Visitors to Cape Town are urged to travel 20km around the bay to reach the elevated suburb of West Beach for the finest views of Table Mountain, Table Bay and Robben Island. This established residential suburb has some of the nicest homes too with parks, schools, hospitals and shopping centres nearby. The area experiences a high volume of guests during summer and in the windy season, international kiteboarders arrive to revel in the blustery conditions.
West Beach is a fairly new suburb, the first homes built in the mid-1900s. In the years that followed, additional suburbs and conveniences mushroomed that extended to the outer reaches of the Blouberg nature reserve and northwards to the boundaries of the Koeberg power plant, 15km from West Beach.
The suburb is highly sought after, both as a place of residence and a holiday destination.
Top 8 reasons to visit West Beach
1. West beach is two streets away from the sunny Blouberg beaches where swimming, surfing, kitesurfing and motor boating is enjoyed. The beachfront has a number of restaurants, bars and ice cream parlours.
2. The white mussel is commonly found on the beaches, however, to collect them requires a permit from the nearest post office and a catch method known as jiving. Walk into the sea to hip height and using your feet, dig into the sand and move from side to side to feel for the shellfish. Cook in white wine.
3. Opt for a tandem skydiving experience at the Delta 200 airstrip along the west coast road and hosted by Skydive Cape Town.
4. Visit the missionary town of Mamre to take the historic walk and enjoy a coffee break at the small eatery on the premises. Get to know the locals, most of whom have family ties to the town going back centuries.
5. The Durbanville wine route is a short drive from West Beach. The route consists of 11 wineries, all offering unique wine and food pairings.
6. New to kiteboarding? Several beachfront surf shops offer kiteboarding lessons and equipment hire to try this fun and energetic water sport.
7. The Atlantic Beach Golf Course is an 18-hole championship links course incorporated into a nature reserve. The venue has an excellent clubhouse and small driving range. Various buck species and small mammals and reptiles can be seen around the fairways.
8. Take a tour of the South African National Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) facility for an insight into the daily workings of a marine bird rehabilitation centre. The centre uses 4 ‘ambassador’ birds to educate visitors on the plight of the endangered African penguin.
Transport
The nearest airport is Cape Town International, 25km from West Beach. Nearby Tableview has many car rental agencies; however, car rental bookings can be made online. West beach is on an arterial bus route that links up with the main route between Melkbosstrand on the west coast and Cape Town city centre. Several metered taxi companies operate close to West Beach. If you have the Uber app, order a taxi via your mobile phone. There are many operators offering shuttle services between West Beach, Cape Town city and the airport.
Did you know?
The annual 7.5km swim from Robben Island to neighbouring Big Bay, and known as the Freedom Swim, occurs every April. A local swimmer has passed the 90 swim mark, a record, and hopes to complete 100 Freedom swims before he retires. To date, he has raised R6.5 million for charity.
A model plane airstrip is located on the southern end of the nearby Rietvlei wetland for model aircraft enthusiasts to safely fly their craft.