Hermanus and its surrounding towns offer a huge variety of tourism activities beyond beaches and whale-watching: culinary experiences, wine-tasting, walking tours and hiking, among others. But it can be difficult to experience all these activities during a short trip because they are so widespread. A local tourism company called ChillGuru has moved to solve that problem with its own version of the world-famous hop-on-hop-off bus. 

The distinctive blue ChillGuru bus is now offering two types of Hermanus tours: the 90-minute hop-on-hop-off bus, which provides visitors with a quick overview of Hermanus and its immediate surrounds; and the “Big Five Taste Safari”, which takes visitors on an all-day gastronomic journey through Hermanus, Hemel-en-Aarde, Stanford and Botriver. The buses are hosted by friendly, knowledgeable locals who provide a plethora of interesting facts and anecdotes about the area.

The 90-minute bus tour departs four times a day from downtown Hermanus and takes guests on a quick tour of Hermanus’ most prominent landmarks — the Old Harbour, the New Harbour, Zwelihle Township, Grotto Beach and more — and offers the opportunity to hop off at multiple locations for a boat or walking tour, a visit to an abalone factory, or a simple lunch by the beach. The 90-minute tour costs R220 (R110 for children) and excludes food and drink.

The Big Five Taste Safari uses the same blue bus to take guests on a wider-ranging, six-hour tour, which varies according to the offerings of the day. The Big Five tastings might include wine, craft beer, honey, olives, roosterkoek, or a variety of other surprises. The tastings are included in the price of the tour, but lunch at the final venue is for the customer’s own account. The Big Five Taste Safari costs R795.

These tours provide a great way for visitors to get to know the Overberg region without driving all over the place in their own cars. Book at chillguru.com.

The Hermanus Tourist Bus departs from Lemm’s Corner parking lot (opposite 2 Harbour Road) and returns to the Wine Glass Restaurant at 2 Harbour Road. Call 082-700-4163 or email info@chillguru.com. The buses operate Monday to Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The 90-minute bus tour departs at 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. each day. The Big 5 Taste Safari departs at 9:30 a.m. and returns at 3:00 p.m. each day.