About
One of the Garden Route’s two main resort towns – along with Knysna, further west – bustling ‘Plett’ is characterised by dreamy beaches and nearby Tsitsikamma Forest, a paradise for activity addicts, walkers and wildlife fans. Throw in excellent hotels, and Plett has every box ticked.
Highlights
The town borders a chain of perfect beaches – white sand, warm waters. great facilities. Central, Robberg and Keurboomstrand Beaches are the best for old-fashioned swimming and sunning, while Hobie’s breaks test surfers. To the south on a thin peninsula is Robberg Nature Reserve, famous for its Cape fur seals, but the real nature wows await north-east. Tsitsikamma Forest’s CV includes the world's highest commercial bungee jump, canopy walkways, a Waterfall Zipline adventure and the five-day, coast-hugging Otter Trail hike.
The region also offers scuba-diving, and some of South Africa’s finest whale and dolphin-spotting opportunities. Tsitsikamma is part of the wider Garden Route National Park, a glorious glut of fynbos (wildflower areas), lakes, deeply-gorged rivers and rainforest – heaven for any outdoor fan. For families seeking gentler fun, Monkeyland’s 400 primates are viewable from a suspension bridge, while Birds of Eden promises parrots and flamingos.
Getting there
Most visitors drive up the N2 motorway from Cape Town in 5-6 hours, basing themselves in Knysna or Plett for three or four nights before moving on. For lovely alternative to the first section, take the longer, more-scenic Route 62 through the beautiful Winelands, and quaint towns like Paarl, Robertson and Montagu. Later joining the Garden Route, this is known as ‘the longest wine route in the world’.
Best Time To Visit
With a temperate climate even in winter (June-September) – the mercury rarely drops below 16°C – your decision can be based on other factors. The Christmas holidays are the busiest time, while beaches quieten between February and April. Summer (December-February) can be too stifling for hiking. Whale and dolphin-watching season peaks in September.
The Best of South Africa Travel map displays the locations of the destinations and accommodation that we have selected and visited; for each item, hovering over or clicking the marker will display a short summary and photo of that place or hotel, and hotel pricing. Follow the links in the info box to the full page listing which has much more information.
Note that the online map offers both a satellite view (click satellite in the top right) and, for some locations, a street level view (Drag the person in the top left onto the map). These let you explore the country; and when you wish to explore in person, or if you have any questions about the places you see, give our staff a call, or request a quote. Our staff regularly visit the places and accommodation that we feature.
When you book a holiday with us we will provide full driving instructions for reaching your accommodation, where necessary; these can be used by yourself, or you could enjoy the luxury of a driver. Alternatively we will arrange private (car rather than coach) transfers for you; helicopter transfers are also possible for some destinations.
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