We recently enjoyed a fantastic weekend in Montagu. Located in the Klein Karoo, the town is about 187km from Cape Town and is a great option for a family getaway. I’ve driven through Montagu a few times, but had never spent a weekend there, so was really looking forward to something different.

We were not disappointed. Montagu is a charming little town. Although we found there weren’t as many things to do as our last weekend away in Stanford, this suited us just fine as we were super keen to just relax as much as possible.

We stayed at the Bon Accord Farm Cottages, located on a beautiful fruit farm in the Keisie Valley. This was honestly one of the most stunning places we have stayed at in the Western Cape. The cottage was really lovely, spacious, clean and well-stocked. There was a big patio and braai in the front of the cottage overlooking the valley, and we just couldn’t get enough of the spectacular views, especially at sunrise and sunset. It was so peaceful and relaxing and we spent most of our time chilling on the stoep. Fortunately there was also a TV and WiFi for when the kiddies get a bit too tired of the farm life.

The farm itself also looked neat and well run. There were three cottages in a row, but they were far enough away from each other that you could enjoy complete privacy. I can highly recommend a weekend here, and we’d be happy to return any day.

Here are a few things we enjoyed in and around Montagu:

Die Kloof Padstal
This was a lovely restaurant and farm stall just as you enter Montagu from the Cape Town side. It had a fantastic outdoor play area with lots of swings, jungle gyms and tree houses for the kids to enjoy. The food was pretty average but the girls had a blast playing there and we enjoyed a nice cold craft beer in the beautiful and relaxed surroundings. Definitely a great place for a family lunch out in Montagu.

Montagu Dried Fruit Factory Shop
Arguably Montagu’s biggest selling point is its vast fruit orchards which yield wonderful produce and, of course, which are used to make the dried fruit the town is known for. The Montagu factory shop is located by Die Kloof Padstal, so really convenient when stopping there for lunch, as you can stock up on some great dried fruit and nut specials. My girls’ favourite is the crunchy corn, while I was very happy to get a huge bag of Turkish apricots for a third of what I would have paid at Woolies.

Saturday Village Market
The Montagu Village Market is held every Saturday in Euvrard Park, Bath Street. It’s not a big market, but we found some great local produce and home-made goodies. We enjoyed a relaxed stroll through the market to get a taste of Montagu village life.

Guano Cave
The Guano Cave Resort is located about 6km out of Montagu on the R62 road to Barrydale and offers a fun day out for the family. For a fee you can enter the resort as a day visitor and have access to the hot springs and animal farm. We enjoyed a morning there – didn’t bother with the springs, but the girls enjoyed a horse ride and looking at all the farm animals. The restaurant didn’t look too great, so we rather headed back to our accommodation for lunch.

We were also really keen to do the tractor ride and potjie kos outing at Protea Farm, but unfortunately the road was closed for maintenance so they weren’t operating, but we’ve heard it’s a great outing, so we’ll have to save this for next time.

If you’re looking for a no-frills, relaxed weekend away, I can highly recommend Montagu. Learn more about the town and what to see and do in the Keisie Valley on the Montagu Tourism website.