Planning your own trip to South Africa? Read more about my Garden Route itinerary here.

Knysna (pronounced NIZE-nah) is one of the more popular stops along the Garden Route, and it’s one of my favorites of the whole road trip. Worth noting: it’s the only place I stay two nights to ensure I have enough time to properly explore (and eat all the food).

Following a busy morning at the Cango Caves and Cango Wildlife Ranch (including a cage dive with crocs!), I depart Oudtshoorn after lunch and head south on Route 12 towards the ocean.

I pass by a flock of ostriches and can’t help pulling over to snap a photo:

It’s only an hour and forty minutes to Knysna — plenty of time for one stop along the way at Myoli Beach in Sedgefield.

It’s a moody day and there aren’t many people here. I wasn’t sure how these photos would turn out, but I love them.

Shortly before dinner I arrive at Hide Away Guest House in Knysna. This place is LOVELY and I’m thrilled to be here two nights. I’ve majorly scored in booking rooms at B&Bs or guest houses on this trip by contacting owners to inquire about a last-minute discount hours before arrival. If no one is able to accommodate me, I would book a cheap hostel dorm room in town which would be totally fine. But I am so thrilled that the kind owners here offer me a discounted room (I do not mention my travel blog, just that I’m a quiet single female traveler on a budget — and I’m not looking for breakfast to be included, so that they’ll be inclined to offer a better deal).

I snap these photos the next morning when the light is better — what a view!

I’m in the standard room, which might as well be the honeymoon suite at the Plaza considering that I usually stay in hostels. This room is so relaxing.

And I have my own bathroom! A girl could get used to this kind of glamour.

I hop into my car and drive a few minutes to the Waterfront in search of dinner. I walk around a bit first to admire the views — it’s quite lovely.

There are a dozen or so places to choose from but my host strongly recommended a restaurant called 34 Degrees South for fresh seafood. Done and done!

I order sushi for dinner and top it off with chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. The place is bustling and my food takes forever to arrive, but it’s delicious.

While we’re at the Waterfront, let’s skip ahead to the next night since I come back to try a different place for dinner. It’s called O Pescador and, as the name implies, they specialize in seafood. I splurge on an appetizer of grilled calamari in a butter sauce over rice.

I order a flaky white fish with veggies for my entree.

And because why the heck not, I order a brownie with ice cream and hot sauce for dessert. It even comes garnished with a little flower.

NPR recently sent reporters to ride across Iowa on bicycle in participation of an event called RAGBRAI (“Register’s Annual Great Bike Across Iowa”). In honor of the radio station’s call letters, they dubbed themselves “No Pie Refused.” My Garden Route road trip might as well have been called NDR… “No Dessert Refused.” Honestly, my decision to order sweets each night hinges on the low prices — it costs maybe $3 for a baked good covered in ice cream, which is maybe half of what the same dish would cost in the States. So whenever a waiter offers to bring the dessert menu, my answer is a resounding YES.

I’m going to share one more spot with you, a place I don’t actually visit until my departure from Knysna on Day 6. But this area is only 30 minutes away so I’ll mention it now in case you have a few days booked in Knysna and want to get out for a bit — this is scenic Plettenberg Bay.

I find parking on Main Street outside one of several shopping centers. I’m here in search of two things: seaside views and coffee.

Google points me to a great coffee spot called Double Shot, ironically the same name as another coffee shop I dig in Johannesburg (they seem to be unconnected but I can’t be sure).

The treats look so tasty but I stick to my latte. I can only say yes to sugar once a day and right now dessert is winning out over breakfast.

After sipping my latte I get back in the car to seek out ocean views.

Ding ding ding! I find a spot to pull over and photograph this vantage point of the ocean below.

I wish I had more time to explore Plettenberg Bay — in total I’m here for about 45 minutes before pressing on to my next stop, so I haven’t even researched things to do here. That said, Knysna is THE BEST so I don’t feel bad about prioritizing that area over this one. I will be back tomorrow and the next day to share photos of Knysna that more closely resemble the Caribbean than South Africa. I love this country!