Life generally revolves around the ocean, even during the cooler winter months. PE’s Humewood beach has achieved Blue Flag status as a world-class beach venue. The city is a nature lover’s paradise, so don’t miss the boat cruises, diving opportunities, a visit to Seaview Game & Lion Park and an excursion to Bayworld, which incorporates an oceanarium, museum and snake park.
Algoa Bay, the coastal strip of Nelson Mandela Bay, has 40 km of beaches with protected areas for swimming, fishing, surfing, scuba diving, snorkelling and sailing. There is something magical about this coastal terrain. Closer to Port Elizabeth is the Seaview Game & Lion Park and the Kragga Kamma Game Park.
Another popular activity is the Apple Express steam train trip from Port Elizabeth to Thornhill, where you can take in scenic views from the highest narrow-gauge bridge in the world.
You’re in the right place if you’re an adrenalin junkie. In Port Elizabeth, you can dive with sharks at the oceanarium at Bayworld. There are other dive sites too, including fascinating wreck dives. If you’re a keen cyclist, there are 2 mountain biking trails: the 23 km Baakens River trail and the 22 km circular route along the Swartkops Valley Nature Reserve.

How to get here ( Search the Cheapest Flights )
The centrally situated Nelson Mandela Bay Airport is within easy reach from all parts of the city. There are a number of flights connecting Port Elizabeth with domestic and international destinations.

Where to stay
Whether your preference is a luxury hotel or a 5-star game lodge, a guesthouse in one of the townships or a B&B in the countryside - Port Elizabeth offers excellent and exciting possibilities.

Around the area
Port Elizabeth forms part of the Sunshine Coast, the coastal route between St Francis Bay and East London.

Attractions
Beachview, Port Elizabeth
The little village of Beachview that earned its name for obvious reasons when one considers the spectacular view of the beach from the homes here, lies on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth - about 25 kilometres from the city centre. But you’re in a different world here where beaches stretch for miles and sightings of dolphins make this a tranquil getaway from it all.
The endangered oyster catcher, along with a wide range of other birds, frequents this part of the world, where the beach joins the shores of Algoa Bay and merges with another 40 kilometres of golden sands to make up the shoreline of Port Elizabeth. This is a coastline of unspoilt sand dunes, scenic walks and a host of adventures that include birding, mountain biking and horse riding. Beachview is also close to a number of activities, should you choose to venture out. Maitland, a wonderful sandy beach with a lagoon and some of the most magnificent sand dunes is less than three kilometres from Beachview, and offers a great alternative as Beachview is not regarded as a safe swimming beach, despite its impressive view.
Seaview, home to its own Game and Lion Park, is moments away and not only takes you closer to Port Elizabeth but also has a shopping centre. And The Island, a beautiful forest area, provides beautiful walks though indigenous forest as well as picnic and braai areas.

Blue Horizon Bay, Port Elizabeth
The peaceful, little village of Blue Horizon Bay lies comfortably between Port Elizabeth and Jeffreys Bay, a seaside hamlet that offers beautiful sandy beaches, and scenery to match. Blue Horizon Bay lies almost precisely equidistant between Port Elizabeth and Jeffreys Bay, and close enough to the Garden Route to surrender to its appeal.
The real attraction of Blue Horizon Bay is the allure of a seaside holiday with waves continuously crashing in the background; days spent idly reading, picking up shells and strolling the effortless stretches of beach - and the idea of merely unwinding and relaxing in an atmosphere where little more is expected of one. Effortless seascapes and stretches of sand are enough to get anyone’s creative juices going, but if you insist on resisting the temptation to wax lyrical, then the friendly city (Port Elizabeth) with its historical attractions, and city-style entertainment in the form of shopping centres, restaurants, excellent beaches, beautiful parks and walking trails; Jeffreys Bay, one of the most renowned surfing spots in the world, and numerous easy to reach attractions, are at hand.
The Addo Elephant National Park is definitely worth a day trip, if not an overnighter, to commune with the over 450 elephants that are the park’s major attraction. Lying in the gorgeous valley of the Sundays River, Addo is not only about elephants. It is also home to the ‘Big 7’, which adds lion, buffalo, leopard, whales and the great white shark to the already appealing menu.
The Baviaanskloof Wilderness area, which lies a short distance from Blue Horizon Bay, in a valley between the Baviaanskloof and the Kouga Mountains, is a wilderness area with an incredible biodiversity that has it short listed for world heritage site status - an amazingly scenic and starkly beautiful excursion.

