Long Beach

We left Kynsna early in the morning to catch some beach time at Long Beach. I’m sure our Villa Afrikana hosts thought we were crazy New Yorkers leaving before 8am on vacation. Maybe we are. The drive along the Garden Route was uneventful and we arrived at Long Beach by mid afternoon.


We LOVED The Long Beach Retreat (www.thelongbeach.com) from the first moment we arrived. Elvis (yes, Elvis) greeted us at the door and insisted that we sit and enjoy a cold beverage. We sat and took it all in. The main room and all the guest rooms have a balcony overlooking the longest (hence the name) white sand beach only interrupted by rock formations and washed up seaweed that looks like palm trees. I usually hate seaweed, but this was quite elegant looking.

Long Beach View

Seaweed

Long Beach Sunset

When we got to our room we were overwhelmed. It was a beautiful room with a patio leading to green grass a pool and a pathway to the beach. On top of all this there were rose petals everywhere…and I mean everywhere…in the room. We never wanted to leave.

Rose Petals Everywhere

We spent our days relaxing on the beach, wondering through markets, touring Cape Town, and sadly counting down the final days of our trip. It was very relaxing.


The first night we stayed in for a seafood braai (bbq), including lobster, calamari, prawns, kingclip, and salad. It was really good seafood and they topped it off with a traditional dessert called malva pudding, which looked weird, but after the first bite it was gone in record time. It was amazing. I didn’t even get a picture. When we got back to our room the hotel staff had transformed our room into a magical romantic haven. The lights were dim, lit candles were scattered throughout the room, our bed was covered in even more rose petals, and champagne was chilling. It was so unexpected and such a treat. We enjoyed it very much.

The Best Turndown Service Ever

Our final night we went to a fish restaurant in Camp Bay called The Codfather. While that is a cheesy name, it was so delicious that it captured the final “Best Meal in Africa” title and had great views of the ocean as well. Our waiter showed us to the rotating sushi bar (love it!) and the fish counter. He coached us through the ordering process and we ended up with a feast of sushi, several types of fish grilled yellow tail and several other types of fish, seared ahi tuna, prawns, grilled calamari, rice, and the best greens just warmed and still crispy. The fish was really fresh and simply grilled with some great spices. It was sooooooooooooo good it still makes my mouth water. We topped it off with a warm brownie and ice cream. How am I going to go back to no appetizer and dessert at lunch and dinner?

Camps Bay

Fish Bar

Best Meal in Africa

Every night we were greeted with a romantic surprise. That last night the staff made us a warm bubble bath and left us cool glasses of Amarula, which is like Baileys. It was awesome. They really know how to pamper guests.