Things to do in Wild Coast
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Wild Coast
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer is hottest, wettest and busiest, with school holidays, muddy gravel roads and rough warm seas.
Autumn is a sweet spot, warm seas, thinner crowds, good hiking and waterfalls still running well.
Winter is mild and dry with the best hiking and roads, plus the sardine run peak and arriving whales.
Spring brings warming seas, whales into November and shoulder prices, with wind that can cancel boats.
What's on
- Sardine Run mid June to late July
Sardine shoals move north past Coffee Bay, Port St Johns and Mbotyi followed by dolphins, sharks, whales and gannets.
Best things to do in Wild Coast
Coffee Bay Beach
The main beach at the Bomvu River mouth, the social centre of Coffee Bay for walks and surf watching.
Mapuzi Caves
Sea caves and cliff pools south of Coffee Bay, reached on a guided trip that depends on tide and swell.
Mdumbi Beach
A long, quiet beach at the Mdumbi River mouth below Tshani village, with a famous point break and dolphins.
Nqileni Village
The Xhosa village that owns Bulungula Lodge, visited on foot with a community guide from the lodge.
Second Beach
A beautiful Port St Johns cove to visit for the view only, with a fatal shark and drowning history in the water.
First Beach
The Umzimvubu River mouth beach in Port St Johns, best for walks, birdlife and sunset, not swimming.
Magwa Falls
A 142 metre waterfall into a steep gorge near Lusikisiki, reached by a rough track past the Magwa tea lands.
Cintsa Beach
A long clean beach and lagoon at the southern gateway, the easiest beach day on the whole Wild Coast.
Where to stay in Wild Coast
Cintsa
easy first or last night, gateway stays at every tier
Tarred access from East London, a long beach and lagoon, and the coast in miniature before the roads get serious.
Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall
central coast base, Hole in the Wall and Mapuzi trips
The best known village on the coast, with backpackers, a family hotel and cliff resorts within a few kilometres.
Bulungula and Mdumbi
community stays, surfing and slow village time
Two community centred bases north of Coffee Bay, reached on slow gravel, rewarding stays of three nights or more.
Dwesa and Cwebe
forest, reserves and old fashioned family holidays
The Dwesa-Cwebe reserves at the Mbashe mouth, quiet and basic, with a family hotel on one side and reserve chalets on the other.
Port St Johns
Pondoland base, hiking trail start and river scenery
The main town on the northern coast, with budget and mid range stays in town and the Umngazi resort to the south.
Mbotyi
waterfalls, Pondoland scenery and the far north
A single lodge at the Mbotyi River mouth, the base for Waterfall Bluff and Magwa Falls and the end of most itineraries.
Think twice about
- Second Beach, Port St Johns, for swimming
A documented history of fatal shark attacks and drownings and often limited lifeguard cover. Visit for the view, stay out of the water.
- River mouths and estuaries for swimming
Strong currents and bull shark risk in murky estuary water, most seriously at the Umzimvubu mouth at Port St Johns.
- Rural Wild Coast roads after dark
Livestock, pedestrians, potholes and unmarked speed bumps on unlit roads make night driving the main risk on this coast.
- Mthatha as an overnight base
A busy transit town to pass through in daylight for fuel and supplies, not a visitor base. Plan stops there for daytime hours.
Best restaurants in Wild Coast
Prana Lodge Restaurant
The one occasion dinner on this coast, a garden restaurant at Prana Lodge with menus built around requests.
Tea in the Trees
A forest tea garden on the Chintsa West road, open limited days for teas, coffee, cakes and light lunches.
View of Africa Room
The Buccaneers Lodge restaurant above the Cintsa lagoon, serving home cooked meals and candle lit dinners.
Babalaza Bar
The Coffee Shack bar and communal dinner spot on the Bomvu beachfront, the main evening out in Coffee Bay.
Zac's on Main
A small lodge restaurant on Main Beach Road overlooking Coffee Bay beach and the river mouth.
