WAS - CPT

$610 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 11/23. 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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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

Thu, Jan 22 - Tue, May 12
Multiple Airlines Logo
9:15 pm - 2:35 pmIAD-CPT
34h 20m2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 11:35 amCPT-IAD
34h 35m2 stops
$1,168Multiple Airlines
Find Deal
Tue, Dec 9 - Fri, Dec 12
Multiple Airlines Logo
1:30 pm - 10:50 pmIAD-CPT
50h 20m2 stops
Multiple Airlines Logo
7:00 am - 11:45 amCPT-IAD
35h 45m2 stops
$1,175Multiple Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, Apr 16 - Sat, Apr 25
Ethiopian Air Logo
9:20 pm - 2:35 pmIAD-CPT
35h 15m2 stops
Ethiopian Air Logo
1:50 pm - 8:55 amCPT-IAD
25h 05m2 stops
$1,183Ethiopian Air
Find Deal
Mon, Mar 23 - Thu, Mar 26
Ethiopian Air Logo
11:00 am - 2:35 pmIAD-CPT
21h 35m1 stop
Ethiopian Air Logo
1:50 pm - 9:00 amCPT-IAD
25h 10m2 stops
$1,184Ethiopian Air
Find Deal
Sat, Nov 15 - Fri, Nov 21
Turkish Airlines Logo
1:30 pm - 11:50 amIAD-CPT
39h 20m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
5:15 pm - 7:20 pmCPT-IAD
33h 05m1 stop
$1,185Turkish Airlines
Find Deal
Sun, Nov 16 - Sat, Nov 22
Turkish Airlines Logo
9:15 pm - 11:50 amIAD-CPT
31h 35m1 stop
Turkish Airlines Logo
5:15 pm - 11:45 amCPT-IAD
25h 30m1 stop
$1,199Turkish Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, Feb 11 - Sun, Feb 22
Delta Logo
1:02 pm - 7:15 pmBWI-CPT
23h 13m1 stop
Delta Logo
9:30 pm - 3:40 pmCPT-BWI
25h 10m1 stop
$1,302Delta
Find Deal
Wed, Feb 11 - Sun, Feb 22
Delta Logo
6:00 pm - 7:15 pmDCA-CPT
18h 15m1 stop
Delta Logo
9:30 pm - 2:40 pmCPT-DCA
24h 10m1 stop
$1,302Delta
Find Deal
Wed, Mar 18 - Wed, Mar 25
United Airlines Logo
6:00 pm - 5:00 pmDCA-CPT
17h 00m1 stop
United Airlines Logo
7:50 pm - 10:29 amCPT-DCA
20h 39m1 stop
$1,352United Airlines
Find Deal
Fri, Feb 6 - Sat, Feb 14
United Airlines Logo
4:15 pm - 5:20 pmDCA-CPT
42h 05m2 stops
United Airlines Logo
8:50 pm - 9:29 amCPT-DCA
19h 39m1 stop
$1,362United Airlines
Find Deal

Everything you should know

Our travelers' advice
AI-generated summary based on content written by travel experts
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
Ethiopian Air
Cheapest • from $1,183 (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 17% compared to booking last minute.
Insights
Insights
Insights
Insights
When to travel
March
Cheapest • 22% 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
Cheapest round-trip
$1,168
Overall average: $1,343
Multiple Airlines
Thu 1/22Tue 5/12
IAD - CPT • 2 stops
Cheapest non-stop
$1,337
Typical prices: $1,313-$1,545
United Airlines
Mon 1/26Tue 2/10
IAD - CPT • Non-stop
Start a new search
KAYAK searches 100s of sites at once to find you the best travel deals.
We hope you love your trip to Cape Town!
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 $1,338 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 Saturday. On your return trip to Washington, D.C., you should consider flying back on a Wednesday, and avoid Fridays 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 $1,142 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and July, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,713 and $1,657 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 17% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 13 weeks before departure.

Expert advice

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

 
Snippets provided in this section are AI-generated based on a summarization of KAYAK-commissioned articles. The articles are presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the articles are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others.
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.

Read more about IADby Stefanie Waldek
CPT

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

Read more about CPTby Daniel Scheffler
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$610
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 6% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 17% 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 $610 for a one-way ticket and $1,168 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 $1,595 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 $1,436 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 7998 reviews
7.9Comfort
7.9Entertainment
8.2Boarding
7.3Food
8.5Crew
Airline reviews

Everything went well and was good. Nothing exceptional, but no complaints either. Cheap seats are pretty comfortable.

8.0 ExcellentPAULINA, Oct 2025LAS - ATL
Read more Delta reviews

Everything went well and was good. Nothing exceptional, but no complaints either. Cheap seats are pretty comfortable.

Staff were friendly and happy. Delta could make sure passengers that don't have the app know of changes. Without Kayak I would not have known about the change of gate or the delay. Kayak was faster to notify me.

They ended up paying for the bag twice, but the counter wouldn't take my baggage receipt. Left it to me to resolve. Not sure how to resolve the issue.

The customer service before board was very rude and when I expressed my concerns about making the connecting flight she laughed and told me I bought the wrong ticket. I explained once it showed the flight was delayed it no longer let me change seats or anything. I was trying to upgrade to make sure I would get to the next gate on time.

Non stop on long haul is the way to go. Great experience

The aircraft interior is old and tired on this aircraft. The entertainment system never worked despite the crews attempt to reset the system.

