Summary
Short description
This is South Africa at its very best, from Cape Town and the Garden Route to Zululand and a Big-Five Kruger safari
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Highlights
- Spot the Big Five with an all-inclusive Kruger safari
- Indulge in the Cape Winelands
- Start with Cape Town’s icons
- Drive the spectacular Garden and Panorama routes
- Stay in luxury with private-pool lodges and country manors
In Brief
- 3 Nights Cape Town
- 1 Night The Winelands
- 1 Night Oudtshoorn
- 2 Nights The Garden Route
- 1 Night Durban
- 2 Nights Zululand
- 2 Nights Drakensberg Mountains
- 1 Night The Panorama Route
- 3 Nights Sabi Sand Game Reserve
In pictures
About
Recommended for:
Activity adventure | City | Food & wine | History & culture | Natural world | Safari | Self-drive
This is the ultimate introduction to South Africa’s myriad highlights. You’ll start with a true city great – Cape Town – before tasting your way through the Winelands, and taking in the Garden Route’s forest-clad contours, ostrich deserts and pristine beaches – ideal for seasonal whale watching. Then, there’s the mountain scenery of Zululand and Drakensberg – the dramatic setting for hikes, game reserves and Zulu heritage – before you end in Kruger for an all-inclusive luxury safari. It’s all linked by indulgent stays, flight hops and stunningly scenic drives, including along the Panorama Route’s waterfall-lined valleys.
Day by day itinerary
Day
1
Depart UK
Begin your trip with complimentary airport lounge access before boarding your overnight flight.
Days
2-4
Cape Town
Arriving into Cape Town, you’ll pick up your hire car at the airport to make the short drive to your coastal spa accommodation. And, whichever hotel option you choose, you’ll be within easy reach of Table Mountain, with cable-car rides bringing you up this South African icon’s citywide views. Then, perhaps relax with the white sands and sunset bars of Camps Bay, see the site of Mandela’s incarceration at Robben Island or drive down to penguin-dotted Cape Point – the continent’s most southwesterly corner.
Stay: Victoria & Alfred Hotel, Cape Town, Western Cape (Superior) or The Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town (Deluxe)
Meals: B
Day
5
Cape Winelands
After breakfast, a short drive will bring you into the verdant interior of the Cape Winelands. Here, rows upon rows of vineyards terrace rolling foothills watched over by towering mountains. It’s scenery showcased by your luxury accommodation, either a boutique, modernist gem or a historic, thatched-roof wine estate – our Deluxe option. Then, after tasting your way through the world-class wineries – perhaps even by tram – you’ll return to villages beautified by Cape Dutch architecture and rugged peaks alike. Here, the culinary pairings are as impressive as the wine itself.
Stay: Oude Werf Hotel, Stellenbosch (Superior) or Grande Roche Hotel, Paarl, Cape Winelands (Deluxe)
Meals: B
Day
6
Oudtshoorn
Today, high mountain passes will see you out of the Winelands, through mountain-backed green fields and into the Klein Karoo – a semi-arid desert. It’s a region of stark beauty centred around charming Outdtshoorn. The feather barons made their riches here in the early 1900s – something remembered by their gracious homes. And, you’ll stay right among the history with a night spent in a turn-of-the-century country house, enjoying the chance to visit the still-working ostrich farms and the region’s spectacular Cango Caves. Lastly, between June and October, we highly recommend the detour to Hermanus where clifftop walks showcase the world’s finest land-based whale watching.
Stay: La Plume Guest House, Oudtshoorn (Superior) or Rosenhof Country House, Oudtshoorn (Deluxe)
Meals: B
Days
7-8
Garden Route
The Garden Route – just the name alone evokes images of undulating greenery, pine-clad mountains and secluded sandy bays. And, staying next door to the white beaches of Plettenberg Bay, you’ll have it all on your doorstep. Impossibly scenic drives will see you among the region’s famed national parks, perhaps kayaking to hidden waterfalls in Wilderness and hiking along the cragged coast of Storms River. There’s also the chance to spot whales and dolphins on boat trips and taste some of Knysna’s award-winning oysters. Each night, you’ll return to the private pools of our Deluxe option’s luxury treehouses or the opulent, 10-hectare country estate of our Superior alternative.
Stay: Tsala Treetop Lodge, Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route (Superior) or Lairds Lodge Country Estate, Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route (Superior)
Meals: B
Day
9
Durban
Continuing along the coast, you’ll drop your car off at Port Elizabeth Airport for your included flight hop on to Durban, where you’ll collect your new car and check into your luxury beachfront accommodation. Other than some white-sands relaxation, you’ll have the chance to take in the city’s highlights, including the exotic avian life of the Umgeni River Bird Park or the equally colourful Botanical Gardens. There’s also plenty of cultural delight, with the city host to a distinctly south Asian feel evident throughout bustling markets and indulgent Indian restaurants.
