Many of the homes built around its compact harbor are white, wooden cottages with red tiled roofs, typical of the area.

Brekkestø has a small general store, a filling station that provides fuel for boats only, and an ice cream kiosk open during the summer season.

Brekkestø started off as a protected harbour for the Stutthei-farms in early 17th century, mainly due to the threats of Dutch pirates and corsairs.

[3] During the time of sailing ships in the 18th and 19th century, Brekkestø the most commonly used winter harbour on the south coast along the Skaggerak.

Ship traffic created a lot of activity, and there were shops, apartments, hotels and duty station in the small outport.