Summerstrand is a beachfront suburb of Port Elizabeth, just 10 minutes drive from the city centre. This elegant, upmarket suburb is close to the beachfront, the Boardwalk Casino complex, the Summerstrand Village Shopping Centre, Bayworld and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, with the airport also only 10 minutes away.

Summerstrand provides a combination of golden beaches and warm waters. Hobie beach (also the scene of the annual Splash Festival, close to Shark Rock pier) and Pollock beach are very popular nearby beaches – home to windsurfers, hobie-cats, yachts and surfers.

Attractions: The Boardwalk Casino Complex, Bayworld, Cape Recife Nature Reserve

The Boardwalk Casino, touted as ‘the’ entertainment centre for all ages and a must for days that don’t involve beaches, is a heady mix of shopping, entertainment, gaming and fun set out around a series of man-made lakes and gardens lit at night by 40 000 Tivoli lights. The casino features 781 modern slot machines and 23 American Roulette, Blackjack and Poker tables.

There’s a wide choice of restaurants to suit the whole family and the lake’s retail complex will delight visitors with a range of shops. Let the kids enjoy the fun activities offered by the Magic Company and don’t forget to pop in to the cinema to enjoy the latest movie screening or head to The Vodacom Amphitheatre to enjoy entertaining shows! .

One of the leading tourist attractions in Nelson Mandela Bay, Bayworld is unique in Southern Africa, embracing a natural and cultural history Museum. It is located in the heart of the Port Elizabeth beachfront and serves up a feast of edutainment to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

The main activities of the Complex are research and education aimed at stimulating a greater awareness of the need for conservation of South Africa’s natural and cultural heritage. Research and education programmes focus on marine life, reptiles, maritime and local history.

Cape Recife Nature Reserve is one of the best bird-watching locations in Port Elizabeth. It offers a beautiful beach, natural dune vegetation of fynbos, rocky outcrops, small animals (look out for otters), a 133-year old lighthouse and a World War II military observation post. You can also view birdlife from a bird hide. The Roseate Tern Hiking Trail is 9km, circular and starts at the entrance of the Cape Recife Nature Reserve.

The beach suburb of Humewood, a stone’s throw from Kings Beach and Humewood beach, has earned its place on the map due mainly to its challenging Humewood Links Golf Course, ranked as one of the top ten golf courses in South Africa.

The suburb of Humewood has been described as prestigious and peaceful – prestigious as the homes and hotels here are indeed beautiful and peaceful due in no small part to Happy Valley – a walk-through garden, interspersed with lily ponds, the trickle of a fresh-water river and landscaped lawns that links directly to Humewood Beach.

The McArthur swimming pool complex, perfect for days when the beach is out of the question, has a full-size heated swimming pool, a kids’ pool complete with water slides, and a natural temperature full size swimming pool – fun for the whole family.

Humerail is close to the beaches of Port Elizabeth, and touted as the latest “designer suburb”, Humerail – with homes that are worth well into the double digit millions, because of the incredible views they offer over Algoa Bay – lies just off the beachfront. The Humerail Waterfront Shopping Centre, with some incredible restaurant options, a conveniently placed internet café and a gym for the diehards, is at hand.

Be sure to visit PE’s famous Finnezz Restaurant and Cocktail Café, overlooking the PE Harbour and Algoa Bay Yacht Club, for a scrumptious breakfast, lunch or supper. Sample their extensive cocktails whilst watching their flaring bartenders.

South End, as a suburb, was once a cosmopolitan community. Men, women, children and families lived harmonious lives in the epicentre of cultural diversity. Blacks, whites, coloureds, Indians, Chinese, Jews, Greeks and many more were united in their attitude towards family values, faith and morals, despite the diversity of religion, language and race.

Children of all races played in the old South streets – Walmer Road, Gardner, Frere, Farie, Mitchell, Sprigg, Rudolph and Pier streets, among others. With 12 churches in South End alone, the religious element was strong and respected. These churches included Christian churches, Mosques and a Hindu Temple.

Attractions: The South End Museum

The South End Museum is managed by the Museum Trust. The Museum reflects a bygone era of the suburb of South End prior to and during the implementation of the Group Areas Act in 1950, which led to the destruction of the ‘old’ South End. In the past it was a bustling suburb, brimming with activity, and populated by a very cosmopolitan community.