Stay: Canelands Beach Club (Superior) or Oyster Box Hotel (Deluxe)
Meals: B
Days
10-11
Zululand
Driving out into Zululand, you’ll be welcomed by a rolling of expanse of mist-clad hills, dramatic mountains and traditional settlements. It’s the spectacular setting for your delightful lodge, where you’ll be treated to gourmet full-board dining. However, you’ll want to explore with everything from hiking trails to bike rides and horse rides. Both of our options are also set alongside a private game reserve, with walking safaris showcasing the likes of giraffe, rhino and monkeys. However, it’s the battlefields that are the region’s biggest draw. Optional tours bring you out to some of Zululand’s most stunning scenery, your local expert bringing the Anglo-Zulu conflict to life with soul-stirring stories.
Stay: Three Tree Hill (Superior) or Fugitive’s Drift (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Days
12-13
Drakensberg Mountains, KwaZulu-Natal
Continuing inland, you’ll reach the Drakensberg Range where giant peaks frame fertile valleys and your luxury mountain lodge. While you’ll enjoy gourmet half-board indulgences at each of our options, our Deluxe offering is the region’s leading gourmet getaway; dinner is a sumptuous seven-course affair. It’s the perfect end to days spent hiking some of the continent’s most impressive scenery, with chain ladders bringing you to colossal natural amphitheatres and the world’s second-tallest waterfall. The region has also won its UNESCO-listed statues for its ancient bushman paintings.
Stay: Cathedral Peak Hotel, Drakensberg Mountains (Superior) or Cleopatra’s Mountain Farmhouse, KwaZulu-Natal (Deluxe)
Meals: B D
Day
14
The Panorama Route
Returning to Durban, a short flight will see you to Kruger Mpumalanga where you’ll pick up your final hire car. Here, you’ll have a day to take in the famous Panorama Route, sweeping through great green plains and historic gold-rush towns to arrive at pretty waterfalls, carpeted valleys and the small matter of the third-largest canyon in the world. Each comes with such evocative names as God’s Window and Bourke’s Luck Potholes – a series of otherworldly rock formations carved by a winding river. Finally, although you’ll enjoy half-board delicacies at our Superior option, our Deluxe spa alternative excites with luxury tents set on a rose farm.
Stay: Casa do Sol (Superior) or Summerfields Rose Retreat & Spa (Deluxe)
Meals: B D (Superior)
Days
15-17
Sabi Sand Game Reserve (Kruger National Park)
Your last stop is Sabi Sand. Sharing an unfenced border with Kruger National Park, this private reserve is renowned for the best Big-Five game viewing in the country, if not the world. And, you’ll take it all in with a menu of all-inclusive drinks and gourmet dining, complemented by included twice-daily game drives. Let world-class game rangers and trackers deliver an exceptional safari experience, bringing you up close to the likes of leopards, lions and rhino. You’ll end each day with complimentary sundowners, indulgent meals with daily changing menus, and the private pool of your thatched villa – one of a maximum of six.
Stay: Dulini River Lodge, Sabi Sand Game Reserve (Deluxe) or Dulini Leadwood Lodge, Sabi Sand Game Reserve (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Days
18-19
Depart South Africa
After breakfast, return your hire car to Kruger Mpumalanga Airport to board your overnight flight home arriving on day 19.
Meals: B
Map
Pricing
Any element of this itinerary can be adjusted to suit your needs. Just contact us to find out more.
Accommodation rating:
19-day tailor-made self-drive
from £7,470 pp incl. flights
Superior
Low Season
from £7,470 pp. incl. flights
High Season
from £8,015 pp. incl. flights
Includes:
- Complimentary UK airport lounge access
- Return flights from London to Cape Town and from Johannesburg to London
- Domestic flights from Port Elizabeth to Durban and from Kruger Mpumalanga Airport to Johannesburg
- 17 days car hire (Compact car with sat-nav)
- 8 nights accommodation in typically 4* (Superior) hotels on a B&B basis
- 3 nights accommodation in 4* (Superior) hotels on a half-board basis
- 2 nights accommodation in a 4* (Superior) hotel on a full-board basis
- 3 nights accommodation in a 5* (Deluxe) lodge on a full-board basis
- Twice-daily game drives while on safari and Sabi Sands Conservation Contribution
Terms & Conditions
Prices are per person based on two people sharing a twin/double room; prices are subject to availability and possible change; normal booking conditions apply.
Meet our experts
Speak to a tailor-made specialist on 020 7590 0797
Meet the team
Adjust your itinerary with our recommended extensions
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