Are you visiting Durban and want to know which are the best beaches to visit? Try the southern beaches, especially if you’re interested in surfing, but for more family-friendly beaches, travel further north and you’ll come across the very family-friendly Umhlanga Rocks Village.

Umhlanga’s beaches allow you to explore the beautiful rock pools with your family. Umhlanga’s beaches offer you plenty of variety, from surfing to exploring the rock pools. Visit Main Beach or walk to Bronze Beach for surfing and boogie boarding on guarded and shark-protected beaches. If you are looking for a place to explore with your children, the lighthouse looms over some beautiful rock pools where you can find many different species of our wonderful marine life. Snorkelling is also possible in Umhlanga and many of the locals learn the skill at Umhlanga’s famous Granny’s Pool. Granny’s Pool is a sheltered bay with small waves. Many of the boats launched from Unhlanga are launched from here but it is by no means busy, in fact on rare occasions the boats will disturb your swim.

Traveling further north and away from the crowd of crew, you will come across Umdloti. Umdloti is a laid-back holiday village with some beautiful little corners for swimming, diving and surfing. These beaches are not protected by shark nets, as there is a reef at the bottom that protects the shoreline. The main beaches are guarded by lifeguards. Walk along the beach and choose which little rock pool or alcove you’d like to explore. These alcoves are the perfect places to safely and confidently teach your kids bodyboarding and snorkeling skills. It is also possible to surf at the main beach and you will be surfing with the locals, many of whom have grown up in Umdloti, so be sure to take advantage of their advice and knowledge of the local area!

Ballito is another holiday town and is slightly busier than Umdloti, with stunning beaches that are easily reached from Durban. Dolphins are commonly sighted here, which is why the coast is known as the Dolphin Coast. Ballito has many safe beaches and rock pools, as well as a tide pool that ensures families can spend a happy, fun-filled day exploring, snorkeling, and surfing.