as though the ticket on that leg was cheaper. So, on that front, there’s no contest with Qatar airways.

Second leg of Turkish Airline with Indigo is disaster for following reason. 1) You have to carry your cabin bags through ladder to boeing 777 because it was parked somewhere in parking lot and was not given a gate to board passengers and this seems to be people traveling to and fro from those flights and is not issue with flight itself. 2) I choose non vegetarian food on Turkish portal way ahead of checkin to entire trip, However the Indigo flight gave me random veg food saying they code veg food code from Turkish. 3) Indigo did not served any alcoholic beverages stating some weird reason which is non nonsensical. 4)Indigo have TV screens in front of you but it displays nothing except "Welcome Onboard" with annoying white black ground in dark flight. This is the most stupidest and annoying part because you are held hostage for 7 hours and only thing you could do is stare back at white screen which does not have entertainment package or even flight tracker. Such a shame.

nice and clean plane but the seats and the comfort was not what i expected. i expected more based on all the ads and reviews that i've read. I guess you get what you pay for in economy.

Overall it was good. Food was bad. I ordered gluten free vegetarian meal. But I got gluten free chicken for my long flight from Seattle to Istanbul. I don’t eat any kind of meat. Second meal I got eggplant with meat which I couldn’t eat. I don’t understand why we can’t get gluten free vegetarian meal for a 12 hour flight. I eat the bread and that was it.

Worse worse worse, i would not recommend this airline to anyone. Istanbul airport maybe State of the Art facility but staff is rude, only works if they get tips, and they push you to give tips even though my family had spent $50 in tips. Airline staff doesn't speak english so you really can't understand them. It was a nightmare travelling with Turkish. Never again.

As a big guy the seats are way too small for me. Would prefer more comfortable seats on these long haul flights.

My flight was canceled 1 minute before boarding. The customer service was owful, no one could tell us what was going happened. I spent 30hrs instead of 15 from Washington DC to Brussels. No apologie or help

Boeing 777 is a bad choice for a such a long flight.

The staff at IST airport could have been more helpful. Too much wasted time and the plane from IST to KHI was just horrible. The plane was not clean and smelled bad!

Did not understand a single word the attendant said on the pa system. I was glad it was not an emergency.

Flight was late and boarding was confusing because gate changed and I didn’t get a notification

Gate was overcrowded. Gate agents performed very well. Flight crew was top notch! Efficient & professional & courteous. Both meals not thermalized well. Dinner main dish was actually cold in the center. Almost inedible. Breakfast sandwich was lukewarm.

The boarding was as always, the crew tried their best but not enough. The food was a disaster I had dietary restrictions that were half met because the company did not loaded the food for the flight. The entertainment screen was fine but content was not and also they removed the free messaging option from the flight and they charged 30 dollars for that crappy bandwidth. This flight is not worth the cost and the company is going down on quality.

Not comparable to Qatar Airways services on flights to Doha. Flight attendants provided basic services; I was never recognized by name or as an Executive Platinum member. Restrooms were not kept clean during the flight.

Awful. They won’t help me with anything. I booked on American but they abdicated to Iberia. The ticket was overpriced. Everything negative

it was fine, decent flight... dont get food besides cookies or pretzels so not sure why you ask about food. same for entertainment..

I got sick nothing contagious but distressing and the care I received by Kayla? Keighly the flight attendant will be memorable for ever. Thank You

I got sick nothing contagious but distressing enough and the care I received on the flight was astounding.

We were told the flight was delayed 5 times, then it was moved to the next day.

Check in took over an hour because printer was not working. Attendant did not know how to give free layover Addis Ababa hotel vouchers or update frequent flyer number. After repeated attempts, got voucher emailed. However hotel wanted printed voucher hence more delay. Bus time from hotel back to airport was printed 4:50 hours, but hotel reception called at 3 pm saying bus will leave at 4 pm. Then hotel reception called again saying 4:15 pm. We rushed at 4:15 pm and bus was not ready until 4:40 pm. Many audio outlets were not working in planes.

It is nice and great but the houstees crew are all the way back arguing with customers and behavior issues same of the crew i saw that also all the trips were very much butter!

The crew was not helping us in the airports ..Very bad experience..the washrooms are not meeting the expectations..need more good service... The hotel service was good but there is a very long wait time which wasted time to go through..

They only gave us 30 minutes to make an international connecting flight. We didn’t make the connection but they did do a good job rebooking us despite the chaos. Our bags didn’t make it back and their process for customer support is pretty bad when it comes to luggage.

The Boeing 737 MAX on this route, flown in the middle of the night, is an UTTER FAILURE for business travellers. The whole point of business travel is to arrive alert and recover from travel quickly, and this little aeroplane with its quarter recline uncomfortable business seats does nothing for that. It’s a small step up from economy in that you have decent legroom, but that’s it. Absolute margin at the cost of the traveller.

Good. Crew do seem to be less friendly- management are clearly limiting them or not empowering them as they used to.

The food was terrible and the seating was uncomfortable, but the airline did a great thing letting us board in Abbis Ababa on our connecting flight after our original flight was very delayed.

Food hardly ever changes Videos not often updated for often travel.

Traveling with Ethiopian is always a good experience. I also enjoy the stay at skylight hotel in Addis

The flight is packed and it feels like the space per individual has gotten smaller. Excruciating for a 14hr flight.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town

Information on your arrival and departure airports