Ideal seaside holiday destination

Looking for the ideal seaside holiday destination? Are you searching for a central location close to Cape Town – a guest house close to the Wine Farms, or a Bed and Breakfast close to the Garden Route or holiday accommodation on the Whale Route – where you can be based close to Cape Town airport, yet you can also be close to the sea and nature reserves?

Central in the Cape, only an hour away, from Hermanus, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Cape Town, the quaint seaside village of Gordons Bay is close to Cape Town tourist attractions and is the answer to your holiday destination dreams! Gordon’s Bay, your closest stay to Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Hermanus and Cape Town Airport and the ideal seaside holiday destination in the Cape!

Away from the hustle and bustle of traffic in the City

Nestled on the sea shore at the base of the Hottentots Holland Mountains, Gordon’s Bay is a sunny north-facing village enjoying the warmer waters of False Bay. It has an authentic, relaxing South African atmosphere, and is so close to Cape Town yet away from the hustle and bustle of traffic and the Cape Town city. This ‘Gorgeous’ Gordon’s Bay is ideal for a family holiday, a romantic celebration, a solo getaway or central base for your business trip or golfing holiday.

Gordon’s Bay is unique for its two harbor’s and blue flag beach

Gordon’s Bay offers sunny, white sandy beaches lined with quaint seaside restaurants or shady milkwood trees. The gentle shallow water warmed by the sun is a delight for you to suntan and swim or for youngsters to safely play in rock pools. Bikini Beach, awarded Blue flag status for cleanliness and safety, is next to the picturesque Gordon’s Bay Harbor where luxury yachts rock lazily. Perhaps unique in Africa, Gordon’s Bay boasts two harbors’ – the other being Blue Flag-rated Harbor Island Marina where large cruisers and other sea craft are safely moored offering a delightful setting for seaside dining and sipping the excellent local wines.

What can be more South African than Dolosse? Not only were they invented in South Africa, but we have a long history with Sangoma’s who also throw the Dolosse.
Those huge and oddly named concrete creations used to absorb and dissipate the energy of the seas, which are mostly found at the entrances to ports and harbours, although they also find use elsewhere where scour protection is required.

The Dolosse at our Old Harbour are symbolic on so many levels. Perfect selfie backdrop with the setting of sun or a moody ocean but also knowing that they serve to shelter from a storm, sign for family values, used for angler perches.Rugged, handsome and honest, down to Earth.

Hang out at the shops on Beach Front

The beachfront has some charming shops, the most famous of which is Bikini Beach Books – a maze of an extraordinary selection of books – a heaven from book lovers; and the ice- cream shop is always a favourite! There is a wide variety of reasonably-priced restaurants with fare ranging from South African to Mediterranean, even Indian, and superb seafood restaurants. Breakfast menus are diverse, generous and well-priced. Ooskus and Trawlers Fish ‘n Chips shops are excellent and enjoyed also by Muslim visitors. Tea and coffee shops are popular with locals and visitors and there is a friendly atmosphere in the village so when visiting Gordon’s Bay, you can feel free in your most comfortable wardrobe.

Enjoy our magnificent views and sunsets!

The historic village has some beautiful Victorian homes and a variety of architecture depicting various decades since that time. The village curves around the seafront and reaches up high against the mountain backing against the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and magnificent homes and guest houses offer marvelous views over False Bay.
Gordon’s Bay sunsets are spectacular! Mystical calm falls on the village as the sun slips behind the indigo-coloured Table Mountain Range across the Bay and the sky lights up. Tones of peach, apricot, gold maroon and violet swirl in amazing cloud patterns and shine on the Helderberg Mountains, which reflect pink hues onto the patchwork of vineyards in the Helderberg wine region. Sometimes yachts or kayaks glide in towards the harbor or in the distance an airplane is in silhouette as it is takes off for distant lands. Certainly, it is a time to relax with a sundowner and reflect on the pleasure of the spectacle.

Gordon’s Bay, let us take you for a tour

The Helderberg is made up of four areas, each distinct in their character:

The town of Somerset West has a mixture of both English and Afrikaans-speaking people, and surprisingly also a large German-speaking community;
The seaside town of The Strand (meaning ‘Beach’) is primarily Afrikaans;
The hamlet of Sir Lowry’s Village is mainly Afrikaans and indigenous African languages and was originally the accommodation for the workers building the Sir Lowry’s Pass road;
The village of Gordon’s Bay is both English and Afrikaans and most meetings are conducted primarily in English;

There are also large groups of people who have moved into the area from other African countries or from elsewhere in South Africa, primarily from the Eastern Cape and these are from the Xhosa language group. Many live in informal settlements awaiting formal housing.

The Helderberg has a strong Christian contingent and a Christian cross can be seen shining on the mountain in Gordon’s Bay. However, there is also a large group of Muslim people who live mainly between The Strand and Gordon’s Bay

It ends with our little secret

The GB stands not for Gordon’s Bay but for General Botha – the name of the Naval Officers’ Academy in Gordon’s Bay. The sign is maintained by the Academy and can be seen from a great distance away – a great asset to Gordon’s Bay.