Cape St Francis

Weaving its way between beautiful nature reserves, indigenous fynbos, wetlands, plush marinas, and rolling sand dunes, Cape St Francis is a pretty beachfront eco-village at the heart of the St Francis peninsula, which also includes the equally pristine St Francis Bay and Oyster Bay. Though it's increasingly popular with South African tourists during the summer holiday season, it retains an air of calm and tranquility throughout the year, and there’s plenty of sunshine even in the depths of winter, when the area's mostly empty. There’s a historic lighthouse (the highest masonry building in Southern Africa), a challenging links golf course, a handful of good restaurants and watering holes, and any number of fine accommodation options among the pretty whitewashed, thatch-roofed Cape Dutch–style beach cottages and villas that dominate the area’s architecture. It’s also a great destination for surfers and water-sports enthusiasts.