Where to stay in East London

Eastern Cape South Africa

East London accommodation self catering, guest houses and b&b's, fairly central to East London, or in Gonubie, Kwelera, and Cintsa. Come stay in East London!

If visiting East London in South Africa, and needing accommodation at a bed and breakfast, self catering, or guest house establishment, these are some places that may interest you, all fairly central to East London:

Accommodation in East London

in the Eastern Cape of South Africa

Please also see our first efforts at wedding photography in Cintsa East, East Coast Resorts area, East London

The Crowned Crane Bed and Breakfast in Gonubie.

The Crowned Crane Bed and Breakfast in Gonubie, East London, is just a stone's throw from enjoying yourself on the beautiful coastline of Gonubie.

Feel the sand between your toes, and exhilirate in the smell of the ocean while feeling the spray of salt water on you as it splashes over rocks nearby.

Panorama Bed and Breakfast in Gonubie.

Gonubie is less than 20 km from the centre of East London, and is a fairly large coastal village with the beautiful Gonubie Beach, Gonubie boardwalk, and Gonubie River available for visitors to enjoy all year round. Do not, however, let your chosen Gonubie accommodation establishment know you will be arriving at a certain time in the evening during rush hour traffic. The traffic into Gonubie in the evenings is pathetically slow, as there is only one road in and out Gonubie.

Below, Basti and Zooty play in the Gonubie River in Autumn 2008.

This Gonubie coast picture below was taken not far from The Crowned Crane Bed and Breakfast accommodation establishment.

If you can avoid travelling into Gonubie during rush hour traffic, then Gonubie is a delightful place to stay in, and even people in East London feel it has a holiday atmosphere to it throughout the year.

Below, Tony walks along the edge of the Gonubie River, near the mouth and the main Gonubie Beach, on a warm Autumn evening.

The 4 photos of Gonubie above are © Teresa Schultz

East London people are friendly, but there's something particularly special about the folk of Gonubie, who make everyone feel welcome, visitors or not.

If heading up the coast from Gonubie River Mouth, one would find Petra and Spuds Self Catering in the tiny little seaside village of Kwelera, but one would have to drive out of Gonubie, along the only main Gonubie Road, and turn right to travel along the East Coast Resorts Road, to get to The Village Centre shops on your right, where Crossways Spar is, and then follow that country road down to Kwelera Village, where you find Petra and Spuds Self Catering nestled in the heart of Kwelera Nature Reserve, and a short one minute walk to the Kwelera beach awaits you after unpacking your bags.

This is about only 1 km from where the 16 km coastal race the Surfers Marathon starts in February each year, at Kwelera River Mouth. If you're a Surfers Marathon fanatic, and not from the Eastern Cape, or East London, or even if you are, you might think about spending a night or two at Petra and Spuds Self catering and doing some preparation runs on the rocks and soft sand down on the beach, or practice your Surfers Marathon start, by jogging to the start, doing some stretching excercises, then stumbling back over the sand to your comfortable accommodation spot. If you're really nice to Petra and Spuds, they may even come down to the beach and cheer you on, on race day...

Petra and Spuds Self Catering in quiet little Kwelera Village, is where you can totally relax, be barefoot, and spend time on the beach just 100 metres away."

The image above is by Teresa Schultz, and is © Petra and Spuds Self Catering.

Further along the East Coast Resorts Road you will find the Tainton turn off, just otherside the Cintsa East turn off, and, nearby, you will find the Cintsa Horses farm, which offers self catering accommodation on their working farm.

Children will enjoy watching the activities on the Cintsa Horses farm involving the feeding and taking care of many animals such as horses, cows, sheep and pigs. Cintsa Horses offers an array of various packages other than self catering accommodation, such as working weekends for kids, where you can leave your kids in safe hands to experience and be involved in the workings of a farm.

Cintsa Horses also offers half day and full day trail rides, and whether you're an experienced rider or not, you will be taken care of and will thoroughly enjoy rides along the Cintsa coastline or in the bush.

1 to 4 week volunteer programs are also offered, where volunteers can learn more about horses, the rehabilitation of horses that need it, and generally gain experience working with horses, an experience that can help start you following a dream of working with horses.

Also, try a Cintsa wedding with a difference. Arrive at the wedding reception on a cart pulled by horses! Getting married in Cintsa, and including a horse cart, will help provide wedding memories and photos you will definitely treasure. Visit the Cintsa Horses website to find out more.

On the website Stay in Beacon Bay you will find three Beacon Bay self catering accommodation options, one of which even offers long term accommodation if needed. Visitors to Beacon Bay, or even East London, will be thrilled to find that two of the accommodation options, namely Serendipity and Imp Lane, are very close to major shopping malls, the Beacon Bay library, and just a five minute's drive from Bonza Bay beach. They are also close to Brenda Evans Estates and to Common Ground restaurant and coffee shop, where you simply must try the delicious savoury pancakes!

The third, Silversands, is on Blue Bend and opposite the Blue Lagoon Hotel, and it's just a minute's stroll down to the Nahoon River Mouth and beach, or take a walk, just less than 2km along the beach, to Bonza Bay beach.

Stay in Beacon Bay

Now in Selborne, East London, you will find two accommodation establishments that are very close to Vincent Park shopping Centre and other take aways, restaurants, and shops.

