Central Beaches – The Golden Mile
These pristine beaches extend far beyond one mile. There are twelve beaches to choose from! Along this stretch you can swim, surf, eat at a restaurant, paddle ski, play a bit of beach soccer or just sit back and enjoy the view. There are always lifesavers around if you need assistance and police are constantly patrolling this area. This stretch is a favourite amongst runners, walkers and cyclists.
The Beaches (from North to South):-
• Country Club Beach – A swimming and surfing beach, but as it’s a bit exposed and gets wind the kiteboarders seem to favour it.
• Suncoast Beach (also sometimes called Casino Beach) – Swimmers and surfers are welcome, but the surfers tend to stay away as the wave is not that great. It has a lovely lawn with deckchairs. Right behind the beach is the Suncoast Casino, so lots of places to eat and of course … to make some money.
• Battery Beach – This beach is open for swimming, surfing and paddle skiing. The surf is not good when the swell is small and the tide high. The rest of the time it is worth a visit, especially when the other beaches are crowded.
• Snake Park – No swimmers allowed, this beach is for surfers only. Some of the barrels are unbelievable, but it can get crowded.
• Bay of Plenty – A beach for swimmers, surfers and … fishermen who use the pier and cast among the surfers.
• North Beach – A swimming and surfing beach; this is the venue for a number of surf events. There are a couple of restaurants here and it is the perfect place for breakfast after a morning run along the Golden Mile – park your car here and let this be the start and finish to your training run.
• Dairy Beach – This is a spot for surfers and paddle skiers only. Right behind Dairy is the Rachel Finlayson Pool.
• Wedge Beach – A beach for swimmers and surfers, but more importantly all the youngsters have lovely splash pools to play in here.
• New Beach – Swimmers, surfers and soccer players (for a game of beach soccer) can be found here. The surf here is pretty good.
• South Beach – South beach is a popular swimming beach and surfers are welcome.
• Addington Beach – This beach is for swimming, surfing and paddle skiing. Whilst growing up, many many years ago, this was my favourite swimming beach.
• uShaka Beach – This beach is in front of uShaka, so there are many restaurants and shops nearby. Here at Vetch’s Reef one can find, on the right day, one of the best-shaped waves in Durban.
Directions
Travel along the N3 towards Durban. Once you get to the city, take exit 1 – R102/M4/North Coast/Beaches. You’ll probably have to contend with a bit of traffic, but keep going until you reach the beachfront. You can now either turn left or right into OR Tambo Parade. You are facing North Beach, turn to your left and you’ll come across all the beaches to the north of North Beach, turn to your right and you’ll pass the beaches South of North Beach.
Click here for a map of the central Durban beaches.