Hermanus sea view Hotels

Introducing Hermanus

• The Hemel –en-Aarde Valley wine route: There are many excellent wine estates down the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley.
• A good start is the Wine Village, which has the largest selection of South African wines. Further down the road, you will find many wine estates including Whale haven, Hermanuspietersfontein, Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, Newton Johnson, La Vierge, Sumaridge and Creation.
• During Whale Season (July – November) take a walk along the cliff paths which extend from the New Harbour, all the way to Grotto Beach, about 10km. There are many excellent viewing spots along the path, where one can get a close view at these magnificent creatures. On this walk it is easy to see how Hermanus earned its reputation as one of the world’s best land-based whale watching sites in the world.
• Take a boat based whale watching trip from the New Harbour.
• You can also view the whales by plane, on the ‘African Wings’.
• This is an amazing experience, and you can assist with the daily ‘whale count’.
• If you are feeling brave, why not try shark cage-diving off Gansbaai? You can either go down in the cage, or view from the boat.
• Sea kayaking is a great way to view the coast, and possibly get up close to a whale.
• If fishing is your thing, you have the choice of fly fishing, or chartering a boat for some sea fishing.
• Take a walk down at the new harbour, watch the fishing boats come in and eat some fish and chips. The Gecko Bar is a good place for sundowners.
• African Queen River cruises – a 3 hour cruise from Stanford, with braai (barbeque) facilities on board.
• Bird-watching – a guided tour can be arranged. The Overberg is rich with birdlife.
• Horse-riding: There are several companies that offer horse-riding ranging from beach rides, farm rides, and mountain and Fynbos trails.
• Hermanus has quite a selection of Art galleries and studios.
• Take a tour of an abalone (perlemoen) farm.
• Sample some local beer at the Birkenhead Brewery in Stanford, and then go down to the Klein river cheese farm (or maybe the other way round…)
• Spend a day at the Health & Beauty Spa at the Arabella Western Cape Hotel and Spa.
• There are excellent hiking trails in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve. These range from easy to strenuous, and a map can be purchased from the kiosk at the entrance to the reserve.
• Greyton is only a 45minute drive away, and is very picturesque. It has excellent restaurants as well as the famous Von Gassau’s chocolates.
• Take a drive to Betty’s Bay to the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens, and to see the penguins at Stony Point.
• Stop at Kleinmond on the way to enjoy oysters at the Harbour, and browse through the shops.
• Enjoy a game of golf at the Hermanus Golf Course, or the Arabella Golf Course.
• There are many excellent beaches to enjoy and soak up the sun – from quiet and secluded to Grotto beach which has achieved blue flag status and goes on for miles.
• Onrus beach is lovely, and has a lagoon which is shallow for the kids to play.
• On Saturday mornings, Hermanus has 2 excellent farmers markets: The one is know as the boeremark, and is held at Hermanuspietersfontein Winery, just behind the wine village. The second is the Hermanus Country market, held at Montessori School. Follow the scarecrows, from just before the Voelklip circle, and turn up towards the mountain, to the Fernkloof nature reserve.
• This market comes highly recommended; enjoy a breakfast at the market, and then stock up on tasty goodies for the weekend.

• It’s in Hermanus where you can be woken by the whales blowing at night, where you can watch them while sipping coffee or enjoying a restaurant meal, or, best of all, while walking along the cliff paths which hug the town’s coastline for about 12 kilometres.
• If walking’s not your thing or you want get up close and personal with a Southern Right Whale, then a trip on one of the registered whale watching boats is the answer. They are permitted to approach whales as close as 50 metres. Problem is, the whales don’t know that, and they’re curious creatures …
• A town that has the world’s only Whale Crier (like a town crier!) just has that extra special touch during whale season.
• If the weather gets a bit “tempestuous” – and it certainly can! – Hermanus has so much else to offer our visitors. Apart from its natural beauty – a large bay ringed by mountains – the immediate area has plenty for you to do.
• How about more than 60 wine estates ….?
• And the wine’s top notch!
• There are marine reserves to protect fauna and flora, and during whale season no motorized vessels may enter the larger portion of the bay (June to end November). Which means you can take out a kayak …
• The town has a Blue Flag beach with a second beach at Hawston, part of the same municipal district, sporting the status and Its very own Whale Festival.
• Just across the bay is Gansbaai (Bay of Geese), arguably the best spot in the world for cage-diving among Great White Sharks.