After an adventurous 15-year stint in London’s fast-paced music industry, Percy Heywood decided to take his career explorations to the next level. Percy immigrated to South Africa and immediately fell in love with the beauty of Hermanus, where he settled. He became a tour guide in 2004 and has since grown a reputation as being one of the top tour companies in South Africa.
With a passion for everything David Attenborough, a day in the life of Percy could include anything from braving the cold Atlantic waters for a spot of shark cage diving to climbing a mountain to enjoy panoramic views of the peninsula. Relaxing, in-and-among fragrant winery vineyards, while entertaining guests with stories of his great adventures (that includes a 20-month non-stop exploration of the southern hemisphere) also features high on his list.
Percy lists the natural beauty of the mountains, the ocean with its abundance of whales and sharks, laid-back country life and award-winning wine farms, as well as the wonderful climate, as being reasons to explore the Overberg.
Percy Tours is registered and accredited with:
Furthermore, Percy Tours has a full passenger and public liability insurance policies. The entire team of chauffeur tour guides have first aid medical training and certification that is renewed annually.
Percy Tours welcomes you to Hermanus and invites you to join them on a Hermanus Orientation Tour.
This popular seaside town has become known around the globe as a must-visit tourist destination. Situated less than two hours from Cape Town International Airport, Hermanus is the perfect location from where to explore a myriad of activities and adventures such as:
For more information on this awesome town click on this link.
Percy Tours is recommended as a wine tour guide of choice in the highly influential, Platter’s South African Wine Guide.
Hermanus is a wine lover’s paradise and has been voted as the second-best wine route in South Africa. Wine Routes such as Hemel-en-Aarde (Heaven and Earth) Wine Route in Hermanus boasts a plethora of award-winning wine farms.
Each chauffeur-guide has been trained and accredited by the Cape Wine Academy and is able to provide you with the history, making and detailed information on each wine farm on your wine route.
Percy Tours offer a variety of wine route options to suit your itinerary. Tours of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek wine routes are also available upon request.
Find out more here.
Join Percy Tours for a not to be missed, Ocean Safari to see the Marine Big 5. Passengers will board a spacious boat and cruise Walker Bay in search of:
For more information on Marine Big 5 Ocean Safaris and other boat-based tours, click here.
Each year, hundreds of Southern Right Whales make the long journey from the cold waters of the Antarctic to the sheltered bays of the Southern African coastline to give birth to their calves. This wonderful event takes place in what is known as the whale season (June to December). Walker Bay is a favourite gathering spot for these gentle giants to frolic and Hermanus has become known around the world as the top destination for both land and boat-based whale watching.
Percy Tours deal with all the boat operators who offer whale watching trips and will make sure that your space to see these magnificent creatures from up close is booked to avoid disappointment.
For more information click on this link.
For years Gansbaai has been known as the Great White Shark capital of the world. Percy Tours will get you to the Kleinbaai Harbour, onto a state of the art boat and into the cage on time so that you can get up-close and personal with these magnificent and highly intelligent creatures.
No previous diving experience is needed by you and you will be supplied with wetsuits and soft-kit.
For more on shark cage diving, click on this link.
Did you know that penguins only inhabit colonies below the Earth’s equator? The African Penguin (also known as the jackass penguin) is a species endemic to Southern Africa and is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Percy Tours will take you on an educational visit to a penguin colony in Betty’s Bay near Hermanus.
Click this link for more info.
Percy Tours will take you on a guided game safari that will showcase everything you have ever dreamed of seeing on your visit to Africa.
A game ranger with a safari jeep is on hand at a safari park that is situated just two and a half hours from Hermanus. Located in the remote mountainous and semi-arid desert region of the Little Karoo, you stand the chance to spot over 1,400 free-roaming animals across 30-species in this huge 10,000-hectare game park.
Resident animals include but are not limited to:
For more information please follow this link.
Whatever the adventure or activity, if it exists, Percy Tours will get you there. The ever-growing list includes (but is definitely not limited to):
To find out more about what Percy Tours has in store for you click on this link.
“Percy took us wine tasting in the Elgin Valley and Bot River area and we can't recommend him enough. It is always a bit of an unknown, choosing to spend the day (as a couple) with a complete stranger but from the moment we were greeted and seated, the atmosphere was relaxed. It felt like we were joining a friend (a rather knowledgeable one with a great sense of humour)! We had a fantastic day that had super comfortable travel, great wine tasting, a delicious lunch and fun banter.” Keri Thomson, Durban
“We booked a wine tour of the Hermanus wineries with Percy. It was absolutely awesome! Percy is a great entertainer, very knowledgeable, funny and friendly. He took us to some very good wineries with amazing views and excellent wines. He also booked us a delicious lunch at a lovely restaurant. We spent a wonderful day and would definitely recommend it!” Valla, London
“We had a great time with Percy as our guide.Visiting the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley with all the great names that included Hamilton Russel, Bouchard Finlayson, La Vierge and Domaine des Dieux. An absolute must for Wine Lovers.” Leiden, The Netherlands
“We again selected Percy Tours as our transport partner for the stay in and around Hermanus. We cannot praise his service enough. As usual, we were on time for collection or drop off. The vehicle was in immaculate condition and his friendly manner and wealth of information makes him the ideal tour guide. We will certainly book him again.” Jeanne and Dieter Zettler, Ballito Bay
“Could not recommend Percy Tours enough! We used them to organise our airport transfers, shark diving trip and wine tour. Excellent service, responses were so quick. We especially enjoyed our wine tour, Percy is very knowledgeable and professional.” Freya Miller, Germany