Explore South Africa by province
Beach stays in South Africa
75+ results in South Africa
South Africa has one coastline and two oceans, and which one you are on decides the holiday. The Atlantic side, from the Cape Peninsula up the west coast, is cold, clear and dramatic: white sand, kelp, fishing villages and water most people look at rather than swim in. The Indian Ocean side warms as you go east, from the whale bays of the Overberg through the lagoons of the Garden Route to the subtropical KwaZulu-Natal coast, where the sea is swimmable in every month of the year.
The seasons run against each other. The Cape beaches are a summer proposition, from November to March, when the days are long and the southeaster is the only complaint. The Overberg is a winter and spring destination, because that is when the southern right whales are calving close enough to shore to watch from a cliff path. KwaZulu-Natal has its best beach weather in the dry winter, May to August, when it is warm, dry and far less humid than in summer.
Every stay on this page is in a coastal town, which is a deliberately conservative test: a photo of the sea is not the same thing as being on it. Pair a beach trip with surfing, whale watching, sea kayaking, or the sea-rescue and seabird causes that a booking on this coast helps fund.