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Author: BazBus Editorial Team
Quick Summary: Port Elizabeth — officially renamed Gqeberha, still widely called PE — is the eastern terminus of the Garden Route and the gateway to Addo Elephant National Park. It has Blue Flag beaches, a serious wind, an underrated city centre, and enough on its doorstep to justify two or three nights rather than the single transit night most travellers give it. This guide covers what to do, what to watch out for, and how BazBus uses PE as a route endpoint.
Port Elizabeth was officially renamed Gqeberha in 2021, taking its name from the isiXhosa name for the Baakens River. The wider metropolitan municipality is Nelson Mandela Bay. In practice, locals still say PE constantly, signage and business names use both, and most transport and tourism material — including much of ours — carries both forms. You will not cause offence by using either, and knowing both makes navigation easier.
PE is where most Garden Route trips start or finish, which means a large share of visitors see it as an airport with a beach attached. That is a mistake, and our drivers have been saying so for years.
The case for staying is straightforward. PE holds internationally recognised Blue Flag status at several of its beaches, awarded for water quality, safety and cleanliness. It is the launch point for Addo Elephant National Park, the third-largest national park in South Africa and one of the very few Big Five destinations that is malaria-free. It has a genuinely interesting historic centre, a substantial township tourism sector, and a coastline that runs from calm swimming bays to major dune fields. And it is significantly cheaper than Cape Town for food and accommodation.
It also has wind. PE is windy — sometimes for days at a stretch — and this shapes what is possible on a given day. Build flexibility into your plans and check conditions before committing to a boat trip or a beach day.
“My wife and I were quite skeptical when we booked our journey/adventure that will take us from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town. We followed and booked their suggestions from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town to the tee. It was absolutely one of the best adventures we have had in years!” — Edward, Canada.
PE’s beachfront runs south from the harbour along Algoa Bay, sheltered enough that the water is usually swimmable when the wind is not howling.
Two practical warnings that our local drivers repeat. First, currents on some beaches are strong and unpredictable — swim where a lifeguard is present. Second, be wind-aware: a pleasant morning can become a sandblasting by early afternoon.
Addo is the single strongest reason to spend an extra day in PE. It is roughly an hour from the city, home to the Big Five, and the only national park in the world conserving the “Big 7” — the Big Five plus the southern right whale and the great white shark off the Algoa Bay coast.
The elephant story is remarkable. When the original elephant section was proclaimed in 1931, only eleven elephants remained in the area. Today the park supports one of the densest elephant populations on earth, with over 600 animals in the main section. Detail is available from SANParks, which manages the park.
We run two options from PE, both with hotel and hostel pickup and drop-off:
Both run every day regardless of whether there is one passenger or five, which is not true of every operator in the city. Our full range is on the Day Trips from Port Elizabeth page.
Guided township tours in the Nelson Mandela Bay area cover the region’s central role in the anti-apartheid struggle, and PE’s history here is substantial rather than incidental. Tours typically include community projects, local food and music, and are run by guides from the communities themselves. This is among the more meaningful half-days available in the city.
The old city centre holds Victorian and Edwardian architecture from PE’s era as a colonial port, including the Donkin Reserve and its lighthouse, a stone pyramid memorial, and a mosaic and public-art route that traces the city’s history. It is walkable in a morning and is best done as a guided walk rather than solo.
The dune fields around Algoa Bay support sandboarding operators — a straightforward hour or two of sliding down large sand slopes, no experience needed, and a reliable option on a windy day when the water is out of the question.
Several small reserves sit within or near the metro, offering short walks, birding and coastal fynbos without the commitment of a full park day.
PE is one of the two anchors of the BazBus hop-on hop-off network, with Cape Town at the other end. You can start here and travel west, finish here travelling east, or use an unlimited pass and go back and forth.
Between October and February, buses run every day. From March to September, the westbound service runs Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. No services operate on 25 and 26 December or 1 and 2 January. Pickup is at your accommodation, so you never need to find your way to a terminal at 6am.