A visit to the South End Museum etches deep into the minds and hearts of the guest. This museum immerses one into the lives, cultures, challenges, tragedies and victories of those that experienced Apartheid at its most intense.

Walmer, a rather posh suburb of Port Elizabeth with its wide tree-lined streets, is something of an establishment – a number of the city’s oldest families live here, and businesses too are lining up for their share of the large homes, as parts of Walmer fall into demarcated business zones, particularly on Main Road.

Walmer’s origins are as a farm that was later sub-divided – the portion known as “Muller town” renamed to Walmer after the Duke of Wellington, who died at Walmer Castle.

Aside from its obvious beauty, staying in the garden suburb of Walmer has a number of advantages: the airport is five minutes away, beaches are 10 minutes’ drive from there and one is walking distance from Main Road and the Walmer Park Shopping and Entertainment Centre. It is also referred to as the “cosmopolitan centre”, due in no small part to its up-market quality.

The Walmer Country Club, with an 18-hole golf course, the Little Walmer Golf Estate, which has a 9-hole course, and the Humewood golf course are all close by, and the Baakens Valley offers walking and jogging trails. Tours of the nearby Walmer township, which usually include a visit to the youth centre and dinner with a Xhosa family, followed by the odd choir rehearsal, are just some of the advantages of staying so close to the city centre; that and the fact that Walmer acts as a feeder to the entire coastline of the city.

Attractions: Walmer Country Club, Walmer Park Shopping Centre, Settlers Park Nature Reserve

Walmer Country Club with its warm and friendly atmosphere is 54 years old. It is a standard 18-hole configuration course with fairways running predominantly in Westerly or Easterly directions. The Front Nine is the most challenging. The clubhouse offers changing rooms and a restaurant.

There’s a wide choice of restaurants to suit the whole family and the lake’s retail complex will delight visitors with a range of shops. Let the kids enjoy the fun activities offered by the Magic Company and don’t forget to pop in to the cinema to enjoy the latest movie screening or head to The Vodacom Amphitheatre to enjoy entertaining shows! .

The Walmer Park Shopping Centre has over 120 stores, anchored by Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Edgars and Dischem. It is a clean, stylish and secure centre with safe and secure parking and it is wheelchair-friendly.

The 54-hectare tranquil Settler's Park, which lies along the banks of the Baakens River, is located in the heart of the city. The park has three entrances and may be accessed via How Avenue, just off Park Drive; Chelmsford Avenue, just off Target Kloof or from Third Avenue, Walmer. It also offers recommended short walks that may commence from any of these entrances.

The Park facilities include a flower display house, a Marquette of the 1820 Settlers' Statue, indigenous flora, rock pools with stepping-stones and grassed areas ideal for picnicking.

The Park is rich in bird life, small buck and other fauna as well as offering an 8km walking trail through the Baakens River Valley, named the Guinea Fowl Trail.

At the moment this area is best known as the neighbourhood in which the two year old Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was built. Other than this the area is considered to be Port Elizabeth’s motoring mecca, apart from its industrial businesses.

Main attraction: The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

The five-tier, R2 billion) Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was built overlooking the North End Lake. It is one of three coastal stadiums built in anticipation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It regularly hosts large scale football (soccer) and rugby union matches. The stadium is also used as a concert venue. It was developed in North End by the fact that it would cost much less to develop transport infrastructure there than elsewhere, according to the municipality. The stadium has an eye-catching, unique roof-structure and a spectacular view, overlooking the North End Lake. The roof is made up of a series of white 'petals' making it look like a flower. This is the reason for the stadium's nickname, The Sunflower. There are not many stadiums in the world that are designed and constructed overlooking a lake; this in itself is a very distinctive feature of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The stadium building is approximately 40m high and consists of six levels on the western side in addition to five on each of the north, south and east stands. The stadium seats 45 000.

