Africa's Top 50+ Beaches

  • Salt Rock Beach // South Africa

    Salt Rock Beach
    © HelenSTB / CC BY

    Situated on the soft sands and warm waters of KwaZulu-Natal's Dolphin Coast, part of South Africa's Indian Ocean coastline, Salt Rock Beach is the main beach in a town of the same name. It's just 20 minutes' drive from Durban's King Shaka International Airport.

    Both wide and long, this family-friendly beach is suitable for swimming, as well as past times… read more »

  • Lookout Beach // South Africa

    Lookout Beach
    © South African Tourism / CC BY

    Situated just a kilometre from the centre of Plettenberg Bay on South Africa's much lauded Garden Route, Lookout Beach is a great all-round beach that meets the needs of even the most diverse of holidaying groups.

    The pristine sands of Lookout Beach are wide enough to provide space between groups most of the year, although it can get crowded in peak… read more »

  • Keurboomstrand // South Africa

    Keurboomstrand
    © michael clarke stuff / CC BY

    Keurboomstrand is located near the beach town of Plettenberg Bay on South Africa's Western Cape. It is a wide pristine stretch of golden sand along the warm blue waters of the Indian Ocean, and the views of the mountains beyond, thick with trees, are spectacular. This beach gets its name from the native Keurboom Tree, which blooms with pinkish mauve… read more »

  • Humewood Beach // South Africa

    Humewood Beach
    © ilf_

    Situated near Port Elizabeth in Eastern Cape, Humewood Beach is South Africa's longest standing Blue Flag Beach, which means that it is safe, clean, and environmentally responsible. Lifeguards are on duty here so you can safely swim, snorkel and enjoy other activities in the calm, warm blue waters from November through to April.

    This beach is family-friendly with its wide stretch… read more »

  • Anstey's Beach // South Africa

    Anstey's Beach
    © dual / CC BY

    Situated on the Bluff in Durban, the high-end area south of the city's main beaches, Ansteys Beach lies close to Cave Rock, home to the barrelling wave that has entered the folklore of surfing communities around the world.

    Clean and unspoilt, the sand here is comparable in allure to that anywhere else along the Durban coast, while its Indian Ocean waters… read more »

  • Alkantstrand // South Africa

    Alkantstrand
    © Rudi Stadler / CC BY

    The main beach in Richards Bay, a city that provides a gateway into the province of KwaZulu-Natal, Alkantstrand is made up of idyllic white sand between the blues of the Indian Ocean and lush greens of the region's verdant subtropical flora.

    With a name translating from Afrikaans as "both sides of the beach", from the way the warm ocean currents seem… read more »

  • Addington Beach // South Africa

    Addington Beach
    © South African Tourism / CC BY

    With a prime location on Durban's Golden Mile next to uShaka Marine World theme park, and just ten minutes from the buzzing restaurants and bars of the city's central business district, Addington Beach is as easy to reach as it is to fall in love with.

    Here you'll find a large flat expanse of richly-coloured sand running alongside the warm… read more »

  • Maclear Beach // South Africa

    Maclear Beach
    © Vanbasten 23 / CC BY

    One of Cape Town's quieter and more secluded beaches, Maclear Beach lies close to Cape Point at the tip of the Cape Peninsula.

    Half hidden behind rocky headlands, the beach is a short walk from the car park through native fynbos vegetation, behind the famous Cape Point sign marking the most south-westerly point in Africa.

    While facing west and out into the… read more »

  • Macassar Beach // South Africa

    Macassar Beach

    South Africa's Macassar Beach is located on the eastern shores of False Bay. A short distance from Cape Town, the beach occupies the most unspoilt area of the bay, sitting in front of a belt of protected dunes four kilometres long.

    Macassar Beach itself forms just a part of a continuous ribbon of fine sand that stretches right around this side… read more »

  • Grotto Beach // South Africa

    Grotto Beach
    © Olga Ernst / CC BY

    When you step onto Grotto Beach, you can't fail to be impressed by the vast expanse of sandy beach stretching out to the blue ocean. The beach seems to go on forever with the beach town of Hermanus to one end and a backdrop of mountains and wilderness the other. There is plenty of room on this beach to play… read more »

  • Glencairn Beach // South Africa

    Glencairn Beach
    © Derek Keats / CC BY

    Glencairn Beach can be found on the western shores of False Bay, in the suburb of Glencairn, which is roughly four kilometres north of Simons Town on the Cape Peninsula.

    Easily reached thanks to a train station and plenty of parking, Glencairn Beach is largely used by locals as a place to exercise and let their dogs run around, however it… read more »

  • Glen Beach // South Africa

    Glen Beach
    © Randall. Lavelot / CC BY

    Cape Town's Glen Beach is made up of white sand and clean waters beloved of surfers looking to test out their skill on the beach breaks. Lying on the Atlantic coastline of the city, it sits beneath the expensive low-rise homes of the Camp's Bay area, backed by the Lion's Head and Twelve Apostles mountains.

    Glen Beach is divided from the… read more »

  • East Beach, Muizenberg // South Africa

    East Beach, Muizenberg
    giesing

    Starting its run right next to Muizenberg train station and the amusements at Muizenberg Water Slides, East Beach lies a short distance south of Cape Town at the neck of the Cape Peninsula. Sheltered by the magnificence of False Bay, East Beach is part of a ribbon of light-coloured sand that continues for 20 kilometres around the bay.

    The flat, wide… read more »

  • Diaz Beach // South Africa

    Diaz Beach

    Diaz Beach is an incredible, secluded beach right next to the Cape of Good Hope near Cape Town. You will need to hike for 20 minutes to get to this beach, but when you do, you'll find the scenery mesmerizing. The sandy beach faces into the full force of the Atlantic Ocean with jagged rocks stretching out into the… read more »

  • Margate Beach // South Africa

    Margate Beach
    © ~ souTH AFRica ~ / CC BY

    Named rather quaintly – for the comparison ends there – after a beach on the south coast of England, the almost orange sands of Margate Beach in South Africa lie on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal province, around 90 minutes from Durban.

    A paved footpath runs along the beach amid the occasional lofty palm swaying gently in the breeze, but… read more »