What to do in Mossel Bay, South Africa? Mossel Bay is a lovely coastal town on the Garden Route, offering everything from beaches and boat trips to seafood and historical attractions. Here are our top tips for things to see and do in Mossel Bay.
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Mossel Bay in South Africa
Mossel Bay is a nice coastal town, which we visited several times during our trip through South Africa. First we stopped here when we followed Garden Route from Storms River and westwards. Then we came back here, when we were going to weddings in Georgeand went on excursions with the other wedding guests.
Mossel Bay, or Mosselbaai as it is called in Afrikaans, is located 47 kilometres southwest of the town of George, on the South African coast.
What to do in Mossel Bay, South Africa?
So what can you see and do in Mossel Bay? First and foremost, you can enjoy the environment and eat good food, but there's also plenty of other things to do. We've put together a list of our top tips here.
1. sunbathing and swimming on the beaches of Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay is located on the coast and has fine sandy beaches. This makes it a great place to sunbathe and swim, although you should be aware that the water can be quite chilly. Santos Beach Mosselbay is in the centre of the city. Other beaches are Slide beach and beaches at Groot Brakrivier.
2. sit with your feet in the sand on Kaai 4 Braai
Quay 4 Braai is a rather simple but charming restaurant located in the harbour area. Here you sit with your feet in the sand and have a lovely view of the sea.
3. Enjoy views and oysters at the Oyster Bar
If you want something a little more luxurious, with a focus on sushi, fish and seafood, you can head to Oyster Bar, which is right next door. We managed to visit this lovely place no less than twice. The first time we had prawns and white wine.
The second time we had Robin and Alexandra with us, and this time we settled for a drink while enjoying the view.
4. Try wagyu beef at The Marbled Wagyu.
Right next to Kaai 4 Braai and Oyster Bar is the restaurant The Marbled Wagyu. This restaurant focuses on the exclusive beef called "wagyu". We cooked this some time ago at home, and then we were disappointed. Now it was a different matter. Very, very tender and delicious! In addition, the place offers a lovely view of the sea.
5. Visit the Dias Museum
If you like history and science, don't miss the Dias Museum Complex located in the centre of the city. The most famous thing on display here is a full-scale replica of the Portuguese ferry. Barolomeu Diaswho discovered southern Africa in 1488.
There are also a lot of other little things to discover in the museum area, such as Muslim graves from the 19th century and a museum about different marine animals.
6. Look in Post Office Tree
One of the most exciting places in the museum area at the Dias Museum is... Post Office Tree. This famous tree was used by early Portuguese explorers as a kind of 'post office'.
In 1501, Portuguese navigator Pêro de Ataíde sought refuge in Mossel Bay after losing much of his fleet in a storm. He left a story of the disaster in an old shoe, which he hung from a tree. The story was found, and the tree served as a kind of post office for decades afterwards. Today there is a memorial on the site.
7. Learn how to make your own gin at Cape Saint Blaze.
Have you ever thought about making your own gin? We hadn't, but nonetheless we got to try our hand at it. Cape Saint Blaze Artisanal Distillery. The workshop was both interesting and entertaining, and everyone got to flavour their own gin according to their own wishes, and put a name to it. After completing the "course" you got to take the bottle home. Great fun!
The workshop also included a tasting and, if you wanted, you could buy one of the (very nice!) bottles to take home.
8. See the views from the Cape Saint Blaze Lighthouse
Another thing to do in Mossel Bay is to visit the lighthouse that inspired the shape of the gin bottles. The lighthouse sits dramatically on top of a mountain and offers great views.
During the day, until around 16:00, the lighthouse is open to visitors. Those who wish can pay to climb the narrow stairs to the top. You can also settle for a coffee or a beer on the outdoor terrace.
9. Ride the world's longest zipline across the ocean
Just outside the lighthouse in Mossel Bay passes the "world's longest zipline over sea". We saw several people pass by here, and then finish the ride at the small "adventure centre" located just below the lighthouse.
10. Join a boat trip
Starting from Mossel Bay, it is possible to make various boat trips. Mossel Bay Boat Adventures offers, for example, speedboat tours, whale watching and tours to the Seal Islandwhere there is a large seal colony.
11. Dive with caged sharks
One popular thing to do in Mossel Bay, but which we weren't keen on, is cage diving with sharks. This activity involves putting on a diving suit and crawling into a cage, then being hoisted down among the great white sharks. Huh! But who knows, maybe it's for you?
12. go on safari
There are private safari parks in the vicinity of Mossel Bay: Botlierskop Game Lodge and Garden Route Game Lodge. Our friends went on the first of these two and were very pleased. During a few hours of safari they saw the big five and lots of other animals, such as giraffes and zebras.
13. Take a guided tour at the Point of Human Origins
The Point of Human Origins is a world-renowned archaeological site, where very early evidence of modern human behaviour has been found. Here you can book a guided tour to learn more.
