Marine Big Five: What are they and how do you find them when they love underwater?
Everything depends on the day, but being in experienced hands counts
Our reviewer scoured South Africa's coast to find the country's best beach hotels
This one is on Ballito's most popular beach, but feels like it's on an island
What happens when you take an electric vehicle down one of SA's scariest roads
EV travel is a learning curve, but it's growing and it's absolutely worth it

LATEST

Ocean View Suite at Sala Beach House with private balcony over Thompson's Bay, Ballito
NEW REVIEW Sala Beach House: Ballito’s boutique hotel gem over Thompson’s Bay

Experience  |     24 September, 2026

We went on a hunt for the Marine Big Five in Gansbaai in three-metre swells — and felt perfectly safe (and we ticked off 4/5)

Experience  |     17 August, 2026

Tour guide vs self-drive: 12 reasons a guide will give you a better flower show than you can give yourself on a self-drive

GOOD-KARMA STAYS

Fireplace lounge with bookshelves and armchairs inside River Manor Boutique Hotel's heritage building

River Manor Boutique Hotel: Stellenbosch’s best central sleep

A kokerboom (quiver tree) standing in front of a farm building at Nigramoep, a Namaqualand guest farm in the Northern Cape

Namaqualand farm stay: Slow living at Nigramoep, near Springbok

The Garden Room at 7 Koppies opens directly onto the guesthouse's vegetable garden outside Franschhoek

7 Koppies, Franschhoek: The boutique hotel built for fynbos

Bright entrance hall at One Marine Drive Boutique Hotel in Hermanus

One Marine Drive Boutique Hotel: Where to stay in Hermanus for whale season

Gonana Guesthouse communal dining room with wooden table, sheepskins on benches, leather couches and a combustion fireplace, Paternoster West Coast

Gonana Guesthouse, Paternoster: Sustainable Scandi-style beach stay

The 1888 heritage wing of Chapter House seen from the modern annex, Franschhoek mountains in the background

Chapter House, Franschhoek: A charming, central boutique hotel

Recommend a Stay

EXPLORE

Volvo EX30 driving down a curving gravel section of the Swartberg Pass between steep mountain slopes

How we took an EV into Die Hel (and how we only just got out)

Marine Dynamics boat Dream Catcher in clear blue water as a whale dives beneath it off Gansbaai

Whale watching in Gansbaai with Marine Dynamics (and a paper bag)

Four visitors standing in a field of blooming yellow daisies on a West Coast flower tour, South Africa

West Coast guided flower tours vs self-drive: 12 reasons a guide wins

Recommend an Experience