Port Elizabeth’s position at the heart of the Eastern Cape makes it an exceptionally well-positioned base for day trips. Addo Elephant National Park is just over an hour north. Jeffreys Bay — the world-class surf break — is an hour west. The Garden Route begins in earnest at Storms River, three hours away. None of these require an early departure to make them work as day trips, and all are malaria-free.
Addo Elephant National Park
Distance: 75 km north-east of Port Elizabeth
Drive: 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes via the N2 and R335
Entry: Approximately R232 per adult, R116 per child (as of 2026; international visitor rates)
Addo is the reason most international visitors stop in Port Elizabeth. What began in 1931 as a desperate attempt to protect 11 surviving Eastern Cape elephants has grown into a 180,000-hectare national park complex now supporting over 600 elephants — the third-largest protected elephant population in Africa — alongside lion, leopard, buffalo, black and white rhino, spotted hyena, and the endemic flightless dung beetle (take the sign at the entrance seriously; the beetles cross roads and are critically important to the ecosystem).
The main game-viewing area around Addo Main Camp is the most productive. The large waterhole directly in front of the camp is often surrounded by elephant herds in the dry afternoon hours — bring a chair and sit with a cold drink. The Hapoor waterhole viewpoint, further along the main circuit, is excellent for lion sightings.
What to allow: Minimum four hours in the park for a satisfying circuit; five to six hours gives more flexibility and better chances of seeing predator species at dawn and dusk. Combined with the 2-hour round-trip drive, allow eight to nine hours total for a full day trip.
Self-drive: Very manageable. Download the official SANParks Addo map before departure. No guide required; the main circuit roads are clearly marked.
Guided: Several Port Elizabeth operators offer guided Addo day trips from approximately R950–1,400 per person including transport and park fees. Worthwhile if you want help identifying species and understanding the park’s unusual ecology (Addo has no giraffe — the terrain is too dense; it does have Sundays River floodplain hippos in the southern Zuurberg section).
Book day passes: SANParks website or at the gate (cash or card accepted). During peak season (July–September, December–January) pre-booking is advisable.
Jeffreys Bay
Distance: 75 km west of Port Elizabeth
Drive: 55 minutes to 1 hour via the N2
Entry: Free (town access); surfboard hire from approximately R180/hour
Jeffreys Bay (J-Bay, as it is universally called) is one of the ten best surf breaks in the world. Supertubes — the point break off the main beach at the centre of town — produces a right-hand barrel that runs for up to 300 metres on a good southwest swell. In July, the WSL Surf Ranch Pro tour event brings the world’s top 34 surfers to Supertubes; the town fills and the accommodation prices triple.
For non-surfers, J-Bay is a pleasant small coastal town with a good shell museum, reasonable restaurants, and the kind of relaxed beach atmosphere that Port Elizabeth itself lacks. The town beach is swimmable (though not the surfing section). The Shell Museum on Joubert Street houses one of the largest shell collections in Africa — better than it sounds.
Best time: June–August for the biggest swell and the WSL event atmosphere. October–March for warmer water and a mellower town vibe. The coldest months (June–August) produce the biggest surf but also the coldest water (15–17°C with a wetsuit necessary).
Getting there: N2 west from Port Elizabeth; follow signs to Jeffreys Bay. Car essential; no practical public transport.
Eating in J-Bay: Nina’s Kitchen (Jeffreys Bay main street) for breakfast and coffee; The Dish (beachfront) for fish and chips; On the Rocks (southern end of town) for sundowner drinks with surf views.
Shamwari Private Game Reserve
Distance: 75 km north-east of Port Elizabeth (adjacent to Addo area)
Drive: 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes via the N2
Day visit: Approximately R2,200–3,500 per person for a full-day experience including two game drives (as of 2026)
Shamwari is the Eastern Cape’s leading private game reserve — a 25,000-hectare property that has won multiple World Travel Awards as Africa’s leading conservation company. Unlike Addo, Shamwari is private land with no external vehicle access; all game drives run in dedicated Land Rovers with professional field guides. The level of interpretation and the intimacy of the experience is substantially higher than self-drive Addo.
