Plettenberg Bay
Named ‘Bahia Formosa’ – ‘beautiful bay’ – by an early Portuguese navigator, Plettenberg Bay is one of our favorite stops along the Garden Route!
When to go to Plettenberg Bay
Best Time to Go
Vibrant coastal town in South Africa’s Western Cape
Great range of accommodation options
Beautiful beaches and nature reserves
Plenty of activities
Outdoor Adventures & Coastal Charm
The coastal town of Plettenberg Bay is situated in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. This beautiful bay certainly offers a gorgeous range of attractions, and some first-rate properties too! Located towards the eastern end of the Garden Route, 600 kilometres from Cape Town, and 210 kilometres from Port Elizabeth, Plett is also accessible by air from Johannesburg and the Mother City.
Activities
Plett’s attractions center around its beautiful beaches, white sands stretching for some 20 kilometres alongside the sparkling Indian Ocean. There’s plenty to explore, including nature reserves and the lively town itself.
Enjoy watersports and marine life
Take in the local nature
Explore the town
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Along with simply splashing about and soaking up the sun, you can enjoy surfing, skimboarding, and bodyboarding – or you can head below the waves. In the deeper waters, a treasure trove of marine life awaits, including whales, sharks, seals, dolphins, stingrays, and a vast variety of fish species. We guarantee you will never tire of exploring!
Wildlife lovers can also check out the Robberg Peninsula and its long nature reserve. Here you will find a large colony of fur seals, in addition to a wealth of marine species. The birding in the area is also impressive, and other activities available include walking, hiking, and kayaking. If this sounds good to you, you might also like to visit the Keurbooms Nature Reserve, located just 5 kilometres outside of town. Monkeyland and Birds of Eden are further options for morning or afternoon excursions. Birds of Eden is the biggest single-dome free-flight aviary in the world!
Inland, the town itself is pretty special, featuring more than enough bars, cafés, and restaurants to entice you during your stay. And with a busy calendar of events in place all year round, you can guarantee there will be something of interest whenever you visit! Music festivals, golf tournaments, country fairs, horse shows… there’s never a dull moment in Plett.
History
Plett has a fascinating history, beginning in the Middle and Later Stone Age and continuing through the colonial period to reach modern times. The Portuguese were also the first inhabitants of the area, albeit for just nine months in 1630 following a shipwreck. Navigator and cartographer Manuel de Perestrelo came up with the name ‘Bahia Formosa’ in 1577. From 1763, Europeans began to settle in the Bay, and in 1779, Plett became home to barracks for the Dutch East India Company. In 1779, the Bay acquired its present name of Plettenberg from the Governor of the Cape, Baron Joachim van Plettenberg. By the 1830s, Plett had become an important stopping point for ships sailing between Europe and the Far East during the winter months. Plett’s first hotel, Beacon Isle, was built in 1940, and from 1960 to 1990 Plett blossomed as a popular vacation destination, particularly along its Robberg Beach, which was termed ‘Millionaire’s Row’.
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