Southafrica from The Garden Route to Cape Town

Day 1: Cape Town

Arrive at Cape Town International Airport, meet our assistant for a welcoming briefing on your itinerary and collect your pre-booked car, drive to the hotel. The remainder of the afternoon will be at leisure to the city centre and Table Mountain. Overlooking the city the Table Mountain is a big tourist attraction with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top. The view of the city and the bay from the top is stunning. Dining at the Waterfront is suggested, followed by a walk in one of the best attraction of the city. In this area you find shops, bar, cafès, bistrò and clubs where you can enjoy very good music.

Accommodation at Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel or similar
Bed and breakfast

Day 2: Cape Town (Cape of Good Hope)

Breakfast at the hotel. Today’s journey will begin with a daily excursion to Cape of Good Hope: head to Hout Bay, an old port, center of Cape Town’s crayfishing industry with the Marine’s Wharf where you can find nice bars and restaurants. If weather permits, a cruise boat departs from the harbour to Seal island to view thousands of Cape Fur Seals close up in their natural habitat. The journey will continue to Boulders Beach, best known for its resident colony of African Penguin, you will have the privilege to walk among them in their beach home. The next destination is Cape Point, a dramatic knife’s edge of rock that slices into the Atlantic. Finally you will visit Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, where many species of plants are protected; this place, worth a visit in each season, showcases fabulous South African flora including fynbos (hardy, thin-leaf vegetation which gives to the Western Cape region its distinctive look), silver trees, king proteas, ericas; walking trails meander through the gardens offering visitors the chance to enjoy this stunning habitat. Back to Cape Town late in the afternoon.

Accommodation at Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel or similar
Bed and breakfast

Day 3: Cape Town (Winelands)

After breakfast at the hotel, drive your way around the beautiful Winelands; on the road you can stop for a visit to Paarl, Franschoek and Stellenbosch towns. Those last two are characterized by a Dutch colonial architecture and have a perfect soils for grape vines; impossible not to stop for a wine tasting and a degustation of typical products. The region in fact boasts some of South African best wines, restaurants and hotels. After an enjoyable tour of famous wine cellars you can relax under an old oak with a pic-nic basket and dine in one of the excellent restaurants in the area. Those particularly interested in the Winelands could overnight here in one of the beautiful boutique hotels on day 3 or add an extra day to enjoy as much as possible Cape Town and the surrounding areas.

Accommodation at Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel or similar
Bed and breakfast

Day 4: Cape Town – Knysna

After breakfast you will drive towards the coastal town of Knysna, here visit this quaint village situated between the Ocean and the lagoon. Dining at one of the cute restaurants in town along the Marina Wharf is suggested.

Accommodation at Turbine Boutique Hotel or similar
Bed and breakfast

During winter (June-October) we suggest to include one night in Hermanus for whale watching

Day 5: Knsyna

Today will be at leisure to visit the beautiful Garden Route. This road encompasses some of South Africa’s most spectacular and diverse scenery, ranging from long beaches and gentle lakes and rivers to tangled forests, impressive mountains, and steep, rugged cliffs plunge into the stormy sea. You can take a boat trip in the lagoon which takes you to the Heads, rock sentinels at the mouth of the lagoon, from this point you can enjoy a fantastic view of both the sea and the lagoon. Otherwise you can visit the nearby Featherbed Nature Reserve home to various small mammals, more than 100 species of birds and 1000 species of plants, it offers also great scenery.

Accommodation at Turbine Boutique Hotel or similar
Bed and breakfast

Day 6: Knysna – Port Elizabeth

Breakfast at the hotel and visit to the Tsitsikamma forest, in the late afternoon drive towards Port Elisabeth and accommodation at the hotel. Tsitsikamma is part of the Garden Route National Park, it is a narrow section of 80 Km (50 Miles) encompassing some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in the country, including deep gorges, evergreen forests and beautiful unspoiled beaches. From the Tsitsikamma visitor Center a trail descends through the forest through huge ancient trees of different spices and over a narrow suspension bridge it strung across the Storm River Mouth; it is a really stunning walk. This section of the park offers different trails and hiking opportunities.

Accommodation at Ibhay Guest House o similar
Bed and breakfast

Day 7: Port Elisabeth – Johannesburg – Mpumalanga

After breakfast drive to the airport; departure with a scheduled flight to Johannesburg and collection of rental car at airport. You will now hit the Mpumalanga region, one of the most important touristic area of South Africa. To be able to enjoy this area is suggested to take the Panorama Route: this road goes from the top of a high veld, back down through the Drakensberg, a beautiful mountainous area full of trout streams and waterfalls, endless views and giant plantations of pine and eucalyptus.

Accommodation at Oliver’s Lodge and Restaurant or similar
Overnight stay and breakfast

Day 8: Mpumalanga

Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will have the day at leisure to visit the region individually.
Mpumalanga means ‘where the sun rises’ and it is one of the attracting South Africa regions; here you will find the Blyde River Canyon, where the Drakensberg mountain range divides the high escarpment from the low subtropical lowveld where the main part of the Kruger National Park extends.
Today we suggest a visit to the Blyde River Canyon with its hiking trails, magnificent escarpment scenarios, waterfalls, driving along the stunning scenic Panorama Route which winds along the edge of the canyon.

Accommodation at Oliver’s Lodge and Restaurant or similar
Overnight stay and breakfast

Day 9: Mpumalanga – Kruger National Park

Breakfast at the hotel, today’s journey will take you towards Kruger Park. You will stay at one of the private reserves that adjoin the main park, or one of the exclusive-use concessions located within it – these promise crowd- free environments where the game viewing ranks among the best on the continent. The Kruger is the biggest park of South Africa and covers an area of 21.000 square kilometres. It spans across diverse terrains, ranging from rivers filled with crocodiles and hippos, to rocky outcrop; this is the best park for game viewing in South Africa.

Accommodation at Motswari Lodge (Timbavati Reserve) or similar
Full Board accommodation and safari

Day 10: Kruger National Park

Full board accommodation at the lodge with 2 safaris per day take on 4×4 vehicle guided by professional rangers.
Kruger Park is undoubtedly one of the world’s best game parks, where game roams freely over an area the size of Wales; it is 80 Km (50 miles) wide and 320 Km (200 miles) long from Zimbabwe and Limpopo River in the north to the Crocodile River in the south.

Accommodation at Motswari Lodge (Timbavati Reserve) or similar
Full Board accommodation and safari

Day 11: Kruger National Park – Johannesburg – Departure

This morning the journey will end with your last safari before departing. After breakfast in fact you will drive to Nelspruit, Hoedspruit or all the way to Johannesburg Airport, drop off your hired car and board a flight to connect with your flight home.

NOTES:

• The above itinerary can be planned in three different ways: on a self drive – with a private driver – with a private guide. Please enquiry for the solution which suits your needs.
• The above suggested hotels/ lodges are medium to 4* to keep the price more affordable, please enquiry if you wish an alternative itinerary with 5* properties (where available).