The Big Five are all resident. Day visit packages include two game drives (morning and afternoon), a bush walk, and lunch at the lodge. Overnight packages run from approximately R4,500–9,000 per person per night at the various lodges.
Note: Shamwari is expensive by South African standards and significantly more expensive than Addo. The justification is the guided interpretation, the smaller vehicle ratios, and the private land experience. If budget is the primary consideration, a well-timed self-drive Addo trip delivers comparable wildlife sightings at a fraction of the cost.
Book: Via the Shamwari website; day visits require advance booking and operate on limited availability.
Tsitsikamma National Park
Distance: 180 km west of Port Elizabeth
Drive: Approximately 2 hours via the N2
Entry: Approximately R232 per adult, R116 per child (as of 2026)
Tsitsikamma is one of South Africa’s most dramatic coastal environments — a 68-km strip of cliffs, indigenous temperate forest, and ocean where the Storms River rushes through a narrow gorge before meeting the Indian Ocean. The Storms River Mouth rest camp sits directly above this confluence.
The Storms River Mouth suspension bridge (free with park entry) crosses the gorge at wave height — a short, exhilarating walk. The Otter Trail (South Africa’s most celebrated multi-day hiking trail) starts here, running 42 km west along the coast over five days, but day hikers can walk the first section along the river mouth cliffs.
Bungee jumping: The Bloukrans Bridge (40 km east of Storms River on the N2) at 216 metres is the world’s highest commercial bungee jump. Approximately R1,650 per jump as of 2026. The drive past it on the N2 gives an inkling of the height; actually jumping it is a different category of experience.
Combined Garden Route drive: Tsitsikamma works well as one stop on a longer day that continues west to Knysna (another 100 km) — but this is better as an overnighter than a day trip.
Getting there: N2 west from Port Elizabeth for approximately 180 km. The road is excellent. Allow four hours total in the park for Storms River Mouth, the gorge walk, and the boardwalk trails.
Grahamstown (Makhanda)
Distance: 130 km north-east of Port Elizabeth
Drive: 1 hour 30 minutes via the N10 and N2
Entry: Free (city access)
Makhanda (renamed from Grahamstown, though both names are in common use) is a 19th-century colonial town and university city with an unusually concentrated heritage landscape — Anglican cathedrals, Victorian civic buildings, the 1820 Settlers Monument, and the Albany Museum complex.
The National Arts Festival (June–July, approximately 10 days) is the largest arts festival in Africa, drawing 70,000+ visitors and transforming the entire city into a performance space. Outside festival time, the city is quiet but worth visiting for the cathedral interior and the Settler and Xhosa history museums.
The Owl House (40 km north of Makhanda in Nieu-Bethesda via the Sneeuberge mountains) is a significant detour — the eccentric, compelling folk art environment of Helen Martins (1897–1976), filled with ground glass, mirrors, and cement sculptures. The drive through the Karoo adds nearly two hours but Nieu-Bethesda is one of the stranger and more memorable places in the Eastern Cape.
Practical Notes
Fuel: Fill up in Port Elizabeth before heading to any reserve. The N2 west (toward J-Bay and Tsitsikamma) has petrol stations at regular intervals. The N2 north toward Addo passes through Motherwell — urban rather than rural, perfectly safe to fill up.
Combining trips: Addo + Shamwari in a single day is not realistic. Jeffreys Bay + Sardinia Bay (20 km south of Port Elizabeth) in one day works well — easy drive each way, different types of coastal experience.
Guided tours from PE: Several Port Elizabeth operators run guided day trips to Addo, Tsitsikamma, and J-Bay. Prices approximately R950–1,500 per person. Most include hotel pickup, park fees, and lunch. Useful for solo travellers without a car.
Malaria note: Everything listed above is malaria-free. This is a genuine practical advantage of the Eastern Cape for visitors who want game viewing without pharmaceutical preparation.
For the city itself see the Port Elizabeth guide and the Eastern Cape regional guide.