Nenga River Lodge
A lodge restaurant and licensed bar near Coffee Bay main beach, handy for self catering travellers nearby.
Outdoor things to do in Wild Coast
Hole in the Wall
A cliff with a huge sea arch south of Coffee Bay, best reached on the guided 9 km coastal hike from the village.
Waterfall Bluff
A waterfall that pours straight into the Indian Ocean, reached by rough tracks and a guided hike near Lusikisiki.
Silaka Nature Reserve
A small coastal reserve near Third Beach with forest trails, birding and a calmer beach day than Second Beach.
Dwesa Nature Reserve
Coastal forest, grassland and near empty beaches on the Mbashe River, quiet because the gravel road is long.
Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve
Guided game drives, walks and estuary canoeing in a private reserve five minutes from Cintsa beach.
Wild Side Hiking
A guided multi day hike from Port St Johns to Coffee Bay, sleeping in village stays with local guides and porters.
Mbotyi River
Canoeing on the wide Mbotyi lagoon past forest and fish eagles, the calm water pick of the northern coast.
Best hotels in Wild Coast
Prana Lodge
The one true five star stay on this coast, a small spa estate in dune forest above Cintsa Bay.
Crawfords Beach Lodge
A long established family beach lodge above Cintsa Bay, the dependable mid range base at the gateway.
Buccaneers Lodge and Backpackers
A sociable lodge and backpackers above the Cintsa lagoon, from dorms and camping to en suite rooms.
Coffee Shack Backpackers
The best known Wild Coast backpackers, part owned by the Tshezi community, with huts, dorms and day trips.
Ocean View Hotel
A three star family hotel above Coffee Bay main beach, the mid range hotel option in the village itself.
White Clay Resort
A small sea facing resort on the Hole in the Wall road, known for seafood and quieter nights than the village.
Hole in the Wall Hotel and Holiday Village
A self catering resort right at Hole in the Wall, stayed in for the location above empty coastline.
Bulungula Lodge
An off grid lodge fully owned by the Nqileni community, with rondavels, communal meals and village guides.
Is Wild Coast expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ZAR 900 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ZAR 2,200 a person |
| Splurge | ZAR 5,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Mapuzi Caves: a few days ahead
- Nqileni Village: a few days ahead
- Hole in the Wall: a few days ahead
- Waterfall Bluff: a few days ahead
- Inkwenkwezi Private Game Reserve: a few days ahead
- Wild Side Hiking: weeks ahead
- Prana Lodge: weeks ahead
- Crawfords Beach Lodge: a few days ahead
- Book December, January and sardine run stays, Umngazi, Prana, The Haven Hotel and Bulungula Lodge well ahead.
- Book the Wild Side Hiking trail, Waterfall Bluff guides and Inkwenkwezi game drives days to weeks ahead, and tell lodges your vehicle type.
Is Wild Coast safe?
- Violent crime is a real risk, including robbery, carjacking and smash and grab attacks on vehicles, with higher risk after dark and in isolated areas; avoid isolated beaches.
- Never drive rural roads after dark, keep valuables out of parked cars, and take a local guide for hikes between villages.
- Swim only where local guides say people are swimming that day, never at river mouths or near sardine bait balls.
- Emergency numbers are 10111 for police and 112 from a mobile phone, and the nearest full hospitals are in Mthatha and East London.
Wild Coast travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not drive the gravel to Bulungula, Mdumbi or Umngazi after dark or after heavy rain in a low sedan.
- Do not trust navigation app times off the tar, and do not book one night per village on a coast where every move costs half a day.
Getting around Wild Coast: public transport and more
- You need your own car with good ground clearance or a booked lodge transfer, as there is no visitor public transport between villages.
- There is no coastal road: moves between bases go inland to the N2 or R61 and back out, so Coffee Bay to Port St Johns is about 200 km by road.
- Download offline maps before leaving the tar, fill up in East London, Mthatha, Lusikisiki or Port St Johns, and plan every arrival for early afternoon.
Who Wild Coast suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Wild Coast your trip
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