A Bitcoiner’s guide to South Africa’s Garden Route

South Africa’s Garden Route, famed for its lush forests, expansive beaches and charming towns, has become a testbed for Bitcoin adoption.

From Mossel Bay to Witsand and Plettenberg Bay to Knysna, Bitcoin has become popular among shop owners and travelers alike for a multitude of reasons.

“We’re seeing the early signs of a parallel, permissionless economy emerging across an entire region,” James Caw, founder of SimplB — a local crypto asset provider — told Cointelegraph, “where small businesses benefit from faster, lower-cost digital payments and where people have more options to earn, send and receive sound money securely.”

For tourists, the benefits are immediate: no currency exchange hassles, no international card fees, and the ability to pay instantly and securely. For locals, Bitcoin (BTC) offers a hedge against inflation, protection from currency volatility and new economic opportunities.

Here’s a taste of what a Bitcoin-friendly trip along the Garden Route is like.

The Garden Route is where Bitcoin meets paradise

The Garden Route is one of South Africa’s premier tourist corridors. It stretches roughly 300 kilometers from Mossel Bay in the west to the Storms River Mouth in the east, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists yearly.

Crypto adoption is escalating thanks to South Africa’s regulatory environment, which now recognizes Bitcoin as a financial product. Across the Garden Route, you can spend pre-acquired Bitcoin freely, with little concern for local tax or exchange controls.

It’s a grassroots movement. Towns like Witsand and Plettenberg Bay are at the forefront, and national retailers like Pick n Pay provide a safety net for crypto spending along the way. Every Pick n Pay store, including supermarkets, clothing outlets and Express convenience stores, accepts Bitcoin via the CryptoQR app. This guarantees you can always buy daily goods with Bitcoin wherever you travel.

Witsand is the Bitcoin village

Located at the mouth of the Breede River, Witsand is a sleepy coastal town with a big reputation in the Bitcoin world. Here, Bitcoin isn’t just accepted — it’s preferred.

It’s thanks to the efforts of local champions like Edwin Jones, a software engineer and passionate supporter of Bitcoin adoption in the Garden Route. Witsand has become a functioning Bitcoin circular economy. Accommodation options like Fantasea and Happy Days holiday homes, meals at Ellie’s on Main, groceries at local shops, gym memberships, boat services, petrol, surf lessons and mini-golf can be paid for using Bitcoin.

As Jones notes:

Bitcoin Witsand existed long before we gave it a name. It was just having conversations with friends, and as the local businesses started understanding Bitcoin, they actually demanded we start getting the technology in place.

The town’s small and close-knit community has enabled rapid adoption; more than 45 establishments accept Bitcoin as of early 2025. The town’s enthusiasm is infectious, as locals and visitors enjoy the ease and security of digital payments.

Witsand proudly announces its acceptance of Bitcoin. Source: Edwin Jones

Witsand’s success as a Bitcoin hub is rooted in its community-driven approach. Jones outlines its growth by outlining that:

Although there have been many individual businesses over the years since 2009 that started and stopped accepting Bitcoin for the Garden Route, the adoption really started kicking off in 2021.

“With the Lightning Network starting to reach maturity around that time, the first Spaza Shop in Mossel Bay, Bitcoin Ekasi, started accepting Bitcoin in August 2021, and the first restaurant in Witsand in December of the same year.”

Education has been central to the process. Local advocates have focused on teaching business owners the fundamentals of Bitcoin, warning against scams and emphasizing the difference between Bitcoin and speculative altcoins.

“With all the circular economies advocating against gambling and trading, cautioning against interest and investments, being explicitly Bitcoin, and focusing on the fundamentals rather than the price, scammers have been kept at bay,” Jones said. “We have also found that businesses don’t have to adapt as much as evolve.”

Bitcoin doesn’t change a business — it just supercharges it. Doing the same old things, much better.

Mossel Bay’s surf and social upliftment

Mossel Bay, the historical gateway to the Garden Route, is not just about beaches and maritime history. Mossel Bay is home to Bitcoin Ekasi, a pioneering project that brought Bitcoin to the township of JCC Camp.

Bitcoin Ekasi empowers unbanked residents by enabling them to earn and spend Bitcoin locally. Coaches at The Surfer Kids nonprofit are paid in Bitcoin, and local spaza shops accept Bitcoin for daily necessities.

For the Bitcoiner tourist, Mossel Bay offers a unique opportunity for “conscious crypto-tourism.” You can take surf lessons from instructors paid in Bitcoin, visit the Bitcoin Ekasi education center, or support the project with direct donations.

The town also boasts a Pick n Pay that accepts Bitcoin. As SimplB’s Caw observes:

The Bitcoin Ekasi project first started when they began accepting Bitcoin because of the demand from foreign tourists visiting Mossel Bay. It is just so simple to function on a Bitcoin standard once you begin using it.

Plettenberg Bay is the fastest-growing Bitcoin economy

Further east, Plettenberg Bay has witnessed an explosion in Bitcoin adoption. In just a few months, the number of Bitcoin-accepting merchants jumped from five to more than 75, making it one of Africa’s most dynamic crypto economies.

Confirmed acceptors include Ferris Cars (which facilitates rental accommodation payments in crypto), Glow Lighting Design and all local Pick n Pay branches. Adventure tourism companies, boutique retailers and professional services are increasingly receptive to Bitcoin, especially if you ask. The rapid growth suggests an enthusiastic local scene, with businesses eager to tap into the spending power of Bitcoin tourists.

Plettenberg Bay offers a vibrant mix of beach life, nature and crypto-friendly commerce. The town’s energy is palpable, and visitors are encouraged to engage with merchants, share information about Lightning payments, and help grow the ecosystem.

“Right now Plettenberg Bay is by far the most interesting circular economy in Africa and possibly the world,” said Jones. “It currently boasts having the most businesses accepting Bitcoin of any town in Africa and has achieved this in less than three months.”

Bitcoin preferred signs can be found along the Garden Route. Source: Edwin Jones

Sedgefield is a quiet pioneer

Sedgefield, a tranquil town between Knysna and Wilderness, played a key role in the national rollout of Bitcoin payments at Pick n Pay. It was one of the trial sites for the innovative QR code converter from MoneyBadger, which enables Bitcoin spending at every Pick n Pay in South Africa.

Sedgefield itself doesn’t have the same density of Bitcoin-accepting independent merchants as Witsand or Plettenberg Bay, but the presence of Pick n Pay ensures that crypto tourists can always pay for groceries and essentials with sats.

Practical information for your trip

If you do make it out to the Garden Route, recommended wallets include Blink, Wallet of Satoshi and Phoenix — all Lightning-enabled and widely used in the region.

In larger towns like Knysna, George, Wilderness and Oudtshoorn, the Bitcoin scene is still emerging. There aren’t yet established circular economies, but the nationwide acceptance of Bitcoin at Pick n Pay provides a reliable foundation for spending.

The Spasie on Breede Restaurant and Bar is just one of many establishments accepting Bitcoin. Source: Edwin Jones

BTC Map occasionally lists independent merchants, like Beans About Coffee in Oudtshoorn. Still, the best strategy is to ask around, look for Bitcoin signage, and use mapping tools to discover new acceptors.

For accommodation, activities and dining, direct inquiry remains key. Many guesthouses and tour operators are open to Bitcoin payments, especially as awareness grows. Online platforms like Bitrefill enable you to buy gift vouchers for major retailers using Bitcoin, providing a workaround for places that don’t yet accept crypto directly.

Happy travels.

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