Hermanus is a wonderful town - laid-back - yet with plenty of outdoor activities to keep you from getting bored! The Hermanus air is wonderful - it has its own unique fragrance. Breathe it in!

Hermanus has been a popular destination for holidays for over 100 years. It exists because it is such a perfect holiday spot. The town was established 150 years ago by a shepherd, named Hermanus Pieters, who found a fresh water spring and told others to bring their sheep and their families to enjoy summer grazing by the sea.

Thus Hermanus became the holiday destination for the inland farmers of the Overberg region, and over the years more and more people have discovered this wonderful holiday haven.

Beaches
Hermanus has numerous safe beaches:

• Langbaai (Long Bay) is a favorite beach for those seeking a bit of peace and privacy. Formed between two rocky outcrops this beach is tiny in comparison to the other beaches. It offers good swimming and white sand.
  
• Kammabaai: The ideal beach for families with small children. Parking can be found near the beach. Plenty of white sand and shallow water make this a favorite beach for the kids.
  
• Grotto: This long beach literally stretches for kilometers making it ideal for those wanting to take a long walk, exercise the kids, or play in the surf.
  
• Voelklip: This beach is often the playground of young adults. Great lawns, white sands, and good facilities complement the beauty of this setting ... PLUS many more - take time and explore!

Beer Tasting
A lovely drive towards Stanford will take you to the Birkenhead Brewery and Restaurant where you can sample the beer and enjoy a pub lunch!

Golf
For those who just cannot leave the golf-clubs at home - you can enjoy your game in the courtesy of: Hermanus Golf Club, Main Road Hermanus, Tel: +27 (0)28 312 1954

Restaurants
Hermanus boasts many restaurants, some tucked away out of the main scene, others on the seafront and in the main street. Try them all! After all, who wants to cook whilst on holiday?

Click here for a list of recommended restaurants in Hermanus.

Shopping
Hermanus has the obligatory Pick & Pay + some chain stores but the shopping experience comes when you wander down all the nooks and crannies in Hermanus. You will discover all sorts of cute, funky, and different shops! Over week-ends, the craft stalls in the main square display their hand-made wares. It's a good place for those special gifts that you won't find elsewhere.

Walks
Hermanus has numerous walking and hiking trails -all with spectacular views

Cliff Path
This path takes you from the New Harbour right along as far as Grotto Beach with a few detours via the road along the way. The fynbos in bloom is always a sight and during whale season, one can stop to whale-watch from the many vantage points along the way.

• Scotsman's Point adjoining the New Harbour where the Cliff Path begins. The harbour was completed in l951 as a safe anchorage for commercial and private craft and now sports restaurants, the National Sea Rescue headquarters and a Boat Club.
  
• Rietfontein marks the beginning of the Marine Reserve where angling from the rocks is permitted but no other disturbance of marine life is allowed. Explore the fresh water spring, flat rock banks and sheltering cliffs where the first fisher-folk of Hermanus settled in about l856. No trace of their stay remains.
  
• Hottentotsbank, Tamatiebank, Preekstoel, Platbank - well-known fishing spots where bottom-feeding fish such as Hottentot and the occasional White Stumpnose can be caught, while the Steenbras feeds at Castle rock and Gearing's Point near the Old Harbour.
  4. Fick's pool, tidal, and the hidden spring of Hermanus Pieters, the shepherd after whom the town is named.
  5. Windsor Hotel overlooking the wheelchair friendly walkway to Gearing's Point and the Old Harbour. The point is a favourite spot for viewing the migratory Southern Right Whales which visit Walker Bay between June and late November to calve and mate. The Old Harbour has been upgraded to museum status with a whale exhibit and environmental education centre.
  
• Bientang's Cave, named after the last survivor of a band of Strandlopers, who died at the end of the l9th century, now houses a seafood restaurant.
  
• The Marine Hotel, built in the early 1900's, overlooks a public tidal pool.
  
• Roman Rock, named after the Red Roman (Rooi Man) fish. This section of the path ends at Sea Road, where private properties extend to the high-water mark. The path can be rejoined from the Main Road next to Mollergren Park.
  
• Mickey, a rocky islet white-sheeted with guano from the flocks of White-breasted and Cape cormorants which roost there. Endemic fur seals often form a ring near the rocks, the better to hunt their prey.
  
• Kraal Rock, famed for fishing and an ideal spot for whale and dolphin watching together with Die Gang and Sievers Punt next door.
  
• Kwaaiwater aptly named for the waves that come crashing and thundering over the rocks and into the small shelly beach. The Mossel River tumbles out into the sea here - from its source high in Fernkloof, its course is entirely in a nature reserve. The Cape Clawless Otter, often seen hunting for fish in the breakers, uses the stream as a corridor to the mountains where it feeds on fresh water crabs. Galjoen, South Africa's national fish is caught in the turbulent sea water.
  
• Langbaai, Kammabaai, Voelklip, Grotto are popular bathing beaches. On the edge of Grotto's parking area is the cave after which the beach is named. The path runs under ancient forest land where white Milkwood, Wild Camphor, Boekenhout, Cape Holly and Hardpear grow side by side.
  
• Piet-se-Bos is at the end of the path where a panoramic view of Die Plaat stretches across the mouth of the lagoon.

Fernkloof Nature Reserve
This reserve of 15 sq km, in the Kleinrivier Mountains, offers over 50km of different trails of varying lengths - the higher you go, the better the view! There is a mountain bike trail + 3 self-guided trails and 1600 different plant species. The gardens are peaceful - take a picnic if strenuous hiking is
not your scene or visit the indigenous nursery. Altitude ranges from sea level to 842m above sea level. Tel: 028 313 8000.

Hoy's Koppie
This rocky outcrop in the middle of Hermanus offers a good walk with splendid views and ends at the burial place of Sir William Hoy and his wife, Gertrude. Sir William was General Manager of the SA Railways in the 1900's and wanted to ensure that Hermanus remained unspoilt so he prevented the rail extension from Bot River to Hermanus.