7 South African beaches with big personality, chosen by an expert who wrote a book about the ocean

A group of young surfers stand in front ot the colourful changing cubicles on Muizenberg Beach, in False Bay, South Africa.

Statistics show that when South Africans travel, for most the beach is their first choice of holiday destination. Veruska De Vita travelled the country for her book "Deep Blue: Why we love the sea". She chose these seven beaches and gave each personalities. Find the one that suits you best

1. The Cool Surfer: Muizenberg (WC)

Young surfers sprint into the sea on Muizenberg beach, False Bay, South Africa

Young surfers sprint into the sea at Muizenberg Beach. Its long, sandy shoreline offers an inclusive beach scene for surfers and families. Above and main photo: Teagan Cunniffe

Muizenberg Beach is a cool surfer with salt in his hair and salt on his skin. His day revolves around good surf weather, and everything is planned around that.
 
He’s easy-going, cool like the temperature of the water, more comfortable without shoes so he can better feel the grainy sand underfoot. Nearby surf shops offer surfboards, wetsuits and body boards for hire, as well as learn-to-surf lessons.
 

BEST FOR:

  • Families, water-sport enthusiasts and swimmers.
  • Spontaneous adventurous who want a quick, active beach fix.
  • Singles seeking a social, energetic beach scene.

2. The Benign Guardian, Thompson’s Bay (KZN)

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Tranquil Thompson’s Bay on the Dolphin Coast, near Ballito. The sheltered cove is loved for its big tidal pool and safe swimming in warm waters IMAGE Magda Ehlers

Thompson’s Beach in Ballito has the quiet strength of a benign guardian. It feels safe, protective and generous. Nestled between rocky outcrops, it offers a calm tidal pool and playful waves, making it feel like it’s always looking out for you, no matter your mood.

 

There’s an easy early-morning rhythm here of families setting up umbrellas and chairs for the day, and the quiet joy of floating or doing lengths in Charlie’s pool with the sea just beyond.

 

I always find this beach welcoming. It’s a popular beach, so if you’re not keen on crowds try go during the off season.

 

BEST FOR:

  • Families with young children; it has a sheltered tidal pool and calm surf.
  • The laid-back crowd who love spending all day chilling on the beach.
  • Sporty early-birds before the crowds hit.

3. The Goddess: Herold's Bay (EC)

Lush, fertile and good-looking is how I’d describe Herold’s Bay beach near George. The waves are gentle and ideal for swimming in all seasons.

 

It’s understated, not usually crowded, but those who know its shores appreciate it and enjoy its beauty. It is perfect for solo swimmers, couples wanting an arm-linked stroll and families.

 

It would be a pity to miss out on the area’s wilder side. So, while you’re there, take a hike in the Outeniqua mountains that lie just inland from Herold’s Bay. These majestic ranges have been traversed on foot for millennia, they’ve seen the slow wheeling of ox wagons, and they too remind me of the goddess archetype. There’s something feminine in their presence that is quietly fierce.

 

BEST FOR:

  • Families with young children; it has gentle waves and is accessibly warm year-round.
  • The active slow traveller: start off with a nature-filled hike, end off with a beach stay.

4. The Happy Child: Margate (KZN)

Margate Beach, with its palm trees and gentle beach, is popular with families and the young who love to people watch.

Margate Beach at sunrise, golden and waiting for the day’s families to arrive. It’s one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most popular beaches thanks to its calm waters IMAGE Sophia Nel

Margate is the kind of beach that remembers your childhood before you do. This child is a little chaotic, sugar-fuelled, carefree and loves to tumble headlong into the waves. It’s where laughter is sand-crusted and T-shirt and shorts a tad messy. It’s a place to be silly, sandy, utterly free. It’s striped umbrellas and melting ice-creams. It’s bare feet from sunrise to sunset.

 

There’s a stonewashed glamour to Margate Main Beach as it fades and reappears in the trending stakes — sometimes it’s the ‘in’ place to be and then it’s not. But one thing is consistent: the Indian Ocean waters are warm year-round making it a popular bathing beach. Expect heaving crowds during the April and December holiday seasons.

 

BEST FOR:

  • Families seeking fun, familiarity and safe swimming.
  • Singles and couples craving retro beach energy and social buzz.
  • A spontaneous and nostalgic coastal road trip.

5. The Medicine Women: Wild Coast (EC)

The beaches along the Wild Coast are like medicinal plants that make you feel good, balms for the soul. The area is a paradise: wildly beautiful with deep green foliage, intense blue ocean, hidden waterfalls, the cries and squawks of marine birds.

 

The shores along the Wild Coast are perfect for families and those wanting to explore a rugged coastline. Expect to share beaches with cows and if you’re usually entrained to a city speed, you’ll find yourself slowing down to a much gentler rhythm.

 

At Mdumbi Beach time slows down to a hush. It’s an ideal place for cutting into the waves with a paddle, and exploring river mouths – those perpetually changing spaces where sweet water churns with the sea. Go see EsiKhaleni, or Hole in the Wall as it is also called, where the ocean roars through a naturally formed hole in rock like a throat remembering its voice.

 

The landscape is so beautiful there that, if you let it, it will rewrite you. I thank the stars in the night sky for Sinegugu Zukulu of the NGO Sustaining the Wild Coast for being the protector of this pristine area.

 

BEST FOR:

  • Wild and spontaneous explorers who love to swim and self-drive.
  • Slow travellers who love unspoilt nature and to travel with purpose.

6. The Glamorous Wildling: Camps Bay (WC)

Camps Bay, in Cape Town, lies at the foot of Lion's Head. Its waters are icy and a welcome respite for baking beachgoers

Camps Bay is hands-down one of South Africa’s most popular beaches. In season, it’s full of sun worshippers, tight volleyball players and other pretty people IMAGE Teagan Cunniffe

Camps Bay has an interesting mix of beachgoers. It’s where glamour meets the raw elemental force of the Atlantic Ocean. With palm-lined promenade and cocktails, it plays the part of the socialite, but walk into the waves and you’ll feel something wilder stirring beneath.

The Atlantic here is cold and uncompromising, the waves muscular and theatrical as they crash against gigantic grey boulders. For families, people-watching and water sports, this is a great beach.

BEST FOR:

  • Singles and young couples drawn to vibrant, urban-beach energy.
  • Families looking for a scenic, serviced city-beach day.
  • Road-trippers ending a Cape coastal drive in style.

7. The Changeling: Kosi Bay (KZN)

Camps Bay has an interesting mix of beachgoers. It’s where glamour meets the raw elemental force of the Atlantic Ocean. With palm-lined promenade and cocktails, it plays the part of the socialite, but walk into the waves and you’ll feel something wilder stirring beneath.

 

The Atlantic here is cold and uncompromising, the waves muscular and theatrical as they crash against gigantic grey boulders. For families, people-watching and water sports, this is a great beach.

 

BEST FOR:

  • Singles and young couples drawn to vibrant, urban-beach energy.
  • Families looking for a scenic, serviced city-beach day.
  • Road-trippers ending a Cape coastal drive in style.
Veruska De Vita, author of Big Blue: Why we love the sea
DEEP BLUE: WHY WE LOVE THE SEA

In this exploration into humans’ relationship with the sea, Veruska de Vita speaks to singers, scientists, swimmers, athletes and others about their relationship to this body of water that forms the bedrock of life on Earth.

Deep Blue is available at The Book Lounge, Exclusive Books, Wordsworths Books and other book stores. R340

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