Cape Maclear is "a leading tourist destination", and is the busiest resort on Lake Malawi. The area is popular with backpackers. There are bars, restaurants, lodges and guesthouses in the town. Activities available in Cape Maclear include snorkelling, hiking, boat cruises, kayaking, and diving. In October 2001, the Malawian government invited investors to fund a $6,000,000 construction of a new 150-room, four-star hotel at Cape Maclear. In June 2003, plans were announced to build an ecolodge on Maleri Island, near Cape Maclear. In February 2005, the Malawian government announced plans to increase ecotourism at Cape Maclear with new accommodation and facilities. These plans proved too ambitious for the fragile Malawian economy and tourist industry.

In 1859, the missionary and explorer David Livingstone found the Cape, and named it "Cape Maclear" after his friend, the astronomer Thomas Maclear, who was Her Majesty's Astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope. In October 1875, a new mission, "Livingstonia", was set up by a group of members of the Free Church of Scotland. Before the missionaries arrived, the area was controlled by the Muslim Yao people. The graves of some of the missionaries are in Cape Maclear, overlooking the bay. Although Cape Maclear had a good harbour, the poor soil in the area, and the prevalence of the tsetse fly, meant a more suitable base had to be found; the mission moved to Bandawe, near Chintheche, in 1882.

When someday comes you'll need to get in.

When someday comes you'll need to be able to get around.