You simply must also try the biltong and dry wors from Boykies Biltong Bar, in Frere Road, opposite the entrance to Selborne Primary School, before leaving East London. We live two suburbs away, where there is more biltong for sale, but Boykies Biltong bar has the best biltong by far. Their chilli biltong is not too hot, but if it burns, you can always cool down your entire body in the nearby Joan Harrison public simming pools. If you have children attending galas at the Joan Harrison swimming pools, or doing sport at Selborne Primary or High School, Clarendon, Port Rex, or Hudson Park schools, staying at either Dream Catcher Self Catering or Lord Selborne Guest House will be ideal, and close to so much more than just the schools.

Dream Catcher Self catering Accommodation borders between Selborne and Vincent, in East London.

Lord Selborne Guest House is a luxury 4 star accommodation establishment with a swimming pool, bar, tennis court, and excellent conference facilities as well. One of the beautiful rooms is also easy for disabled people in wheelchairs to access.

Luxury 4 star accommodation is offered at Lord Selborne Guest House in Selborne, East London, and is behind Selborne Primary School.

A view of the glass-enclosed gym at Lord Selborne Guest House, from the lovely gardens.

One of the suites at Lord Selborne Guest House.

The tennis court at Lord Seborne Guest House.

The three Lord Selborne Guest House photos above were taken by Teresa Schultz, and are © Lord Selborne Guest House.

Lord Selborne also offers meals to those people in East London who aren't even staying there - but please book first.

Hoylake Inn Guest House is in Bunkers Hill, has beautiful rooms each decorated in a different theme, has a swimming pool, and is not far from the East London beachfront, and is very close to the East London Golf Club, and also close to Stirling High School, Stirling Primary School, Old Selbornians Sports Club, and Buffs Sports Club.

If staying that close to the beachfront, which is also where the busses arrive and depart from, you must make sure to try a Friesland milkshake before departing from East London again.

Hoylake Inn Guest House is in Bunkers Hill, near the East London golf course.

Hoylake Inn Guest House in Bunkers Hill, East London.

Hoylake Inn Guest House in Bunkers Hill is close to the East London golf course, and not far from Old Selbornians Sports Club and Buffs Sports Club.

The two images above are by Teresa Schultz, and are © Hoylake Inn Guest House.

Not in East London, but still in the Eastern Cape, in Grahamstown, in the heart of the Makana Region, you'll find splendid accommodation at Makana Resort, which offers affordable caravanning and camping facilities - with each site having it's own private ablution block, and self catering chalets and cottages.

Makana Resort offers camping sites for caravans and tents, self catering cottages and chalets, and excellent conference facilities, in Grahamstown.

There are two swimming pools to keep the kids occupied in the summer.

The kids can have fun in the two swimming pools at Makana Resort in Grahamstown.

Makana Resort has a playground and plenty of grass for children to run around on, happily and safely.

The two photos above are by Teresa Schultz, and are © Makana Resort.

Makana Resort has fantastic Sunday Lunches, whether you are staying at the resort or not, but please book first. Make sure to book well in advance if choosing to stay at Makana Resort during the Grahamstown Arts Festival. While in Grahamstown, do also try the yummy pizza at Gino's.

Also see One Night at Seagulls Beach Hotel which describes a one night stay at Seagulls Beach Hotel on the Wild Coast, just 20 km along a delightful rural dirt road otherside Kei Mouth, after using the pontoon to cross the Kei River, and includes photos, and a description of the famous Seagulls seafood dinner.
The two Seagulls photos are © Teresa Schultz

What wonderful locals we met on the 20km rural road from Kei Mouth to Seagulls Beach Hotel. There were sheep, goats, geese, chickens, donkeys, cows, and even some big bulls!

It's just 40 or 50 metres from the Seagulls Beach Hotel pub to the ocean's edge, which makes enjoying their excellent Saturday night seafood dinner all the more refreshing and enjoyable.

A Daytrip to Hogsback describes the activities of two adults and two children who travelled up to Hogsback for the day, from East London, and there are photos too, including some photos taken by the two children, aged 10 and 11.

We took the wrong path to Kettle Spout waterfall in Hogsback at first, but found lots to photograph, including this tiny mushroom that 11 year old Basti took a photograph of. Photo © Basti"

This photo of the beautiful and quaint, and did I mention charming, old Saint Patrick on the Hill Church in Hogsback was taken by 10 year old Zooty. Photo © Zooty"

Also see East London photographs and attractions.

and see more East London and surrounding areas' photographs on our
Wild Ramblings fun photo blog.

Welcome to the Eastern Cape!

The 9 accommodation establishments above had their websites designed by us, at just R200 per page, and some have used our photography service too, and mentioning them on this page is extra free advertising for them.

Do you have an accommodation establishment in the East London or Eastern Cape area that needs a website, or a new website? Email us, and let's talk, or, follow the web design information links on our site's web design page , or on our blog's web design page to different pages of details of our web design service. We generally still always direct you to these pages even if you email or phone us first.

Until March 2010, we will still be charging just R200 per page, which includes logo design, if needed, basic SEO, editing of content provided by you, or a small amount of copywriting of it, and friendly service! You also get extra free exposure when we market ourselves and mention websites we have designed, like on this page. Domain Registration is R100, renewable yearly, and hosting, if paid in advance for one year, is just R480 for the year!

© Terry and Tony 2009