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Beaches of South Africa
South Africa sits at the very tip of Africa and the East, West and South coastlines have some spectacular beaches for you to enjoy. These are not the palm and coconut beaches that are found in Mozambique and Zanzibar, but are cooler waters, refreshed by the Atlantic’s Benguerra current!
The sea around Cape Town is cold, but the beaches more than make up for this by being some of the coolest and fashionable urban beaches in the world! Clifton and Camps Bay are Cape Town’s most famous beaches, with The Bay Hotel holding a commanding position directly on to the beachfront. At Boulders Beach Guest House you are a stones throw from Boulders Beach where you can swim with Penguins. One of our particular favorite beach destinations is Birkenhead House in Hermanus, this ultra luxurious boutique hotel is built on the cliffs right next to the best swimming beaches in Hermanus. In the Garden Route Plettenberg Bay is a popular destination. In the Kwazulu Natal region has the added benefit of being close to the warm Indian Ocean where dolphins come and play in the surf.

Specific Warm Water Beaches


Cape Vidal, way up northeast towards Mozambique and part of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park - a World Heritage Site - is the place to combine wildlife walks and great beaches in South Africa. Loggerhead and leatherback turtles lay their eggs around here mid-October to mid-February, humpback whales cruise by about June-July, the bush is alive with wildlife including elephants, and hippos.

Umhlanga [Rocks], 20 minutes north of Durban. Another monster beach with fine sand and solid waves that might deter toddler bathing, though rocks pools offer alternative interest. Surfing is excellent and shark nets are in place unless fish are so thick that following dolphins are in danger. There is a narrow 'promenade' - more of a path, - that hugs a couple of miles of the beach. Dolphin viewing, deep sea fishing and scuba diving off wrecks and reefs are available.

Willard Beach, Ballito, about an hour north of urban Durban. An excellent family beach with soft golden sand bordered by black rocks, grass and with seafront buildings of the relaxed town set back at just the right distance. Shark nets and lifeguards ensure that swimmers in the mild surf will enjoy scuba diving, golf, quad biking, microlight flights or a few glasses of South Africa's fine wines later on.

Marina Beach is small and dune-backed, with tropical vegetation of the Empangati Nature Reserve circling behind. Marina is excellent for kids as the surf is unusually restrained and tidal pools offer hours of fun.

Margate Beach is a nearly a mile long, and wide too, bordered with coconut palms, dunes and rocks. The beach is lively, popular with families and students and has two swimming pools. All the usual facilities of showers, lifeguards etc. are in place, and there's an attractive coastal walk along to Ramsgate Beach.

Ramsgate Beach is wide and soft, with the usual moderate surf, a milkwood forest nearby and a lagoon with canoes and padaloes. The town behind the beach is discreet and relatively quiet.

Mdumbe Beach, on the Wild Coast near Coffee Bay, 10 miles SW of Umtata. This is the place for serious, first-footprint beach lovers; hard to reach but you may never leave. This is an extraordinarily beautiful, tranquil and remote kilometre of fine sand, bordered with milkwood trees, grass and contented cows.

Nature's Valley, just 18 miles past busy Plettenberg Bay and embedded in the Tsitsikamma Forest, Nature's Valley is a tiny village of wooden, unfenced houses hidden behind dunes and between trees and sporting just one shop and restaurant but 1.2 miles of spectacular sand, a lovely lagoon and no artificial entertainment at all.