North Beach is the central section of the Golden Mile and the city's go-to swimming and surfing beach. The break is consistent, the water is warm, and the beach is netted against sharks — a system pioneered in Durban decades ago and still in use. Lifeguards are on duty from sunrise to sunset.
The promenade is at its busiest here, with surf shops, ice-cream stalls, the South Beach skate plaza nearby, and the Rachel Finlayson saltwater pool just inland. Saturday mornings the surfers turn out in force.