One of our favorite places in South Africa is Prince Albert. It’s a charming, historic town located in the Great Karoo in the Western Cape. Prince Albert celebrated its 260th anniversary in 2022 and is widely considered the ‘Jewel of the Karoo’. Prince Albert has a small local population, mainly engaged in farming and tourism.
Located within the Great Karoo in South Africa’s Western Cape, this historic town is surrounded by stunning rock formations and arid lands. Ringed by the beautiful Swartberg mountains to the south and the vast open plains of the Karoo to the north, Prince Albert is unique in its natural surroundings. The architectural heritage is exceptional: a patchwork of vernacular Karoo flat-roofed cottages known as brakdak, Cape Dutch and Victorian.
Pretty Prince Albert lies at the foot of the incredible Swartberg Pass, widely considered one of the most scenic (and hair-raising) drives in South Africa. Nestled beneath the Swartberg mountains, the range’s overflow keeping the town perpetually watered, the town and its environs support a vibrant farming industry. The surrounding landscape of Prince Albert has provided much inspiration to artists, both locally and from further afield.
View overlooking Prince Albert.
Some archaeological findings indicate that people were living in this area as far back as 25,000 years ago. Stone Age era rock paintings and stone tools have been found, and at the time of European contact in the 1600s, local Bushmen were still using some of these tools. Europeans settled in the area in mid 1600s. Prince Albert became a British garrison during the Second Boer War in 1899.
Read also: Hotel Expansion in Ethiopia
In recent years, Prince Albert has transformed from sedate agricultural outpost to fashionable weekend bolthole. This urban makeover mirrors the history of the building Taylor and Haysom inhabit. Built in 1865 as the first double-storey in town, it has been, at various points, a general dealer, tobacco factory, boarding hotel for nurses, newspaper office and gallery/restaurant. For a period after 1910, local photographer and occasional painter Gawie Beukes lived here. Here he added a cinema at which he tickled the ivories.
Getting to and Around Prince Albert
The main way to arrive in Prince Albert is to drive. If coming from Cape Town, you could head straight onto the N1, via Matjiesfontein and turn off onto the R406 about an hour after Laingsburg. Alternatively, for a quieter but longer route from Cape Town, you could weave through the charming towns of Montagu and Barrydale on the R62. Lastly, if you’re looking for interesting places to break up the long drive from Johannesburg, Pretoria or Bloemfontein on the N1 to Cape Town, then Prince Albert is only a 35 minute detour from the N1.
If you’re using public transport to get around South Africa, then bus would be the main option. A Greyhound bus route stops here, connecting Prince Albert with Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Cape Town and even as far as Durban. Alternatively, if you’re coming from overseas, you could fly into George after landing Cape Town or Johannesburg, and then drive from there.
Prince Albert is tiny, with nearly all eateries, shops and attractions centered around its main road, called Church Street. You can easily walk the length of the road, and on-street parking is plentiful.
Accommodation: Mont d’Or Swartberg Hotel and More
Prince Albert is all about homely guesthouses and country farm stays. The most famous place to stay in Prince Albert (and the most luxurious hotel in town) is the Mont d’Or Swartberg Hotel, located on Church Street. It also has a fantastic swimming pool, and if you’re visiting Prince Albert in the summer months, I’d say a pool to cool off in after a morning exploring is a must-have!
Read also: Experience Tolip Hotel in Egypt
Rates for the Mont d’Or start from £110 per night for a Standard Double, or £126 per night for one of their Garden Cottages. Most of the accommodation options in Prince Albert have really excellent reviews, so you’ll be sure to have a fantastic stay wherever you choose.
Another option can be to stay just outside of town on a farm, such as the stunning Mirtehof Guest Farm Estate. It was one of the most peaceful stays ever! A standard King Room starts from £76 per night.
Mont d’Or Swartberg Hotel.
Things to Do in Prince Albert
You can easily spend half a day slowly meandering Church Street. The main road is lined with great stores, boutiques and art galleries. You can buy so many locally made gifts, as well as all kinds of Karoo-inpired produce and goods. We also loved looking around the Prince Albert art gallery.
At the African Relish cooking school, the team give guests the chance to join a variety of half day classes to learn more about Karoo cooking and traditional South African dishes. This well small but very well maintained museum is on the high street. It’s well worth visiting to learn more about the cultural and natural history of Prince Albert.
Read also: Your New Cairo Retreat
One of the most popular walking routes, is the circular 11km Bloukop Hiking Trail, which can be found near Tierberg on the Bloukop Mountain. Shorter hiking options include Bushman Valley Trail (4km) and the much shorter Prince Albert Koppie route (1.4km). For mountain biking enthusiasts, consider the Gamkapoort Dam route.
Make sure to time your trip to Prince Albert with a weekend too, as Saturday is Farmer’s Market day, which showcases the best of the area’s delicious local produce. If you visit Prince Albert in April, it’s also worth making time for the Olive Festival. Lazy Lizard is probably the most popular breakfast and brunch spot, with a sunny courtyard and a great menu. And we had the most memorable dinner at The Rude Chef too!
Conference Styles: Our conference room can seat up to 28 people cinema-style - but that’s not what makes us a great conference venue. Get out of the hustle and bustle, and set your mind free to think and imagine under the vast karoo skies.
Whether you decide to see it by car, by bike, or on horseback, there’s nothing like the crystal blue skies, pristine air and vast open spaces to help you get out of old habits and into new ways of thinking. South Africa has the Southern celestial “Big Five” looming in its skies, and Prince Albert is an incredible destination for viewing them.
Fresh bread and a selection of locally hand-made products. Every day - 7 am to 5 pm. Gay van Hasselt started what is now known as Gay’s Guernsey Dairy in 1990 when she started milking three cows in a stone kraal. Tasting room: Open daily from 10:00 - 16:00. Sundays from 10:00 - 14:00 by appointment. African Relish is a recreational cooking school in the Karoo town of Prince Albert.
Kalahari Skincare is a phyto-effective product range which has been developed over years of dedicated research by a team of botanical experts and cosmetic scientists. The highly effective formulations contain superior grade botanical oils and exceptional plant extracts from Africa that are compounded together with scientifically proven ingredients from well-known international laboratories.
The names along the way tell many stories, like ‘Blikstasie (Tronk)’ (Tin Station) and site of the old jail; ‘Teeberg’, a spot where Prince Albert residents used to come and pick honeybush tea; ‘Malvadraai’, a bend in the road where geraniums grow; ‘Eerstewater’, the first river crossing on the northern side; ‘Droëwaterval’ (Dry Waterfall); ‘Die Stalletjie’, where the post-coach mules and horses were fed and watered; and ‘Skelmdraai’ (Tricky bend) for obvious reasons. The stories have been passed down from parents to children and from children to grandchildren.
Oudtshoorn To Prince Albert Via The Swartberg Pass. Adventure bike rides down roads less traveled.
Popular articles:
tags: #Africa
