George provides the convenience and accessibility of a major city, without losing its small-town charm.

The vibrant community, stunning landscapes, and boundless possibilities make George the perfect place to capture your story.

Established in 1811, George is one of South Africa’s oldest and most enchanting cities. Spanning 5,191km², the area is filled with forests, semi-desertscapes, oceans, dams, fynbos, farmlands, bridges, rivers, city scenes, industrial areas, and townships. And all of this within a 20km radius of a town or city centre.

The blend of contemporary urban and charming rural spaces includes an extensive access network. Located along the N2, home to a domestic airport and railroad route, George is easily accessible – whether it be by road, air or train. The George regional airport is connected to Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, and Bloemfontein, leaving no one out of reach.

As the economic powerhouse of the Garden Route, George has a diverse and skilled workforce and is home to national and international businesses who benefit from modern infrastructure and efficient services. The city consistently ranks highly in climate, affordability, safety, sparse traffic, and low pollution levels. 

Learn more about George:

Visitgeorge.co.za | George.gov.za | Official Visitor Guide | Events Calendar

Landscapes

‘George’ goes far beyond the city CBD. It includes towns such as Wilderness and Uniondale, and hamlets such as Herolds Bay, Victoria Bay, Hoekwil, Herold and beyond. Its diverse landscapes are easy to discover. Within only a 1.5-hour drive, you can experience the vast, semi-desert open plains and passes of Uniondale, as well as the majestic mountains and cool blue of ocean of George and Wilderness.

The area spans the dry and climatically extreme Klein Karoo in the north, to the wetter more temperate Garden Route in the south. Expansive mountains and forests, wilderness areas, a varied coastline, and extensive lakes, rivers and estuaries naturally offer a dramatic cinematographic backdrop.

Key Attributes

1. Easy road and air connectivity
2. Clean, healthy and hospitable area
3. Premier golf courses
4. Incredible natural diversity and beauty
5. Plentiful restaurant, accommodation and activity options
6. Rich, vibrant South African arts and history

Weather

George has a moderate and comfortable climate, free from extreme weather conditions such as intense heat or periods of snow. Rains are well distributed throughout the year, although they are a little less frequent from May to August.

Getting to George

Getting to George is easy with a domestic airport connected to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Bloemfontein. George and Wilderness are also situated along the N2, connecting the area by road transfer from Cape Town to Gqeberha. George is approximately a 5-hour drive from Cape Town and a 4-hour drive from Gqeberha. Uniondale is approximately an hour and a half drive from George.

Architecture

George is a juxtaposition of old and new, with Uniondale sporting an older Cape Karoo style. Across George Municipality there are beautiful heritage architectural gems, with newer buildings fabricated in steel and glass, and an industria, townships and widely spaced and closely knit, tree-lined residential areas.

The architecture is a rich mosaic that reflects its colonial heritage, indigenous influences, and modern development.

7 Reasons to Film in George

1. Short Driving Distances Maximising Production

Coming from the cities of Cape Town or Johannesburg, George will feel like a dream with no heavy peak day traffic to consider and short driving distances between varied locations. George and Wilderness are also situated in the very centre of the Garden Route, helping you to reduce travelling time when using George as your base when shooting in multiple Garden Route locations. Nowhere else in South Africa will you find indigenous forest, semi-desert, oceans, dams, mountain passes, plantations, fynbos, farmlands, iconic bridges, rivers, city scenes, industria, and township all within 20km of a town or city centre.

2. Affordable Local Suppliers

From caterers to accommodations, George is a business hub with a variety of capable local suppliers at affordable rates compared to big city prices.

3. Dedicated Tourism Office Support

‘Film’ falls under George Municipality’s Tourism section, known as George, Wilderness and Uniondale Tourism. Responsible for driving economic impact through business and leisure tourism, the team are ready to help you navigate a dream production. From location sourcing support to local suppliers to knowledge, the tourism office is a resource with staff assigned to assist you discover the destination, as well as navigate permitting.

The Tourism section is housed within the municipality and is a ‘one-stop-shop’ for producers and film stakeholders, providing any and all support services. This is vast and varied assistance has previously included unique location sourcing, to finding residential homes for filming within a particular community! The office also enjoys a good relationship with stakeholders which fall within the municipal jurisdiction, such as SANParks and Cape Nature.

4. Pro-Film Municipal Permitting

With the film sector identified as a key driver of business tourism, the Tourism office assists with streamlining municipal permits across the various internal departments of the municipality.

5. Skilled Local Production

There are skilled film suppliers who live in the area, reducing the number of crew, cast and production support your organisation needs to bring. George has a range of very capable producers, film companies and set builders operating in the area such as Meerfout Films, the Media Box, Trinity Productions, Merchant Films, Garden Route Media, Eon Media, Creatures, VM Productions and many more. Various film and television productions have been curated in the destination such as Die Brug, Tuiskoms, Juffrou X, Ouma Sarie, My Kitchen Rules, The Bachelor, Op Soek Na Eden, Die Dors, Weerwraak, Elvis Bou, Paljas, Fiela se Kind and more. These productions air on national television channels such as kykNET and e-TV and with Tuiskoms recently featuring on international streaming platform Netflix.

6. Wide Variety of Scenes

George is a built up city centre with every natural resource – forests, semi – desert, ocean, dams, mountains, farmlands, waterfalls and rivers. There are also buildings with distinct architectural styles across George and Uniondale. Don’t forget about the wealth of municipal infrastructure such as sports stadiums, community pools, libraries, cemetaries, as well as local churches, and more.

7. Unique Locations and Experiences

Contact

George Municipality Tourism Section – All Municipal Film Permits and Support

Heloine Crowley

+27 (0) 44 801 9295

fi**@************co.za | george.gov.za | visitgeorge.co.za

George Tourism, 124 York Street, George, Western Cape, 6529