Best Beaches In & Near Knysna

By The Beach Guide | Last Updated: October 9, 2020

Contents

Brenton-on-Sea
Buffalo Bay
Wilderness Beach
Nature's Valley
Nature's Valley
Lookout Beach
Keurboomstrand
Knysna beaches map

Map featuring Knysna beaches. Click on pins to view beach details

1. Brenton-on-Sea

© Meraj Chhaya / CC BY

Travel time from Knysna: approx 0.5 hrs

Situated on the Garden Route some 15 kilometres west of Knysna in Western Cape province, Brenton-on-Sea Beach extends its light sands for approximately three kilometres.
Largely undeveloped due to official protection afforded to the endangered Brenton Blue butterfly (most easily sighted from the end of October until December), the sound of the warm Indian Ocean waves is likely to be all you'll hear if you decide to pay this idyllic stretch… read more »
2. Buffalo Bay

© Werner Bayer / CC BY

Travel time from Knysna: approx 0.5 hrs

Buffalo Bay, or Buffelsbaai, is found in the Goukamma Nature Reserve in the Western Cape. Stretching for 14 kilometers this vast beach has incredible white sand and dunes which contrast with the beautiful blue waters of the ocean. With a backdrop of coastal forest the beach here really can feel like a lost paradise.
The beach has plenty of activities to choose from making it a firm favorite with both… read more »
3. Wilderness Beach

© ilf_

Travel time from Knysna: approx 1 hr

Wide, wild, and unspoilt, Wilderness Beach has pet-friendly sands coloured a rich golden hue which continue on for more than a kilometre in length.
Located along the Garden Route coast of South Africa's Western Cape province, the beach is backed onto by vegetation-clad dunes topped with homes looking out across the ocean blue.
A short distance from the city of George, it is the Indian Ocean that laps the sands of Wilderness… read more »
4. Nature's Valley

© Paul Venter

Travel time from Knysna: approx 1 hr

With a name like Nature's Valley, it's fitting that this beach lies on the stretch of South African coast known as the Garden Route. Reaching from sheer cliffs at one end to the mouth of the Groot River at the other, Nature's Valley Beach is approximately one kilometre in length.
Its pristine sands are matched by the Indian Ocean and the national park which encloses it - Tsitsikamma, meaning "clear water"… read more »
5. Nature's Valley

© michael clarke stuff / CC BY

Travel time from Knysna: approx 1 hr

With a name like Nature's Valley, it's fitting that this beach lies on the stretch of South African coast known as the Garden Route. Reaching from sheer cliffs at one end to the mouth of the Groot River at the other, Nature's Valley Beach is approximately one kilometre in length.
Its pristine sands are matched by the Indian Ocean and the national park which encloses it - Tsitsikamma, meaning "clear water"… read more »
6. Lookout Beach

© South African Tourism / CC BY

Travel time from Knysna: approx 0.5 hrs

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 season around Christmas. That's because the warm Indian Ocean waters… read more »
7. Keurboomstrand

© michael clarke stuff / CC BY

Travel time from Knysna: approx 1 hr

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 flowers in August and September and then in December.
Towards… read more »