Eastern Cape

Offers the visitor from long sandy beaches to game parks teaming with the Big Five to unrivalled cultural experiences.

The Eastern Cape is the traditional home of the Xhosa people and offers the visitor a world of diversities. The Eastern Cape's interior is the arid Karoo, with its wildlife, while in contrast there is the Indian Ocean's Sunshine and Wild Coast areas.

Also within the province lies the village of Qunu where Nelson Mandela was born and raised.

The Eastern Cape offers the visitor a rich variety of cities, towns and villages to visit -

from the golden beaches of Port Elizabeth and East London, the arid Karoo with its towns filled with history like Graaff Reinet and Burgersdorp, the Wild Coast with its picturesque beaches and the Transkei with its Xhosa villages and towns like Umtata.

The capital of the province is situated at Bisho outside King Williams Town.

Cities and towns of the Eastern Cape:

Aliwal North
The town is the centre of a prosperous farming community whose main products are wool, maize, wheat, beef and dairy and its principle assets are two popular hot mineral springs.

Burgersdorp
Oldest town in Eastern Cape lying in the shelter of a valley surrounded by the Stormberg Mountains.

Coffee Bay
A misty, untouched bay haunted by the ghosts of shipwrecked sailors in the heart of the Wild Coast, with unsurpassed beauty and majestic scenery.

Cradock
Founded in 1814 as a frontier stronghold, the town is an important agricultural centre with traditional Karoo hospitality, close to natural sulphur springs and the Zebra National Park.

East London
Your gateway to the wild coast and sunshine coast, with its unique blend of old-world charm and modern convenience. The only river port in South Africa, with a rich cultural heritage.

Graaff Reinet
The oldest town, it is known as the 'Athens' of the Eastern Cape, with magnificent examples of Karoo architecture, fynbos and more monuments than any other town in South Africa.

Grahamstown
Today the city is a commercial educational and industrial centre and is known as the 'City of Saints'.

Hogsback
Situated in the beautiful Eastern Cape, this reserve is dominated by three ridges said to resemble the bristle's on a hog's back. Come enjoy its indigenous forest with parrot and lourie, the great angling, waterfalls, horse-rides and various walks.

King Williams Town
On the banks of the Buffalo River some 50km west of East London, King William's Town started as a mission station.

Maclear & Ugie
Set in picturesque surroundings, Maclear & Ugie offer excellent facilities for a tranquil vacation, with many and various types of recreation, as well as attractions and activities

Mazeppa Bay
A picturesque village on the Wild Coast, close to the Kei River and Umtata. Relaxed, holiday atmosphere, with various things to see and do.

Nieu Bethesda
Old convenience stores bearing sweet jars, welcome the visitor to this sleepy town in a valley at the foot of the Compassberg Mountains in the Karoo - home to Helen Martin`s Owl House.

Port Elizabeth
Known as the Friendly City, a major seaport and tourist destination along the dazzling shores of Algoa Bay, with an unbeatable and diverse mix of eco-attractions and adventure holiday destination.

Somerset East
A charming town bathed in history, set among Oak trees, white-washed buildings, mountain streams and waterfalls at the foot of the Bosberg Mountains

St Francis Bay
An hour from Port Elizabeth, the village boasts a temperate climate of warm summers and mild winters, a magnificent beach providing safe bathing, nature reserves, a deep water harbour and fantastic surfing

Umtata
Umtata is best known for the Nelson Mandela Museum in town and as stop-over en-route from East London to Durban.