Robberg 5 Beach is a Blue Flag beach situated along the Garden Route in the sexy resort town of Plettenberg Bay. This extra-long stretch of sand is a favourite with walkers, joggers, swimmers, surfers and families with time on their hands to do nothing else but play.
Did you know?
Plettenberg Bay was originally named Bahia Formosa, meaning ‘beautiful bay’, by early Portuguese explorers.
Blue flag beach Robberg 5 is rated among SA’s top beaches
By all accounts, Robberg 5 beach is Plettenberg Bay’s finest – and that’s saying something in a coastal resort famed for some 15 kilometres of unspoilt expanses of sand.
The pale stretches of this Blue Flag beach are located in Beachy Head Drive, south of Plettenberg Bay’s Beacon Isle Hotel, and link the town’s central beaches with the rocky headland of the Robberg Peninsula, a nature reserve.
This Garden Route beach is widely praised for its warm, calm waters and gentle waves great for swimming. Its striking views of the Robberg peninsula and soft sands have made it popular with recreational walkers. You will often see them combing the sands in search of a flower-shaped seashell, the pansy shell, which is endemic to this coastline and symbolic of Plettenberg Bay. For those who like to up the pace, the beach is also conducive to easy jogging.
Dolphins seem to enjoy Robberg 5 too, and can often be spotted frolicking in the waves. The beach is popular for shore-based whale spotting, particularly in the winter months when the southern right whales visit and break the night silence with the sound of their blowing. Seals, a thriving colony of which live in the Robberg Peninsula, can be seen hunting and playing in the surf off Robberg 5 Beach.
Robberg 5 has full-time lifeguards on duty during the peak season from 1 November – 31 April. Recently facilities were upgraded, including ablutions and support for the physically disabled. Interpretive signage provides details of the fauna and flora found in the area, and there are parking facilities nearby.
Homes with views or access to Robberg Beach fetch high prices and real estate in the area is considered to be among the most upmarket on the Garden Route. There are some enticing luxury accommodation options in the area, as well as some value-for-money bed and breakfast establishments.
