DIRECT Cape Town
Curated, short-term travel experience
African Adventure Add-On Available
2027 Dates & Prices Publicly Available on August 24th, 2026
Adventure
Service
Personal Development
Best For
Adventurous students
New travelers
Once in a lifetime experience
Highlights
12 days
-
Personal development workshops & reflections
-
Optional adventures like African safari, elephant sanctuary & shark cage diving
-
Service-learning with local partners
-
Hike Table Mountain, see African penguins & tour the city of Cape Town
-
Balance of inclusion & free time
Overview
Join us for your ideal summer adventure on DIRECT Cape Town. Combining adrenaline pumping adventures with an impactful personal development curriculum and community engagement, your participation on DIRECT Cape Town will set you apart from your peers. The itinerary focuses on highlights of the city including one day of hand-on community service and plenty of free time to explore on your own. You will tour the must-see attractions, hike Table Mountain and mingle with African penguins on Boulders Beach. Your typical day may start with a leadership lesson on your personal values followed by a tour of the southwestern tip of the African continent, the Cape of Good Hope. Over dinner, you will reflect on your accomplishments of the day while also recounting the connection you made with community members the day prior during our community visits. Whether you’ve never traveled outside of the country or if this is your first time on a plane, our Cape Town staff will ensure you are prepared for a transformative experience abroad.
Next Steps
Request a Sample Itinerary and Join the Priority List!
LeadAbroad makes it easy to study abroad. To learn more about our programs, fill out your information and our team will be in touch soon!
What's Included
Let us do the planning so you can stress less and travel more. Your program fee covers many of the expenses of your time abroad.
Bucket List Adventures
Cape Town is an adrenaline lover’s dream. By stepping outside of your comfort zone with your peers, you will leave this program with incomparable life-long friendships. You have opportunities to hike Table Mountain, experience sand-boarding and even skydive all in one city with your new best friends. We partner with a local adventure company to ensure signing up for one or two extra adventures is safe and hassle-free. Also, if you want to maximize your DIRECT program and take it to the next level, most students book the African Adventure Add-On. This iconic adventure package offers the chance to cage dive with sharks, go on a safari game drive to see Africa’s Big 5 up close and make a new best friend at the elephant sanctuary. You can also sign up separately to take a leap at the world’s highest commercial bungee jump or join a group of like-minded students for a sunrise hike. No matter your appetite for adventure, Cape Town has options for you!
Community Engagement & Service
We believe there is nothing more powerful than service to take your international experience to the next level. The community engagement day is often the highlight of our students’ experience in Cape Town. Each year we work with community leaders and NGO’s to identify how to best support initiatives in local communities. Some of our favorite past projects include running after school programming for local youth, partnering with families in Sir Lowry’s Pass, preparing meals at a local food kitchen, school beautification projects and business consulting for young entrepreneurs.
Personal Development
Traveling abroad can bring a renewed sense of confidence and clarity to your life during a pivotal time. Our staff works to maximize this opportunity by facilitating personal development workshops and creating space to pause and reflect on all that you are experiencing. Each meeting will have a unique focus ranging from your personal strengths, practicing gratitude, creating your vision statement or identifying your values. Through guided conversations, these personal development exercises will provide an invaluable sense of purpose and direction for your life.
Behind the Scenes:
An inside look into life as a Cape Town student!
