Area guide

Port St Francis

Port St Francis is a harbour and small marina village between St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis in the Eastern Cape. Built from 1995 for the chokka (squid) fleet, it is one of the few privately owned harbours in South Africa, and its moorings are surrounded by Mediterranean-style apartments and sectional title homes.

It is a working harbour first: chokka boats unload here, the NSRI has a station here, and charter and leisure boats share the moorings. Around it is a compact village of apartments, restaurants and shops.

For buyers it is the lock-up-and-go option of the area, with sea and harbour views and most homes held in sectional title.

Chokka boats unloading at Port St Francis, with the harbour apartments behind
Photo: wbayer.com, CC0, via Flickr

Port St Francis at a glance

Location
Between St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis
Built
From 1995; officially opened December 1996 (Kromme Trust)
Moorings
About 200, commercial and leisure
Main industry
Chokka (squid) fishing
Homes
Mostly apartments and sectional title
Property24, 6 October 2026
15 for sale, R1m to R38.8m

What is Port St Francis?

Port St Francis was built so the growing chokka fleet's larger vessels could work from St Francis again rather than from Port Elizabeth. Construction started in 1995, rock was excavated to form the basin, and Coreloc armour blocks, made on site, were used for the first time in South Africa. The St Francis Kromme Trust dates the official opening to December 1996 and credits Jean Chaput, the first mayor of St Francis Bay, with driving the project. A sailing guide gives November 1997, so sources differ on the exact date.

The harbour has about 200 commercial and leisure moorings, allocated by the harbour master. It is privately managed, and is usually described as one of the few privately owned harbours in the country.

What happens at the harbour?

Chokka is one of the economic mainstays of St Francis Bay, and commercial chokka fishing here goes back to about 1984. At times up to about 50 chokka boats work from the area, and in the closed seasons the fleet ties up in the harbour. Hake and pilchard boats, charter and deep-sea fishing boats and private yachts use the other moorings.

NSRI Station 21 is based at the port. Boats are also built here: the Balance 580 catamaran, built in Port St Francis, was named one of SAIL magazine's Top 10 Best Boats for 2026.

What is it like to live at Port St Francis?

Private Property describes Port St Francis as a quaint marina village of upmarket apartments and sectional title homes with a Mediterranean feel, set around the moorings. Restaurants, shops and offices sit beside the homes, and the harbour itself provides the daily view: boats coming in, catches being unloaded.

The Two Harbours Walk runs along the coast from Port St Francis to Granny's Pool in St Francis Bay in about an hour. Because most homes are sectional title, ask for the levies, the conduct rules and the body corporate's latest financials before you buy.

What kind of property is at Port St Francis?

Port St Francis is mostly apartments and sectional title homes around the harbour, from compact two-bedroom units to large waterfront apartments, with very few freestanding houses or plots.

Harbour frontage, views and the size of the unit drive value. On 6 October 2026 Property24 listed 15 properties for sale at Port St Francis, mostly apartments, asking from R1 million for a plot to R38.8 million for a five-bedroom waterfront apartment.

For a current figure on a home here, ask Seal Point Estates for a market value estimation.

Buying or selling in Port St Francis?

Talk to Jal Rigaard, principal agent at Seal Point Estates, on +27 72 559 0575. No-obligation market value estimations.

View listings Get a market value estimation

Other areas we cover

Cape St Francis The lighthouse village on the headland, ringed by nature reserves. St Francis Bay The white-walled village on the Kromme River, with two golf courses. St Francis canals Waterfront homes with private jetties onto the Kromme River. Santareme Mediterranean-style homes and sea views across Harbour Road from the village.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Facts on this page come from: