Twenty-five minutes east of Hermanus along the R43, Stanford sits on the Klein River, founded in 1857 and barely grown since. The streets run on a grid, the houses are Victorian with corrugated iron roofs and verandas, and the village centre is a heritage area. The river is the reason to drive out here: two boats, the Lady Stanford and the African Queen, go upstream several times a day past reeds, herons and kingfishers, with sunset trips in season.
- east of Hermanus
- 24 km
- founded
- 1857
- on the Klein River
- 2 boats
- market 10:00 to 13:00 (as of August 2026)
- Saturday
Around the village is everything a day in the country needs: the Birkenhead brewery with tastings, the Klein River creamery and its Gruyère, a few wine farms on the road towards Gansbaai. On Saturdays from 10:00 to 13:00 there is a market on the veranda of the Stanford Hotel, with bread, cheese and whatever the gardens have produced (as of August 2026). A coffee on the village square afterwards, and you have filled a morning without having to do anything.
- Time needed
- half a day
- Cost
- free, boat trip and tastings extra
- When
- all year, market on Saturdays
- From Hermanus
- 24 km, 25 minutes
Our tipPair Stanford with De Kelders: market and river in the morning, the cliffs and the cave in the afternoon. That gives you village and sea in one day.
Stanford: common questions
How far is Stanford from Hermanus?
24 kilometres on the R43, about 25 minutes. The village was founded in 1857 and the centre is a heritage area.
What is there to do in Stanford?
Go up the Klein River on the Lady Stanford or the African Queen, several times a day and at sunset in season. Then the Birkenhead brewery, the Klein River creamery, and on Saturdays from 10:00 to 13:00 the market at the Stanford Hotel (as of August 2026).