Langebaan

Langebaan sits on a lagoon so sheltered and shallow that the water reads as a startling blue-green, with the West Coast National Park adjoining it to the south. It is the largest and most developed of the West Coast towns, and it has a wider spread of accommodation than anywhere else on this coast.

The stock runs from lagoon-facing apartments and resort-style properties along the water to guesthouses and self-catering houses in the streets behind and up the slope. Where a property sits matters here because the lagoon is the point of the town: the front gives you direct access to the water and the sunsets over it, while the addresses further back are quieter and generally better value with a short walk down.

Demand climbs during the spring flower weeks, when the Postberg section of the national park opens, and over long weekends through the summer. The other consideration is wind: the same conditions that make the lagoon a watersports centre make the exposed front breezy for much of the year, which some visitors want and others plan around. The park gate is a few minutes south of the town, so an early start is straightforward from anywhere in Langebaan.