Port Alfred

Port Alfred is a small Eastern Cape town of about 26,000 people where the Kowie River meets the Indian Ocean, almost exactly midway between Gqeberha and East London. The river splits the town in two and is its reason for being: a marina, a small boat harbour, cruise boats and kayaks fill the lower reaches. It is a settler town, founded in the early 1820s, and it is unhurried.

Getting there

From Gqeberha take the N2 east and then the R72 coast road through Kenton-on-Sea; from East London the R72 runs south-west along the coast. The R67 comes down from Makhanda (Grahamstown) through Bathurst. There is no airport with scheduled flights; Gqeberha and East London are the options. Once in town you can walk almost everywhere, including a pleasant riverside route from the centre to the beach along Causeway and Beach Road. The eastern beaches mean a walk round the Royal Alfred Marina.

When to go

The coast here markets itself as the Sunshine Coast and locals claim the most sunshine hours in the country. The climate is temperate without real extremes, and rain falls mostly in spring and autumn. Summer is beach weather and the December holidays fill the town. Winter is mild and quiet and fine for the river, golf and birding.

What to do

Get on the water. Cruise boats and kayaks leave from the small boat harbour, and the river is navigable for about 28 km upstream. The Kowie Canoe Trail is the serious version: a 40 km return paddle and a 12 km hike in the Waters Meeting Nature Reserve near Bathurst, through forest known for its owls. Kelly’s Beach has Blue Flag status and is the morning walk of choice; West Beach is the long, safe family beach and East Beach lies across the river. Port Alfred ranks as the third largest line-fishing port in the country, and divers come for soft coral reefs and wrecks.

The Royal Port Alfred Golf Club dates from 1907 and received its royal title from King George V, one of only a handful of royal clubs in Africa. The Kowie Museum covers local history, and the Great Fish Point lighthouse, only 9 m tall, is one of four in South Africa where you can sleep over. Three Sisters Horse Trails, about 15 km out, rides through forest, dunes and along the beach. Bathurst, up the R67, has the Big Pineapple, and the private game reserves at Kariega, Sibuya, Pumba and Oceana are all nearby.

Good to know

The town was two settlements, Port Kowie and Port Frances, until Prince Alfred’s visit in 1860 gave it a single name. The first man-made harbour in South Africa opened here in 1841 when William Cock cut a stone channel between the sea and the river. Around 70 per cent of residents speak Xhosa at home, and 43 Air School, which trains pilots on the edge of town, is said to be the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, SA-Venues, The Herald (Eastern Cape newspaper), Royal St Andrews Hotel blog.