Paternoster

Paternoster is a small fishing village of whitewashed houses along an open bay, with Cape Columbine and the Tietiesbaai coastline just to the north. It has become known for its restaurants and for the quality of the light, and it has done so without much development, which is exactly why it fills quickly.

The accommodation is mostly guesthouses, self-catering cottages and a few boutique properties, spread along the beachfront and through the lanes behind it. Beachfront addresses give the direct access and the view over the bay; the properties a street or two back are quieter and usually more modest, and everything in the village is within walking distance of everything else, which is unusual on this coast.

The main planning point is capacity. The village is small and cannot absorb much, so weekends and the summer holidays go early, and the flower weeks in spring add another surge. Self-catering is common and practical here, though the village has enough places to eat that it is not necessary. If you want the Cape Columbine side, check the drive: the nature reserve is a short way out of the village on gravel, and it is the reason many people come.