15 things to do in Hermanus on the Cape Whale Coast

By Roxanne Reid
Once a tiny fishing village, Hermanus – just a 90-minute drive east of Cape Town – is now a bustling seaside town with fabulous Hermanus accommodation and tons of things to do. Think wine tasting, whale-watching, hiking, long white beaches and more. Here’s my pick of 15 things to do in Hermanus on the Cape Whale Coast, South Africa.

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1. Go beer tasting

If you’re approaching Hermanus from Cape Town, stop at Honingklip Brewery on the R43 to enjoy a tasting of four Belgian-inspired beers. The tasting line-up of four beers (for R35) depends entirely on what’s on tap that day. My favourite was the Blond; watch out for the Trippel at 9% alcohol. You can also buy beer by the bottle to take away, order a light meal or go adventuring along a mountain bike trail on the farm.

2. Visit a museum

One of my favourite things to do in Hermanus is to visit its museums. The Old Harbour is an open-air museum below the main square, which depicts the history of the fishing and whaling industry around Hermanus. See some restored old fishing boats, the jetty and the tables where fish was cut up, as well as indoor displays in stone buildings where fishing shacks used to stand in days gone by.

​The whale museum has interesting displays on types of whales (e.g. baleen, toothed), different species, whale sense, echolocation, how they feed, and actions like spyhopping, breaching and lobtailing. A southern right whale skeleton hangs above everything, with displays to show its internal organs and bones. It’s fascinating to see that the flipper consists of a humerus, radius, ulna and phalanges, just like the human arm and hand.

The photo museum next to the whale museum displays a wealth of historical sepia photos in a cottage that was once a school house. Enjoy pictures of Hermanus when it was just a tiny fishing village, of the old harbour, holiday fashions and bathing in the old days, and early hotels like the Windsor Hotel, which was originally a sanatorium. Although you can wander around with a pamphlet that gives you more info about the photos, I found it frustrating because it’s not easy to match the info to the specific photo. I’d prefer if each photo in the exhibition had its own info panel next to it.

3. Go shopping
There are tons of shops in Hermanus, selling virtually anything you could possibly want. Here are three of my perennial favourites.

Hemingways Bookshop is a jewel in busy Hermanus, a place to retreat from the hurly-burly, smell the evocative aroma of old books and disappear into a different world. It has a great selection of good books, including Africana. Try not to get lost once you cross the threshold.

Romantiques is an enchanting treasure trove of old tins, old toys, antiques, music instruments, dinky cars, old woodworking tools, military collectables, crockery, silver and objects d’art. You could browse for three hours and still not find everything that's interesting. There’s lots of stuff like my granny used to have, which is quite nostalgic.

Visiting The Wine Village at the bottom of the Hemel-en-Aarde Road is another of my favourite things to do in Hermanus​. It has a superb selection of wines from both the region and further afield in South Africa. If you don’t have time to go to individual estates, this is the place to buy a few bottles to take home with you. There are usually a few bottles open for tasting and the staff are amazingly knowledgeable and helpful. There’s probably not a bottle in the place they haven’t tasted.

4. Walk the cliff path

Take a walk along at least part of the path that meanders alongside the sea and the rocks for more than 10km - you’d be crazy to miss it. Listen to the birds calling and the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks, feel the spray shooting into the air. One popular section is from the Old Harbour or Gearing’s Point towards the New Harbour. Simply turn around and walk back when you feel like it. Enjoy the public art at Gearing’s Point and the biodiversity info boards along the way, where you can learn about how the coastline formed, how plants help with disease control, medicines, water purification, etc. Enjoy the natural scenery in a town that’s growing so big, so fast.

5. Take a hike

What to do in Hermanus for a bit of exercise? ​The 18-square-kilometre Fernkloof Nature Reserve is the perfect place for those who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of town and enjoy a walk in the mountains. Enjoy the fresh air, blue skies and views of the sea and town, take time to appreciate the birds like Cape sugarbirds and orange-breasted sunbirds, and the Cape fynbos – six of the seven endemic plant families of the Cape Floral Kingdom can be found here. You may even spot animals like klipspringer, grysbok, mongoose, baboon or dassie. There’s a 60km network of trails; keep to the footpaths and don’t pick the flowers.

6. Drive the Rotary Way

About 2km west of town is the starting point of a wonderful mountain drive that brings you to viewpoints overlooking the town and the sea. You can see all the way from the New Harbour to the Klein River estuary and beyond. If you’re short on time, you can climb to the top of Hoy’s Koppie in town for a nice view, but since you look down on the koppie from Rotary Way, you can imagine how much more worthwhile it is to drive up here.

7. Sit on a beach

You can’t come to Hermanus and not enjoy the long white beaches that surround the town. Two favourites are Voelklip and Grotto beach. Dutchies restaurant does a roaring trade at Grotto Beach, but you can walk further away before planting yourself in the sand if solitude is more your style.
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8. Go whale-watching

Photo: Southern Right Charters

By far the most popular activity during whale season (June to December) is Hermanus whale-watching. This is when you can usually see southern right whales, which come here to mate, calve and raise their young before returning to the Antarctic to feed. That’s not to say that if you visit outside these months you won’t see any whales – humpbacks, Bryde’s whales and dolphins occur at Hermanus all year round.

During whale season, listen for the whale crier who blows his kelp horn to alert the public to sightings nearby. If you don’t mind crowds, you’ll love the whale festival each September. If you want more than land-based whale-watching, you can pay for a whale-watching boat trip from the New Harbour.

9. Enjoy a wine tasting

If you love your wine and want to go wine-tasting, Hermanus is going to make you very happy, with a wide array of some of the best wineries in South Africa. Try Benguela Cove on the Bot River lagoon outside Hermanus if only for its gorgeous setting, or Hermanuspietersfontein for wacky wines called Kaalvoet Meisie, Skoonma and Kleinboet.

My favourite stomping ground is the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley for wineries like Newton Johnson, Hamilton Russell and Bouchard Finlayson (don’t miss the spectacular Galpin Peak Pinot Noir 2017 or the interesting combo of French and Italian cultivars in a wine called Hannibal). Creation does great wine pairings (e.g. chocolate and wine) and has fab views from its tasting room, while Sumaridge’s Methode Cap Classique from Pinot Noir is honeyed heaven.

Visit Spookfontein for its lovely position in the vineyards above the valley and the story of its name. Back in the 1800s, when the farm was established, the iron in the water of the fontein, or spring, interacted with the cool coastal breeze to create mist, which the locals thought was a spook, or ghost. And visit Ataraxia for its tasting room (pictured above) that looks like a small chapel. The name Ataraxia means a feeling of serenity and that’s what you get looking through the windows onto the vineyards.

10. Eat

Photo: Mogg's

Tripadvisor lists more than 80 Hermanus restaurants and coffee shops so there are lots to choose from. Some of my favourites over the years have been Betty Blue Bistro in the town centre (yummy salads, burgers and unmissable pancakes), Source at the bottom of the Hemel-en-Aarde Road (good food with a touch of sophistication, freshly baked breads, great coffee), and Mogg’s Country Cookhouse on a farm up the Hemel-en-Aarde Road; don’t miss the starters or the lamb shank (read Mogg’s Country Cookhouse: a winning recipe). A newbie discovered on our most recent visit to Hermanus is Heritage Cottage (superb fillet with mustard cream, good crème brulee).

I’ve only been to Bientang’s Cave twice and that was a good few years ago, so I can’t comment on how good the food is currently. But, given that the restaurant is situated in a cave right on the edge of the rocks and looking out to sea, you’d be hard-pressed to find a seafood restaurant with a more spectacular view.

11. Poke around the market

The Curio & Craft Daily Market at the Old Harbour Market Square is worth looking at when you visit the museums (see point 2). The individually run stalls are open every day, selling a variety of arts and crafts such as sculptures, wood carvings, paintings, beaded objects and jewellery. You’ll also find a good mix of clothes and, of course, souvenirs of Hermanus. Browse the stalls and support this effort, then grab a cuppa at one of the coffee shops nearby.

12. Visit an art gallery

There are more than a dozen galleries and studios in Hermanus you can visit. Put on your walking shoes and take a stroll around the village, gallery-hopping along the way. Stop for a cup of coffee when you need a pick-me-up. Don’t miss the open-air sculptures above the old harbour at Gearing’s Point; I particularly love the one of a face looking out to sea with hair that becomes birds with wings. There's also an annual Hermanus Fynarts festival in June.

13. Tour the abalone farm

Near the New Harbour is the Abagold abalone farm where you can put on gumboots to tour the facility on Mondays to Thursdays 11:00 and 15:00 and Fridays at 11:00. A guide takes you around the farm where abalone is cultured to fulfill the huge demand for this species without putting pressure on wild stocks. Learn about its life-cycle and the threats from poaching, see the hatchery, discover how the abalone are fed, sorted and cleaned for export. You can also have a tasting or visit the shop in the shed, which sells canned abalone, abalone shells, abalone pearls and jewellery.
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14. Stay over
There’s no question that a day in Hermanus isn’t enough to explore it properly (and I haven’t even focused on horse riding, kayaking, surfing, cycling, paragliding and ziplining!). What I’m trying to say is that you’ll definitely want to check out some Hermanus accommodation and stay over for a few days. Whether you want to push out all the stops in a seafront boutique hotel, or go budget self-catering, Hermanus has something to suit; there’s even camping in nearby Onrus if that’s your thing. To explore your options, have a look at Hermanus Tourism’s website. 

15. Take a day trip

We’ve established that there’s tons to do in Hermanus, but the town is also is well-positioned for day trips to other places. If you feel like getting out into the surrounding countryside, head for

• Arniston
• Bredasdorp with its ship museum
• L’Agulhas – southernmost tip of the continent of Africa with its lighthouse
• Stanford – see 10 things to do in Stanford
• Gansbaai – see Gansbaai: best destination for responsible travel
• Greyton – ​see 15 things to do in Greyton.

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