Eight Reasons To Visit Wild Coast Sun On Your Next Family Holiday

This post is written by Janine Avery from Five Star Stories.

Instagram is saturated with a particular type of family holiday. One where perfectly manicured children in impossibly clean linen outfits stand smiling in foyers of beautiful boutique hotels dripping with glass and crystal, while a blissful Mom carries nothing more than a freshly topped-up glass of Champagne.

children running on the sand in the sun at the Wild Coast Sun

Children sitting on the bed in sunglasses.

Children at a rock pond at the Wild Coast

And then there are my family holidays. They typically involve me carting around more bags than a pack horse. Someone screaming for a snack approximately 11 minutes after breakfast. The youngest covered in mud or sand. And feeling like I could do with a cold glass of bubbles, but certainly not looking Instagram-worthy in any shape or form while I glug it down, grateful just to have survived another day travelling with children.

1. The Wild Coast is Child Friendly

This is why I have a soft spot for places like the Wild Coast Sun. This hotel understands what we adults often forget. Family holidays are made for fun. And if you are my children, preferably wet fun. Involving slides. Repeated approximately 17 times. And, as a parent, I want them to have fun too. I just also want to sit down occasionally.

This is where Wild Coast Sun works well. There is enough going on to keep children entertained without having to spend your entire holiday driving from one activity to another. It’s steps from the beach; there are multiple pools; various restaurants; numerous other entertainment options; a golf course; and even a water park.

2. Water Park Fun

And if your children are anything like mine, the words water park are what they’ll be excited about the most, and for good reason. Hotel guests get complimentary access to Wild Waves Water Park, a playground for all ages. There are plenty of bigger slides and rides for older children and adults (yes, even Mom had a couple of goes), but the Lazy River is where you would find me most of the day. It was wonderfully calming just to float about slowly without having to stress about any of the things daily life with kids throws at you. There is also a Kids Zone and more relaxed beach-style pools, so younger children aren’t simply expected to watch their older siblings disappear down enormous slides all day.

3. Many activities

In fact, one of the things I liked most about the Wild Coast Sun was how all ages can have fun at the same time. You don’t have to choose between giving the children an amazing holiday and having one yourself. There’s padel, Segway tours, quad bike tours, horse riding, hikes, and the river adds another dimension.

The resort’s Riverside Bar is reached via a short transfer in a game-drive vehicle, and here you will find a further array of activities, including paddle boats, canoeing and boat cruises.

4. River Cruise

The river cruise is particularly worth considering if you fancy a change of scenery. The Umtamvuna River forms part of the boundary between KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, and a leisurely boat trip offers a chance to see the surrounding river scenery.

child on boat looking at the water on the river boat cruise

5. Relaxing Hotel

Back at the hotel, there is another pool with the beach and ocean views providing a rather lovely backdrop, while an indoor pool is also available for when the weather isn’t playing ball. Here, Maltos, a Greek-inspired restaurant, serves Mediterranean-style favourites alongside pizzas, pasta and sushi, and we spent countless hours on the couches here while the children alternated between eating and swimming.

6. A variety of food options

And talking about food, Chico’s Restaurant is another fabulous option on site, and is where we enjoyed our daily buffet breakfast with plenty of choices to fuel up on before the day’s adventures. Think a spread of hot breakfast favourites, pastries, fruit and other continental options, with enough variety to cater to different tastes.

On selected nights you can also enjoy buffet dinners here, with a selection that typically includes soups, fresh salads, carvery meats, curries, vegetables and stir-fries, followed by an assortment of desserts. The variety is useful when everyone has a different idea of what constitutes a good meal, and the dessert selection is a welcome bonus for little diners. It is relaxed, casual family dining, with the added advantage of not having to leave the resort to find a meal after a full day of activities.

7. Rainy day options

One of the other great things about the Wild Coast Sun is that it works no matter the weather. Even though the draw is obviously the beachside setting and the outdoor activities, we all know that South African weather has a sense of humour. You can wake up to glorious sunshine, pack the entire family for the pool and then, by lunchtime, find yourself staring at a spectacular thunderstorm. Thankfully, Wild Coast Sun has plenty of indoor entertainment too.

There are arcade games and ten-pin bowling at Aloha Village, plus a high-wire obstacle course, an escape room, and plenty of local favourites for a meal, including various takeaway outlets. And the Mangwanani Spa means there is an opportunity to sneak in a little grown-up time, with a Kids Spa even on hand for the little ones.

8. Your choice on how to spend your days

But perhaps what I like most is that Wild Coast Sun doesn’t feel overly precious. It is a place where children are allowed to be children. They can run, swim, get sandy, indulge in ice cream with all the sprinkles, and nobody seems particularly concerned. You could fill every day with water sports, river activities, golf, and adventure experiences. You could choose to spend the entire day at the water park or the beach. Or you could wake up and decide that today is a pool-and-pancakes kind of day. Either way, there is no need to pack everyone into the car every morning in search of entertainment.

There is enough adventure for children who want to be busy, enough space for those who simply want to swim and play, enough entertainment for rainy days and enough grown-up options to remind parents that they are technically on holiday too. And when it comes to family holidays, that’s the sweet spot.