East London/Buffalo City

The second biggest city of the Eastern Cape Province, East London is situated on the Buffalo River, and is South Africa's only river port.

Buffalo City’s municipality includes the province's capital: Bhisho, historical King William’s Town, the second-largest township in South Africa - Mdantsane - and the industrial hub of Berlin, which was settled by German military in the 1800s. It is the second major centre in the Eastern Cape and capital of the Amathole region. Buffalo City is the gateway to the Wild Coast to the north-east and the Sunshine Coast to the west.

It's a sprawling, laid-back and friendly city.  Some of its more famous beaches include Gonubie, Chintsa, Beacon Bay and Nahoon.  Within an hour of East London are the pristine and popular holiday towns of Haga-Haga, Morgan's Bay and Kei Mouth to the east and Kidd's Beach to to west.  Great, unspoilt places, popular with families, surfers and fishermen alike.

East London has a well-serviced airport, with daily domestic flights to all major cities.  By road, it's on the major N2 highway between Cape Town and Durban.  The 'friendly N6 route' connects it to Bloemfontein in the interior.

Although there's constant rivalry between Port Elizabeth and East London as to which one is the windier city of the two, East London has a warm, mild climate and is great to visit all year round. 

A reminder: be sure to book ahead during peak local holiday times - Easter and Christmas.

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Top 10 Attractions:

• Miles of unpolluted, fantastic beaches
• East London Aquarium with 11m viewing platform (great in whale season - June to November)
• East London Museum - rare finds like the only known dodo egg and a stuffed coelacanth
• Victorian & Art Deco architecture in the city centre
• Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant
• Hemingways Casino, Shopping and Entertainment complex
• Lion Park (just off N6)
• The "Nahoon footprints" fossils, dated at 200 000 years, belong to the archaic homonid period
• Historical Victorian-style City Hall (1897)
• Steven Biko Garden of Rememberance, near King William's Town.

  



















  Nahoon Bluff and pristine beach.© South African Tourism