The city is also served by Port Elizabeth International Airport, which is close to the beachfront and has domestic connections to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Long-distance coaches including Intercape and Greyhound serve the main bus station, which is a reasonable option for point-to-point travel to Durban or Johannesburg — routes that are not currently on our active network.
| Factor | BazBus | Self-drive rental | Long-distance coach | Guided tour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pickup at accommodation | Yes | N/A | No | Usually |
| Stops on the Garden Route | 14 | Unlimited, self-planned | None | Fixed |
| Change dates mid-trip | Yes, self-service | Yes, at cost | Reissue fees | Rarely |
| Driving on the left required | No | Yes | No | No |
| Suits | Independent travellers | Groups of 3+ | Point-to-point city travel | Zero-planning travellers |
Related guides in this series cover Addo Elephant National Park, Jeffreys Bay and Storms River and Tsitsikamma.
PE is a normal South African city, which means it is generally fine for visitors who take normal precautions and occasionally not fine for those who do not. Our published guidance is consistent: leave unnecessary valuables at your accommodation, avoid dimly lit areas at night, do not walk alone between the beachfront and the city centre after dark, and use arranged transport rather than hailing on the street.
The beachfront strip is the most comfortable area for visitors and is where most backpacker accommodation sits. The city centre is best explored during the day, ideally on a guided walk. None of this is unusual advice for a mid-sized city anywhere, but it is worth stating plainly rather than leaving travellers to work it out.
Is Port Elizabeth worth staying in, or should I just pass through?
Two nights is a reasonable minimum if you want to do Addo, which is the main draw and requires a full day. Three lets you add a township tour or a beach day. Travellers who only need to catch a flight can manage with one night, but they miss the one Big Five park on the Garden Route corridor. Since BazBus passes let you set your own dates, plenty of passengers extend once they realise Addo is an hour away.
Should I call it Port Elizabeth or Gqeberha?
Both are in current use. Gqeberha has been the official name since 2021, while Port Elizabeth and the abbreviation PE remain in everyday speech, on older signage and across much of the tourism industry. Using either will be understood. Nelson Mandela Bay refers to the wider metropolitan municipality, which includes Gqeberha along with Kariega and Despatch.
Can I see the Big Five near Port Elizabeth?
Yes. Addo Elephant National Park, about an hour from the city, is home to the Big Five along with over 600 elephants, spotted hyena, a variety of antelope and zebra species, and the endangered black rhino. It is also malaria-free, which matters if you would rather not take prophylactics. Our full day tour prices from $159 and our two day tour from $599, both departing daily from PE with accommodation pickup, and both including park entrance fees and a guide.
How windy is Port Elizabeth really?
Windy enough that it shapes local plans. PE sits on an exposed stretch of coast and strong winds are common, sometimes for several consecutive days. This affects boat trips, beach days and any activity involving open water. The practical response is to keep a flexible plan, check the forecast each morning, and keep wind-proof alternatives in reserve — Addo, a township tour, sandboarding or the historic centre all work fine on a blustery day.
Does BazBus travel from Port Elizabeth to Durban or Johannesburg?
Not on the current network. Our active hop-on hop-off service runs the Garden Route corridor between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, alongside day trips from both cities and our Kruger Park safari packages. Travellers heading up the coast to the Wild Coast, Durban or the Drakensberg, or inland to Johannesburg, will need long-distance coach operators or domestic flights from Port Elizabeth International Airport.
Tour prices quoted here are in US dollars as published on our tour pages and are subject to change, exchange rate movement and seasonal availability, and the two day Addo tour is priced on double occupancy with a single supplement — confirm live pricing and single-traveller rates before booking. Safety conditions in any city vary by neighbourhood and time of day and cannot be captured in general guidance, so ask your driver or accommodation for current local advice on arrival, which is more reliable than any article, including this one.
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