Bluewater Bay, Port Elizabeth
Considered one of Port Elizabeth’s northern beaches, Bluewater Bay lies midway between the friendly city of Port Elizabeth and the deep water harbour development at Coega, and is renowned for its fantastic views across Algoa Bay, its miles of white sandy beaches, and the lifestyle that goes hand-in-hand with living in this picturesque little enclave.
Bluewater Bay, divided by the N2 into Bluewater beach on the one side and Bluewater Bay on the other, is also one of the fastest growing residential areas in the city of Port Elizabeth - the demand for homes because of its proximity to Coega making it very popular. Bluewater Bay in particular has become increasingly upmarket not least because of its popularity amongst water sports’ enthusiasts who head here to swim, surf, fish and parasail.
There is great benefit and a special quality to living right next to the Swartkops River and salt pans that are home to simply hundreds of water birds. Bluewater Bay also boasts regular dolphin sightings, walking trails that provide immediate relaxation and a way to get away from it all, and frequent whale visits during whale season.
Bluewater Bay has the added benefit of being close to the Sundays River – a favourite for kayaking and canoeing - regarded as the gateway to the Addo Elephant Park, the only reserve that offers big seven (the big 5 plus whales and sharks) viewing.

Central Hill, Port Elizabeth
Part of Port Elizabeth’s inner city revitalisation, Central Hill - along with its neighbours Baakens River and Richmond Hill - is busy receiving a major facelift and is perceived by investors as prime property, particularly as this area falls under a scheme that offers tax incentives to investors.
Not only is Port Elizabeth’s inner city receiving a facelift but there is a step up on security in areas like Central Hill, bringing about a significant decrease in crime, and making it a safer place in which to stay. Add to this the ease of being so centrally placed, and the quiet and one can understand how, all things being equal, the inner city is being touted as the ideal place for people to live, work and play.
Character homes abound in Central Hill - the area is full of early British settler history, with historic monuments and buildings bearing plaques - and the prospect of the development of an international conference centre will also go a long way to changing the face of this inner-city suburb. Parliament Street, in the heart of Central Hill, is a restaurant and shopping area very popular for night clubs, and there is talk of an overhaul to oblige the demand for a street café atmosphere.
Staying in the heart of a city that is rapidly changing its façade is exhilarating. And with the final addition of a gigantic statue of Nelson Mandela on the cards, Central Hill and the inner city of Port Elizabeth look set for exciting times.

Chelsea Conservancy, Port Elizabeth
The beautiful Chelsea Conservancy, about 8 kilometres outside of Port Elizabeth as one nears the end of the Garden Route, is one of those little unexpected, not much talked about, surprises so typical of the Eastern Cape.
Edging the Indian Ocean, the conservancy is lush indigenous Eastern Cape bush, thick with milkwood trees and the call of birds, attracted to the abundant vegetation. The unspoilt beaches of Sardinia Bay Nature Reserve lie just beyond the Chelsea Conservancy. This part of the world offers incredible views of the sea, dune vegetation, dense dune scrub, fynbos and, at the right time of year, wild flowers. Sardinia Bay, the popular swimming beach, is part of a popular coastal walk that passes through the Schoenmakerskop-Sardinia Bay Nature Reserve.
Hard to believe that Sardinia Bay was once the source of a 7 000 hectare drift sands area that stretched all the way to Humewood. To deal with the instability during the late 1800s, Port Elizabeth dumped its rubbish on to the dunes, but the drift-sands continually try to reassert themselves - any rough treatment of the sensitive dune vegetation could upset the balance.
The entire area around the Chelsea Conservancy is given over to one nature reserve or another. A trail from Sardinia Bay beach crosses a wooden boardwalk across the sensitive dunes and over the car park, after which one enters the Sylvic Nature Reserve and Bushy Park. You would be hard pushed to find a more beautiful part of the coastline.