14. Feast on seafood at De Vette Mossel Grootbrak.
The restaurant The Fat Mussel Grootbrak is located on the Groot Brakrivier and offers a relaxed barefoot environment and seafood. It serves fish, seafood and mussels, and you can relax in a hammock or even walk down to the beach.
More to see and do in Mossel Bay
Want even more tips for things to do in Mossel Bay? Here are some more suggestions, in addition to our tips above.
- Diaz water park is a family-friendly water park in Mossel Bay.
- Dragon Dune Sandboarding offers the opportunity to surf sand dunes on a board.
- Garden Route Casino offers a casino, restaurant and entertainment.
- Great Brak River Museum is located in an old school house and tells the history of the area.
- Pinnacle Point Golf Course is a golf club in Mossel Bay.
- Wine tasting can be done at various locations in the area, such as Reed Valley or Jakkalsvlei.
Where to stay in Mossel Bay?
There are of course many different hotels, guest houses and bed & breakfasts in Mossel Bay. We stayed at Bar-T-Nique Guesthouse, which felt more like a small hotel than a guesthouse.
Here we had an excellent room and very nice views of the city and the water from the breakfast room/balcony. We were also walking distance down to the harbour with all the restaurants, and when we were going home in the evening, the hotel arranged a car shuttle. We were very happy with our accommodation here!
There is also a campsite in Mossel Bay, just below the lighthouse.
More to see and do in the neighbourhood
Just east of Mossel Bay is the town of George, and just beyond that is the beautiful Wilderness. If you're travelling north, you can instead visit Oudtshoornwhere you can see caves and ostriches. In a south-westerly direction from Mossel Bay, you can get to Cape Agulhaswhich is the southernmost point in Africa.
More tips for things to do in Mossel Bay?
Have you visited this South African coastal town? If so, what are your top tips for what to see and do in Mossel Bay?
Facts about Mossel Bay in South Africa
- Country: South Africa
- Provins: Western Cape
- Location: Mossel Bay is located 47 kilometres southwest of George, on the South African coast.
- The name: Mosselbaai in Afrikaans. The name, meaning 'bay of mussels', was given by Dutch maritime traders in the early 17th century.
- Residents: Around 120 000 people
- Language: Afrikaans, English, Xhosa and others
History in Mossel Bay
- Prehistory: 164,000 years ago, people lived in the Pinnacle Point cave, gathering food from the sea.
- 1488: On 3 February this year, the ship reached Bartolomeu Dias Mossel Bay, which was the first European landing in what is now South Africa. Here they loaded water from the spring Aguada de São Brasand they met the San people.
- 1501: Portuguese sea captain Pedro d'Ataide left a message in a shoe in a tree, which continued to be used as a letterbox.
- 1600: Around this year the town was named Mosselbai.
- 1787: The Dutch East India Company built a grain warehouse, one of the first buildings.
- 1814: The British took control of the area.
- 1848: The British granted the town rights under the name Aliwal South, a name that was later changed.
- 1900: Around the turn of the century the trade in ostrich feathers flourished. Many houses were built.
- 1912: A breakwater was constructed.
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Lena - good for the soul says:
What an exciting area to visit, it seems. Lots of things to do and experience. Cool with the gin production too.
Hug Lena
09 March 2024 - 8:38
Helena says:
The gin making was fun, a different thing to do! 🙂
09 March 2024 - 19:37
Monica says:
Incredible how much there is to see and experience. Will look again at your nice nature photos. And so much history for better or worse but that's the world.
And such nice accommodation you find, looks so beautiful and fresh.
I don't think I'll be able to go on a shark trip, but perhaps a trip in the air can be both exciting and beautiful.
And son, he is really like his father, I think it's so funny when you see such things so clearly. Sometimes in baby photos and I see it immediately, others don't see it.
Continue to enjoy the sun, nature and blue sky, here for two whole days it was so blue and it was extremely nice. Today so dark so we have to light lamps in the middle of the day to find the coffee cup and a little south of the big city fell snowflakes. Not so strange perhaps in March but extremely tired of the grey weather this year.
So I'm going to plant some spring flowers now that can handle a few degrees below zero.
09 March 2024 - 15:19
Helena says:
Yes, there is a lot to experience! The accommodation has been good, almost always. We often book guest houses ("pensionat" approximately) and there are many nice ones! Hope spring comes to Sweden soon!
09 March 2024 - 19:40
BP says:
Drool, drool - mostly for the food this time. It was a culinary tour to die for. And the South African prawns were about twice as big as our Swedish prawns. Yummie, yummie. As well as oysters. Okay, while I'm at it, the Japanese steak will also slip down... as a main course then;-)
09 March 2024 - 16:58
Helena says:
Yes, there was a lot of good food in Mossel Bay, for our part! There are plenty of shellfish, fish and mussels here by the sea!
09 March 2024 - 19:41