The flight used a B767 with a very old interior from before 2014. The entertainment system did not work at all during the flight despite attempts to reset the system. It was like they flew this route just to be competitive.

Old plane and old configuration/seats but still comfortable for a morning flight

They changed planes and the new plane couldn’t carry enough fuel to fly across the country so we had to stop in Kansas City to refuel. Flight was delayed .

Flight was too crowded and seats are too small, especially since passengrs are getting larger. Having a middle seat is ALWAYS tough! Woman on my left was large & kept creeping in to my space. Flight personnel were great! Have more savory rather than sweet snacks please.

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

Was on time until within 1 hour of flight-how does that happen? Staff very friendly.

I liked the choice of lemon ginger tea. I think stewardesses can be more considerate of older people needs.

We were given vouchers we couldn’t use with a 5.5 hour delay

I fly UAL 7-8 times per year. This flight was not up to snuff because it boarded very late "due to unexpected delays in restocking the plane" and yet Flight Aware showed the plane had landed some 10 hours earlier--so I think they could have planned accordingly. The FA's were nice but harried. The video system had to be rebooted 3-4 times. The food service was rather abrupt; they forgot my row and when I asked for my meal, they brought it with some impatience. Overall, the flight was fine, but the little details made it feel somewhat mundane and hurried.

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!

This is my 2nd time with the Turkish airline. Would definitely recommend. In stability we connected to Indiago would not recommend, very cramped seating. No inflight entertainment..service was inferior.

I wouldn't know what the flight was like. AI canceled my flight reservation!! There's no way to speak to an actual human to fix the issue! NEVER AGAIN! ALWAYS BOOK YOUR FLIGHT DIRECTLY WITH THE AIRLINE NEVER GO THROUGH KAYAK OR JUSTFLY.COM!!

Paying extra for premium seats was wasted. Turkish Airlines takes 2 seats for bassinet. The lady next to me had a baby with bassinet Bassinet was in front of my seat

Rude staff. I would avoid using the word racist but definitely partially or discriminatory. My 72 yrs old mother who is also disabled was traveling on this flight. She was the second passenger boarded to the plane. The First elderly couple ahead of my mother were allowed to use the airplane bathroom but my mother was denied entry stating it was for safety reasons. My mother objected the the couple in front of her were allowed but hostess still stated that due to the flight safety reasons she can’t use it. Even my mother explained that he is using blood pressure medication that’s why she have to use the restroom frequently but the crew continued arguing her. At one point the Mae attendent even suggested that if that’s the case my mother can urinate in her seat. The level of disrespect against an elderly lady is beyond my comprehension. This matter will be taken to the social media to shame the employees involved.

my experience was great with Turkish airlines . the problem i encountered was with kayak booking. When I booked . it showed that im allowed a bag . and when I got to the airport, i had to pay $165 for one bag.

Not up to Business Class standards. Two of the three toilets were out of order. The hostesses were aware and didn’t show any responsible act to do something. Food quality was not what we expect from Turkish hospitality. Overall we were not impressed and disappointed.

During mid flight, try to get a flight attendant to help I couldn’t find one Otherwise, everything was perfect

Wish some foods provided rather than just biscuit/cookie for flight more than 2 hours

Wish a flight with more than 2 hours with some snack rather than just cookie/biscuit.

The flight attendant, a black woman with curly hair who sat near Row 21, was wonderful and kind.

It was good..clean, comfy seat. Friendly warm welcoming crew. Was able to check my cabin luggage at the gate which I was able to pickup in a decent time from baggage claim. The app gave all updates from delays to baggage claim info. Overall smooth flight.

Flight was delayed leaving Dallas. Arrived about 2 hours later than scheduled.

Flight delayed and missed connection. Rescheduled flight cancelled after 6 hrs wait. Rerouted thru ORD, flight cancelled, overnight stay in ORD. Still in the air on new flight!

We are too tired and frustrated to comment politely at this point

Terrible. Our luggage was delayed and couldn’t be delivered for several days. We got bad information from the airline agents at baggage claim. We had to pick up our car so we wouldn’t be charged for an extra day. We got lost in the maze of airport parking. The baggage claim agents didn’t offer us any compensation for our extra time and expense. We are tired, hungry and very frustrated.

The flight was flawless and we even arrived between 20 and 25 minutes early!

The only thing to like was that we eventually got to our destination

Need to do a lot of improvement on service and cleaness

My recent experience with ASKY Airlines was disappointing. The check-in process was disorganized, and I was provided with inaccurate information regarding baggage requirements, resulting in unforeseen expenses. Additionally, the ground staff demonstrated a lack of professionalism and appeared insufficiently trained to handle passenger needs effectively. Regrettably, this initial encounter has left me reluctant to consider future travel with the airline.

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.

It was an old aircraft, stiff seats almost wooden chairs with thin cushions. Food was ok.

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.

Forgotten Suite inside of the top compartment but went back to ask and they didn’t leave at the lost and found place. Also the checking in was so horrible. I had multi city and one of the passenger saint have visa go go go Dubai. The Ethiopian airlines never had information about requirement for US permanent resident so couldn’t go to Dubai. And when coming back to US we were told we can not use our Addis to Washington ticket and they forced us to get new ticket. Very horrible experience.

I had a comfortable seat that makes my trip wonderful. I appreciate the Ethiopia crew, they were very helpful

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

Information on your arrival and departure airports

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