Glendinningvale, Port Elizabeth
Glendinningvale, in the heart of the city of Port Elizabeth - known contradictorily as both the windy and the friendly city (although the former is a little unfair given that Port Elizabeth has the 4th best weather in the world) - is perfectly placed if it’s a beach holiday you’re after as the main beaches - all ten of them - are just a few minutes’ away from this wooded, peaceful suburb.
Glendinningvale is a neighbourhood of shady, flourishing gardens, large homes and waking to the sound of birds that is ideally placed given that a golf course, Greenacres Shopping centre and the airport are all conveniently close by.
Port Elizabethans are generally laid back, or they certainly like to think of themselves as such, hence the ‘friendly city’ label. And it really is a wonderful place to stay - great weather all year round (give or take a windy day or two), beautiful beaches - St Georges Beach and Humewood have Blue Flag status - the Boardwalk Casino, shopping malls, a regeneration project that is set to turn the inner city around, and very little traffic.

Greenacres, Port Elizabeth
The leafy suburb of Greenacres, perfectly situated - if you consider its proximity to beaches, the main freeway system, the Kempston Road area and the airport - for those on business or holiday, is virtually synonymous with Greenacres shopping centre - described by some as the place to ‘shop ‘till you drop’ in Port Elizabeth.
Greenacres forms part of a kilometre-long complex with a plethora of shops, particularly on the Greenacres side (when combined with the adjacent Bridge Shopping Centre it is said to be the second longest under one roof in the country) where there are a score of smaller novelty and speciality shops, clothing boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants and jewellery shops. Add to this the Greenacres Entertainment Centre in Ring Road, which includes tenpin bowling and a ‘kids galore’ section, and you’ve got fun for the whole family - provided you can ignore the call of the beaches.
The beaches of Port Elizabeth, just minutes from Greenacres, are renowned as all-year round beaches that offer safe swimming and surfing in the gentle curve that makes up Algoa Bay. With two winner blue-flag beaches - King’s and Humewood beach - you’re not short of beautiful places to laze in the sun, although you’re likely to have to brave crowds if here on weekends or over summer holidays. Cape St Francis and Seaview Game Park, admittedly a little further afield, haven’t yet been claimed by the hordes and are worth seeking out for that reason.

Humerail, Port Elizabeth
Close to the beaches of Port Elizabeth, and touted as the latest ‘designer suburb’, Humerail - with homes that are worth well into the double digit millions because of the incredible views they offer over Algoa Bay - lies just off the beachfront, close to golf courses and downtown.
Add to this already attractive part of town the development of a 1000-seater international conference centre that is set to change the face of Port Elizabeth, and particularly areas such as Humerail, and you can understand why staying in this highly desirable part of town becomes more than an option. The city centre, undergoing a complete revitalisation, is moments away and your access to the wonderfully relaxing beaches of Port Elizabeth is excellent. The Humerail Waterfront Shopping Centre, with some incredible restaurant options, a conveniently placed internet café and a gym for the diehards, is at hand and a new shopping centre and boutique hotel, due to open soon, have been approved for the beachfront.
The Spoornet Great Train Race, postponed after a rather sticky situation that led to the race being declared illegal but hopefully to be reinstated, is an exciting race that sees over 600 teams of 10 runners each compete against the famous narrow-gauge Apple Express Steam train to see who can reach Loerie, over 72 kilometres away, first.

Humewood, Port Elizabeth
The beach suburb of Humewood, a stone’s throw from Kings Beach and Humewood beach (both with blue flag status), has earned its place on the map due mainly to its challenging links golf course, ranked as one of the top ten golf courses in South Africa. That the Humewood Golf course is regarded as difficult is unanimously agreed upon - the rolling fairways and deep bunkers combined with the tendency of the wind to blow in Port Elizabeth make for a challenging round of golf.
The suburb of Humewood has been described as prestigious and peaceful - prestigious as the homes and hotels here are indeed beautiful and peaceful due in no small part to Happy Valley - a walk-through garden interspersed with lily ponds, the trickle of a fresh-water river and landscaped lawns that links directly to Humewood Beach. A stone’s throw away from Humewood is Bay World, which manages to incorporate an oceanarium and a snake park with daily shows and handling demonstrations to keep the family entertained on days when even the overhead promenade at Humewood beach fails to provide enough shade from the infamous African sun.
The Mac Arthur swimming pool complex, perfect for days when the beach is out of the question, has a full-size heated swimming pool, a kids’ pool complete with water slides, and a natural temperature full size swimming pool - fun for the whole family. And the Boardwalk Casino and entertainment complex offers hours of shopping and distraction.