Just outside Port Elizabeth lies the little historical village of Bethelsdorp. Located on the little Swartkops River, Bethelsdorp was established in 1803 by Dr Johannes Theodosius Van Der Kemp and was the first organised settlement in the Algoa Bay area. The original almshouses still stand today, behind the Van Der Kemp Memorial Church, after convincing the colonial government to establish a settlement for indigenous people here to educate and provide religious and social instruction. There are quite a few buildings in the village that are protected by the National Monuments Act, including the Van der Kemp memorial church, thought to be the first congregational church in southern Africa. In front of the church is the market square, where the original mission bell still rests. Just behind the church is Livingstone Cottage - legend has it that David Livingstone stayed here himself. Photo: Charles Pullen

The newly laid-out Van Der Kemp’s Kloof Trail starts at the historical Bethelsdorp Village (outside the Van der Kemp’s Kloof Church), the first missionary settlement in Port Elizabeth. It proceeds up the kloof into wilderness atmosphere, returning along the plateau through botanically interesting grassy Fynbos, with magnificent views across the Swartkops Valley and Algoa Bay.

Cleary Park Shopping Centre is located right in the heart of Port Elizabeth’s Northern suburbs, and has for the past 20 years, been the only shopping centre of its size and appeal located in and servicing the local community. Its closest competitor is approximately 18km away, and although residents in its catchment area have the option of travelling to shop elsewhere, they opt to shop at Cleary Park Shopping Centre.

The national stores include: Jet Stores, Truworths, Markham, Foschini, Clicks, Ackerman’s and Discom. Since inception Shoprite anchored the centre with a 3,000m2 store along with Pick n Pay who moved to the centre in 2006 when the centre was extended by a further 5,000m2.

Cleary Park Shopping Centre has experienced yet another major expansion recently – and has even more in the way of stores and variety to offer shoppers. The expansion of the centre has increased the size of Cleary Park by 10, 617m2 – adding an extra 40 outlets. Big names in retail such as Edgars, Legit, WP Cellar, Fashion World, Debonairs, Torga Optical, Ideals, Build It and Chicken Licken are now available at the centre.

The overall look of the new part of the centre is very up-market, with quality finishes that have been used to upgrade the centre throughout. The existing centre has experienced renovations in lighting, re-tiling, toilets and certain other features to tie the new look in with the old.

In addition to the actual building and renovations, the centre also includes a soccer pitch, available for use by the local community.

The Nangoza Jebe hall, formerly known as the Great Centenary Hall, is situated in Ntshekisa Street, New Brighton. It is a multi-purpose venue ideal for conferences, indoor sports activities and social functions. This venue can accommodate up to 2000 people but still have three break-away rooms (small halls) that can accommodate 200 each.

Vulindlela Conference Centre in Coega Village in Motherwell is used for conferences, business meetings, sports activities and other social functions.

In NU 4B Motherwell the Raymond Mhlaba Sports Complex caters for indoor sports games and choir competitions. The hall was named after the late struggle veteran, a Rivonia Trialist and first Eastern Cape Premier, Oom Ray Mhlaba.

The Kwanobuhle Indoor Sports is a venue for indoor sports activities and social functions. It has a capacity to carry up to 2000 people and at the end of September this facility will have a swimming pool meant for members of the community.

Sports stadiums where outdoor games like soccer, rugby, netball, cricket, and athletics are played, include Dan Qeqe and Zwide in Koyana Street and Njoli Road respectively.

There is also the Wolfson Stadium in Kwazakhele in the Port Elizabeth area while the Jabavu Stadium in Mabandla Street; Kwanobuhle is used for outdoor games in Uitenhage.

Shopping Centres

Shopping Centres in the PE Express Indaba distribution area include the Motherwell Shopping Centre in NU4B, New Brighton Shopping Centre, Kwazakhele Shopping Centre and Kwanobuhle Shopping Centre.

• Langa Memorial Site in Maduna Road, KwaLanga, Uitenhage in memory of those who died in 1985 during the commemoration of the 1961 Sharpeville Massacre.
• Cradock Four Memorial in Addo Road, Wells Estate near Motherwell. In honour of the four anti-apartheid activists who were murdered at the place now known as Well Estate in the turbulent 1980s.
• Emlotheni Memorial Park in Limba Road, New Brighton is dedicated to anti-apartheid activists, including Vuyisile Mini, who were executed by the regime because of their defiance in 1964.

Another building of significance is the Ubuntu Education Fund. It is situated in Qeqe Street, Zwide and serves the needs of the community in education and health matters in the township.