Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay, which everyone calls Plett, is the Garden Route’s beach town. It sits on a wide bay closed off to the south by the Robberg Peninsula, with the Keurbooms River mouth at the other end and long white beaches between. Portuguese sailors named it Bahia Formosa, the beautiful bay, and the name still fits.

Getting there

Plett is on the N2 about 35 km east of Knysna. Gqeberha is roughly two and a half hours away by road and Cape Town a long day’s drive of around eight hours. The town has a small aerodrome, but scheduled flights have been suspended for some time over the state of the runway and were still off in early 2025, so plan to fly into George or Gqeberha and drive. Long-distance coaches stop at the Shell garage on the N2 about a kilometre from the centre; the Baz Bus comes into town. Minibus taxis run to and from Knysna.

When to go

Average highs are about 24°C in January and 18°C from June to August, and the 640 mm of rain is spread fairly evenly through the year. Southern right whales are in the bay from July to December, humpbacks pass in July and again in December, and Bryde’s whales and three dolphin species are around all year. People who want hiking weather and empty beaches go from March to June. December to February is hot, full and expensive; book months ahead and expect the Matric Rage school-leavers’ party week to take over the bars. The Plett ARTS Festival runs from late September into early October.

What to do

The Robberg Nature Reserve is the one thing not to skip. The full circuit round the peninsula is about 9 km and takes four to five hours, with easy boardwalk on the northern side and rock scrambling along the southern cliffs. There are shorter loops of around 30 minutes and two hours. You pass a Cape fur seal colony (you will smell it before you see it) and a sand spit where the sea closes over the path at high tide, so check the tide table before you set out. Boat trips go out for whales, dolphins and seals, and Central Beach has lifeguards in season.

Surfers use Plett Wedge, Lookout Beach, Keurbooms and The Wreck. Kayaks go up the Keurbooms River. Out on the N2 towards the Crags, Birds of Eden claims the largest free-flight aviary in the world, Monkeyland is next door, and the Tsitsikamma canopy tours are a little further on.

Good to know

The bay has a long history: the São Gonçalo wrecked here in 1630 and left about 100 sailors stranded for nine months, Baron van Plettenberg renamed the place after himself in 1779, and a whaling station worked on Beacon Island until 1916. Sharks are a seasonal reality around the seal colony, so take the lifeguards’ flags seriously. A car is needed for Robberg, the Crags and the river.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Plett Tourism, Earth Trekkers, Safarifind, ATC News.