Hermanus, a paradise for Nature Lovers

Hermanus is a seaside town southeast of Cape Town in South Africa and known as the best whale watching spot in the world. With an abundance of Hermanus nature reserves, forests, coastal landscapes and other scenery to enjoy.

As a Nature's Paradise - What is Hermanus Famous for?

Whale Watching

Hermanus is a seaside town southeast of Cape Town, in South Africa’s Western Cape Province. Hermanus is famous for whale-watching and is considered one of the best two destinations in the world for whale-watching. Beaches include Voëlklip Beach and the broad Grotto Beach, overlooking Walker Bay. The Old Harbour Museum is a site encompassing the old harbour, a fishermen’s village and the Whale House Museum. The latter has informative displays and a suspended skeleton of a whale.

When and where can you see whales in Hermanus?

The best time to see whales in Hermanus is June through December. The Southern Right whales can arrive as early as April in Hermanus South Africa.

You can see whales frolicking from the winding coastline, and observe from the benches along the cliff paths.
For a close encounter, book a boat-based Whale Watching tour with Hermanus Whale Watchers.

Spectacular Beaches

Amazing landscapes and beaches make Hermanus a sought-after travel destination. Soak up the sun at any one of our stunning beaches. From Hawston, Vermont, Onrus, Sandbaai, Voëlklip to Grotto Beach.

Read all about the beaches in Hermanus

Hiking - Walking Trails in Hermanus

The Hermanus Cliff Path is a 12km coastal trail that hugs the coastline from New Harbour to Grotto Beach, offering astonishing views of Walker Bay and its whales along the way. The Cliff Path was incorporated into the Fernkloof Nature Reserve in 2000, to ensure the protection of the fynbos vegetation and the ecosystem.

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Hikers will also love Fernkloof Nature Reserve, with approximately 50km of well-maintained trails through the fynbos that covers the hills and mountains above Hermanus. As part of the Cape Floristic Region, the reserve is a botanist’s paradise with more than 1,250 species of plant including many different types of endemic fynbos. Keep an eye out for wildlife ranging from grey rhebok and Cape grysbok antelope to baboons and rock hyraxes.

Hiking Trail Maps of Fernkloof Nature Reserve. Here

Wine tasting & Tours

Wine Tasting on one of the 3 Wine Routes in and around Hermanus at a vast myriad of 100's of incredible award winning Wines to taste, at over 70 awesome Wineries all set in outstanding scenery, from coastal to mountainous.

Hermanus Wine Route - Hemel-en-Aarde (meaning “Heaven and Earth” in Afrikaans) is an area of 15 wineries in the Walker Bay Wine Region that rises from behind the coastal village of Hermanus. Its terroir – clay soil and the cool south-easter that acts as a vortex, cooling down the vineyards with cold air from the Benguela current – imparts a unique flavour to wines, which are often compared with those of Burgundy. Read More

The Stanford Wine Route in South Africa is an up-and-coming area in the Overberg. Wine Estates here are producing award-winning, cool climate wines. Read more

Museums in Hermanus

We have 3 Museums in Hermanus. Hermanus Old Harbour Museum, De Wet's Photo Museum, and the Whale museum.

De Wet's Huis Photo Museum in Hermanus, Western Cape. To be whisked into yesteryear, visitors to the Western Cape are invited to explore the old-world

Old Harbour Open-Air Museum: The town originally developed around this harbour around the middle of the nineteenth century when plentiful fish and freshwater was found in the area.

The Whale Museum:
Learn about the difference between baleen whales and toothed whales. The former are filter feeders, while the latter have teeth. Toothed whales are generally smaller than baleen whales. Whale House Museum. The latter has informative displays and a suspended skeleton of a whale.