In between our two main destinations, Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) and Hluhluwe (South Africa) my husband and I spent one night at the Umhlanga Rocks just outside of the Durban Airport. Since we were arriving in the evening and had a three-hour drive ahead of us, I was just looking for an easy hotel near the airport and happened to book one right by the Umhlanga Rocks and it ended up being one of our favorite parts of the trip.

Getting There

The Umhlanga Rocks are located about a 20-minute drive from the King Shaka International Airport just north of Durban, South Africa. It’s easily accessible from the N2 freeway which is one of the main national routes in South Africa.

During our trip, we’d rented a car, so we easily drove from the airport. It wouldn’t be an expensive uber/taxi ride though if you didn’t happen to have a car.

We were traveling during the South African winter (June) so had no trouble with parking or it being overcrowded. We parked in The Pearls garage and though parking for us was complimentary with our hotel, it was a very small fee.

The Beach

It was lovely weather and though we didn’t go swimming we saw several people enjoying the waves. We loved walking around on the nicely maintained path that runs along the water and enjoying the view.

About a mile away (easily walkable if you are up for it) there is a very pretty nature reserve with a walking path. We enjoyed walking around and seeing pretty plants and critters as we walked. They do guided walks if you want something a bit more formal.

The Food

Breakfast was included with our hotel and it was delicious. We had a beautiful view of the pool and ocean from our breakfast table.

For lunch, we walked a few blocks away and read tons of signs for weekday lunch specials. We settled on steak at Butcher Boys and couldn’t have been happier with our choice. For 135R (about $10 USD) per person we each had an appetizer, steak, side dish and large glass of house wine. Everything was delicious and though I don’t think we could have picked a better spot, I would have loved to check out the many other dining options located right by the beach. Everything looked great and every restaurant seemed to have incredible lunch deals.

The Hotel

As I mentioned in the intro, our whole purpose of the trip was to spend a quick night in the hotel before going on to our next destination. I’d booked The Capital Pearls hotel through Orbitz and was thrilled with everything. They have lots of different size rooms (many multi-bedroom/bathroom options) and could certainly be used for a much longer stay. Our room included a small kitchen, patio overlooking the ocean and a laundry machine. I loved that parking and breakfast were included in my reservation – it made our trip easy and seamless.

We loved visiting this little random destination during our trip, I’d love to go back and spend more time there one day.

Has anyone else found a great little spot to visit that you didn’t think would be a big part of the trip but ended up surprising you? Let us know in the comments!

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