Thonga Beach Lodge

The thatched communal area opens on to a deck, where delicious meals and great wines are served. If you're in a romantic mood, you can dine at a candlelit table on the waves' edge. Near the dining room is the lounge, with big comfortable couches in tranquil seaside colours, a small selection of books and games. Spend hours gazing at the horizon or watching the sun rise over a steaming mug of coffee on the beach deck. There's a pool for hot afternoons, a bar and a spa.

The lodge sleeps 24 in spacious suites of sun-bleached wood and glass hidden in the dune forest and raised on wooden stilts. Each is air conditioned, with a huge bed enclosed in a billowing mosquito net and an en-suite bathroom. Deluxe and family rooms have a massive bath and the Deluxe rooms also have an outdoor shower. Thoughtful extras included golf umbrellas and a small cooler box, as well as dressing gowns. Some rooms offer sea views; others are set within the dune forest. All have private balconies.

Thonga Beach offers everything you'd expect from an ocean-side retreat. Dive and snorkel to see the colourful underwater life, go canoeing or fishing, take long beach walks, see the determined turtle hatchlings (in season), watch snorting hippos and rich birdlife at Lake Sibaya and visit the neighbouring community. This is an eco-friendly lodge in a World Heritage Site, built into an extremely sensitive forest of milkwoods that are protected and may not be cut down or trimmed.