Africa Deluxe Tours The St. Blaize Lighthouse in Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay marks the place on the South African coast where Europeans first put foot on African soil. Bartolomeu Dias landed here on 3 February 1488 in search of a trade route to India. At that time small ships hugged the western coastline of Africa sailing south in search of the southern end of Africa in order to turn north. Alongside the coast of the current Namibia, a storm drove them away from the coast and due south. When the storm abated after four days, they turned eastwards again to try to find the coast. They could not find it and concluded that they must have passed the southern tip of Africa, so they turned due north and found the coastline at the present Mossel Bay.

The Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex in Mossel Bay is a popular tourism attraction. While the complex's main focus honours this great Portuguese explorer, it also covers other topics. It consists of a couple of separate museum buildings as well as the Old Post Office Tree Monument. The Maritime Museum, Shell Museum, Grain Silo and Culture Museum are among the various small museums.

Mossel Bay features a small fishing and goods harbour. The harbour is home to a couple of operators who operate bay cruises, mostly to Seal Island off shore with opportunities to see penguins, dolphins and whales (in season). Some offer scuba diving and great white shark-cage diving.

Tours that include Mossel Bay

View from an Arniston coastal cave

Duration: 5 days, 4 nights
Tour Type: Scheduled tours
Luxury Level: *** / ****
Price: R13,625 per person sharing (±US$ 982 )
R800 single supplement (±US$ 57 )

Valid dates: Dec 2014 - Oct 2015


This is a circular 5 day scheduled tour departing from Cape Town. Route 62 journeys through the valleys and mountain passes of the Klein Karoo. On the Garden Route you’ll focus on Knysna You return to Cape Town via the Cape South Coast. Mountain scenery, wildlife, ocean and more.

Highlights: Oudtshoorn , Cango Caves , Route 62 , Garden Route , Knysna , Oudtshoorn ostrich farms , Mossel Bay , The Garden Route Game Lodge , The Bartolomeu Dias Museum , Swellendam , Hermanus , Cape Agulhas .

Mossel Bay attractions

On of three pedestrian suspension bridges at Storms River Mouth on South Africa's Garden Route.

Garden Route

The Garden Route is a tourism paradise combining excellent infrastructure with scenic natural attractions. It comprises the narrow coastal belt on South Africa's south coast, stretching from the Tsitsikamma Forest in the east ±200 km to Mossel Bay in the west. It is named after the region's lush vegetation and mountainous scenery.

Two historic steam locomotives in the Outeniqua Transport Museum in George.

George

The city of George is situated halfway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth and is the commercial hub of the Garden route. It is situated to the South of the Outeniqua Mountains and is within easy reach of a number of coastal villages.

A replica of the Caravel in which Bartolomeu Dias became the first explorer to round the southern tip of Africa in 1488.

Bartolomeu Dias Museum

The Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex in Mossel Bay is a popular tourist attraction.

Maritime Museum As its main exhibition the Museum houses an exact replica of the Caravel (15th century wooden sailing ship) used by Bartolomeu Dias when he became the first European explorer to round the southern tip of the African Continent.