Garden Route · South Africa · Indian Ocean
Mossel Bay. Where the Garden Route begins.
The lighthouse is still flashing although the sun is already over the bay. Down at the Point two children lie in the tidal pool, the surf hits the rock shelves behind them, and the barking of the seals drifts across from Seal Island. Here is what you need for the trip: getting there, places to stay, beaches, the season, and the places all around.
What Mossel Bay is
A harbour town around 400 kilometres east of Cape Town, halfway to Port Elizabeth, where Bartolomeu Dias came ashore in 1488.
Half past six, and the harbour still lies in the shadow of the hill. An angler stands on the jetty, the first boats leaving behind him. At the Point somebody has the tidal pool to themselves. Mossel Bay is the first place on the Garden Route where a longer stop pays off.
Dias landed here on 3 February 1488, the first European on this coast. A few kilometres west, in the caves of Pinnacle Point, people were living off shellfish and seals around 164,000 years ago; since 2024 the site has been UNESCO World Heritage. The municipality counts 140,075 residents (2022 census). And the climate is why many people stay: more than 300 days of sunshine a year, so the tourism offices say, and a winter in which the thermometer sits around 20 degrees by day.
Our tipPlan two nights, not one. Most people drive through on the N2 and stop at the museum at best. The second day belongs to the Point, the tidal pool and the St Blaize Trail, and only then do you understand why so many people spend their winters here.
- From Cape Town
- 400 kma good four hours on the N2
- George Airport
- 45 kma good half hour
- Water
- 17 to 22 degreesAugust to February
- Dias
- 1488landed on 3 February
This site
What you will find here.
- PlanningGetting there and when to go
Four hours on the N2 or a whole day on Route 62, the flight to George, and why winter can be the better season here.
- SleepingAccommodation
Guest houses at the Point with surf under the window, holiday flats for the winter, hotels above the harbour, with prices to compare.
- SeeingAttractions
A postbox in a tree, a lighthouse from 1864 and caves where people ate shellfish 164,000 years ago.
- SwimmingBeaches
Santos Beach sits in the lee of the harbour, Diaz Beach has the waves, and at the Point the tide fills a pool in the rock.
- DoingThings to do
Surfing at the Point, sandboarding down the Dragon Dune, whales from June to November, and the question of whether the cage is still worth it.
- OnwardsDay trips
Hartenbos is next door, Wilderness lies past George, Oudtshoorn beyond the Robinson Pass, and Knysna waits on the way east.
- Back thenHistory
Dias in 1488, a shoe with a letter in it, a name two traditions argue over, and the oldest traces of modern behaviour.
- EatingRestaurants
A braai on the quay with the boats in view, fish at the Point, coffee in town and a wine farm near Herbertsdale.
- QuestionsFAQ
How safe it is, what to wear in July, how to pay and what a winter here costs.
The season
In December the bay bursts at the seams. And in July?
When the schools close in mid December, half of South Africa comes to the sea. The holiday houses are booked, Hartenbos turns into a small town, and lifeguards stand at Santos Beach until evening. At the peak of the summer holidays the town counts 50,000 to 60,000 visitors a night according to Wikipedia, at around 25 degrees with water around 22. The holidays run from 12 December 2026 to 12 January 2027 (August 2026), and the summer season into March.
From June to November the southern right whales pass along the coast, most of them between July and October. That is winter, but a mild one: around 20 degrees by day, the water at 17, the rain mostly at night. In return you get a room without booking ahead. And the beach to yourself.
Answered briefly
Frequently asked questions about Mossel Bay
When is the best time to visit Mossel Bay?
For the beach and for swimming, December to March: around 25 degrees by day, the water at 21 to 22. Mid December to mid January are the South African school holidays, and then Mossel Bay is full. For whales, June to November, with most of them passing the coast between July and October. Winter stays mild, around 20 degrees during the day, and the rain mostly falls at night. April and May are the quiet months, with water around 19 degrees and empty beaches.
How far is Mossel Bay from Cape Town?
Around 400 kilometres on the N2, a good four hours without a break. That puts Mossel Bay roughly halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), which is also about 400 kilometres away. The nearest airport is George, some 45 kilometres and a good half hour on the N2, with flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg.
What is Mossel Bay known for?
For the landing of Bartolomeu Dias on 3 February 1488, the first by a European on this coast, and for the Post Office Tree, a milkwood that had a letter left in a shoe hanging from it in 1500 or 1501, depending on the source. Add the caves of Pinnacle Point with traces of modern humans around 164,000 years old, UNESCO World Heritage since 2024, the Cape St Blaize lighthouse of 1864, surfing at the Point, and a climate the town has advertised since 1992 as the second mildest in the world.
How many nights should I stay in Mossel Bay?
Two. For most people Mossel Bay is the first stop after Cape Town, and anyone who stays a single night sees the Dias Museum and drives on. The second day belongs to the Point: lighthouse, tidal pool, the St Blaize Trail towards Dana Bay, and the harbour in the evening. If you want Pinnacle Point with a guide, or the Robinson Pass to Oudtshoorn, you need a third. Long stay visitors stay for weeks, because the winter is mild and the holiday flats are empty then.
Are there sharks in Mossel Bay, and can I still swim?
Yes, and yes. Great whites lived in numbers around Seal Island and its 3,000 plus Cape fur seals for a long time. Since 2021 and 2022 sightings have dropped sharply, ever since orcas started hunting in the bay. Cage diving still runs, but without any guarantee of a shark. Shark incidents with swimmers are rare in Mossel Bay. In season, swim at the beaches with lifeguards, on the Blue Flag beaches daily from 9am to 6pm between December and January (August 2026), and stay between the flags. The bigger danger is rip currents, not sharks.
Gallery
The bay in eight pictures.
