East London is South Africa's only river port, built where the Buffalo River meets the Indian Ocean, and it sits at the point where the developed Sunshine Coast gives way to the far wilder Transkei coastline. It is a working city rather than a resort, but it has good beaches, warm water and very few crowds.
Note for anyone searching: this is East London in the Eastern Cape, not the London borough. If you are booking flights, the airport code is ELS.
The beachfront
Orient Beach, tucked beside the harbour wall, is netted, sheltered and the safest swimming in the city. Eastern Beach, below the Esplanade, is longer and more exposed, with a good surf break and the promenade running above it. Nahoon Beach, a few minutes north across the river mouth, is the best of the three: a wide sweep of sand backed by dunes, with a well-known right-hand point break at Nahoon Reef and a small nature reserve behind it.
Recommended Stay · Beachfront · South Africa
Premier Hotel Regent
On the Esplanade above Eastern Beach, with sea-facing rooms looking straight down the bay. Well positioned for the beachfront and the aquarium, and one of the more dependable options in a city where quality varies.
Where to stay
The Esplanade and the beachfront strip hold the hotels with sea views and are the simplest base for a short stay. Nahoon and Bonza Bay, north of the river, are quieter residential suburbs with guesthouses and self-catering close to the better beach. Vincent and Berea, inland, are convenient for the hospitals and business district. Gonubie, twenty minutes northeast, is a small coastal village that suits a longer, slower stay.
The Wild Coast
East London is the practical southern gateway to the Wild Coast, the former Transkei shoreline running north toward Port St Johns: green hills falling straight into the sea, scattered rondavels, almost no development and a string of small family hotels reachable by long gravel roads. Cintsa, about forty minutes north, is the easiest introduction and can be done as a day trip. Anything beyond Haga-Haga needs a full day and a car with decent clearance.
Practicalities and timing
The East London Museum holds the original coelacanth, the fish thought extinct for 65 million years until one was landed here in 1938, and it remains the most interesting hour in the city. The climate is mild and humid with rain through the year; winter days are commonly 21 degrees and sunny. December fills the coast with domestic holidaymakers and is the only period when booking ahead is essential.
