Travel to Nature’s Valley

a delightfully wild and undeveloped beach

Nature’s Valley is located at the eastern end of the Garden Route, some 490 km east of Cape Town.

Arguably the most attractive section along this whole section of the coast, the Nature’s Valley area includes some beautiful farmland, plunging forested mountains, spectacular wild coastline and beautiful remote beaches.

To the eastern end of the Tsitsikamma Reserve is the small, remote and very relaxed settlement of Nature’s Valley itself, surrounded by milkwood forests and fronting onto one of the best beaches in the Cape.

Activities in the Nature’s Valley area include beaches, hiking, horse-riding, bungee jumping and various animal interaction experiences. It’s also only a short drive down into Plettenberg Bay for shops, bars and restaurants.

One of our favourite hikes in South Africa runs from the west end of the main beach, over a wooded hillside, to reach the utterly fabulous Mermaid’s Cove.

The Garden Route is considerably less seasonal than most other parts of Africa.
Most notably it experiences a good deal more consistent levels of cloud and rain year round, in contrast to the Cape which has a much more pronounced dry summer Nov-Mar.

The climate is still very pleasant, but you can expect a little bit more weather out here. For this you are compensated by the wonderful verdant landscapes and rich forests for which the area is named.

Summer : Nov-Apr

This period is generally considered to be the preferred time to visit, with pleasantly warm temperatures, longer days and marginally higher average sunshine hours.

Winter : May/Oct

This period is notionally winter, but temperatures are only a few degrees below their summer levels, average sunshine hours about the same and rainfall just as unpredictable. But the days are definitely shorter.

Where to stay

Down in Nature’s Valley itself, the vast majority of the accommodation takes the form of family-owned holiday cottages, most of which are for private use only.
On the higher ground further inland, an area called The Crags contains most of the best accommodation options.

only a few accommodation options in the area