Kini Bay, Port Elizabeth
The pretty coastal hamlet of Kini Bay lies on the Sunshine Coast between Algoa Bay and Jeffreys Bay just 15 minutes’ drive from Port Elizabeth. Yet it has a distinct sense of isolation and charm that make it so attractive to visitors.
Kini Bay has no shops or industry to speak of. Rather it is a quaint sprinkling of beach cottages and homes that form a residential area that allows those who visit here a refuge from the hurly burly of city living, yet maintains its link with Port Elizabeth, allowing easy day trips into the city. The unassuming Kini Bay village is virtually surrounded by natural vegetation in the heart of various conservancies that give one generous access to monkeys, buck and pretty walks through the undergrowth. Alongside the village lies a virtually unspoilt, remote beach littered with pretty little rock pools that are safe for swimming. Fishing and collecting shells here are a highlight of any visit, as are sightings of dolphins and whales in season.
Kini Bay’s nearest neighbour is the somewhat larger village of Sea View, where one can easily get basic necessities from the local supermarket, bakery and delicatessen, for those who want to avoid Port Elizabeth so as to complete the impression of totally getting away from it all. You can pick up fresh fish in Sea View on a daily basis, if fishing off the coast in Kini Bay doesn’t excite you. But it is surprising how few visitors actually seek entertainment outside of Kini Bay. Once there, the magic languor of the place, and the remoteness result in languid days spent doing virtually nothing.

Lovemore Heights, Port Elizabeth
The suburb of Lovemore Heights is virtually synonymous with the secure residential estate that dominates the neighbourhood, called Lovemore Heights Estate. Set on the outskirts of the centre of the friendly city of Port Elizabeth, Lovemore Heights’ main allure is the incredible sea views it offers over the Indian Ocean from where it sits, perched on an incline.
The other major advantage, of course, is Lovemore Heights access to Port Elizabeth’s airport (it lies but 10 kilometres from Lovemore Heights), and the city centre. It offers the ideal mix of contact with the city, and certain aloofness, if entering the city’s fray is not on your list of priorities. Lovemore Heights manages to capture the feeling of living in the country. It helps that Sardinia Bay, one of the friendly city’s prettiest beaches, and Schoenmakerskop - the site of a shipwreck and the starting point of the Sacramento Trail - are but a short drive away.
The Sacramento Trail is an 8 kilometre hike that passes through the 320 hectare Sardinia Bay Nature Reserve, starting at the west end of Schoenmakerskop following the coastline to Sardinia Bay. One needs to be relatively fit to tackle the trail, and it is better to do it in a big group.
There is also a circular hiking route that starts at Sappershoek off Marine Drive at the east end of Schoenmakerskop, with an alternative shorter route of 3 kilometres, so not all walking in the area is for hardened hikers. And the city centre offers more than its fair share of attractions - the Donkin Heritage Trail, the beaches of Algoa Bay, St Georges Park, and Bayworld Museum complex to name but a few.

Maitlands, Port Elizabeth
A mere 30 kilometres from Port Elizabeth transports you into a very different world. The Maitlands River mouth makes for a peaceful and slow existence with very little to remind one that man has stamped his footprint on almost every other part of the South African coast. Maitlands, the area, is given over largely to private farms, which might explain the virtually untouched Maitlands beach, at the foot of the famous Maitland dune ‘mountain’ - also close to Van Stadens River mouth in the vicinity of the longest concrete arch bridge in southern Africa.
Maitlands sand dunes mean sand boarding is an absolute must, and if that doesn’t get the adrenaline pumping, then hang gliding from the dunes certainly will. And beautiful rock formations make fishing something of a religious experience on Maitlands beach. Such incredible unspoilt beauty is further enhanced by classic surf spots and good swimming opportunities, pedal-boating and walking along the beach. But despite this, it is never crowded and the natural beauty very seldom disturbed.
The Maitland Mines Nature Reserve adds a further element of nature with superb hiking trails through 127 hectares of indigenous coastal forest and bush that includes yellowwood, milkwood and boer bean trees. All three trails begin along the old wagon road to the abandoned lead mine just outside the reserve and vary from a 3 kilometre to a 9 kilometre hike.
Nearby Sardinia Bay, Seaview and Beachview are all wonderful swimming, fishing, snorkelling and walking beaches that, for the greater part, remain untouched.