Winelands in South Africa

Best of Cape Town & the Garden Route Tour

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist

Countries Visited

South Africa

Places Visited

Cape Town, Hermanus, Wilderness, Knysna...

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Suggested Duration

14 Days

Landscapes blur across Cape Town and the Garden Route, where majestic mountain chains tumble into mystical forests and a thousand miles of an empty coastline. Whales breach, lions roar, walking trails connect and city sights are doused in color. Cape Town and the Garden Route's diverse beauty make it one of Africa's most visited regions, the coastal trail showcasing the eclectic appeal of a continent. This 14-day private guided tour reveals the best of it, including safari excursions.

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Lose yourself in the nature and history of Cape Town, spending four days exploring the colors and surprises of the Mother City
  • Connect the exquisite dots of the Garden Route on a private guided tour, your route hugging the coast to reveal elephants, beaches, whales, lions, mountains, mystical forests and beautiful empty roads
  • Soar across the southwestern tip of Africa by helicopter, marveling at the Table Mountain chain that ripples down the bottom of the continent
  • Walk along the Hermanus cliffs and then boat journey into the Hermanus Bay, where three migratory whales species raise their calves
  • Wander on the empty beaches of the Garden Route, like those at Wilderness and those hidden beneath the trees in Tsitsikamma
  • Surround yourself with the mystique of indigenous forests, particularly at the Garden Route National Park, where the green clashes with majestic cliffs and passing dolphins
  • Spend two days on luxury big game safari, with game drives and bush walks revealing the surreal world of Africa's mammals, including four of the Big Five
  • Traverse Addo, a vibrant savannah where hundreds of elephants provide a showcase of South Africa's wildlife abundance abundance

Detailed Description

Cape Town and the Garden Route offer a jigsaw puzzle of Africa's dreamy appeal. So many destinations fit together, creating a collage of many of the continent's most revered sights and experiences. Experience culture and history in Cape Town, whales migrating along the coast, unique forests from a mystical world, huge elephant herds crossing the savannah and luxury big game safari. This region enables the first-time Africa visitor to piece together so many famous images and explore many of the continent's angles. Cape Town and the Garden Route is also Africa's most developed region in terms of tourist infrastructure, making an easy introduction for those who are on the fence about visiting this evocative continent. Facilities and services are very much Western in style, but this region remains wonderfully African at heart.

On this luxury South Africa tour, you spend four nights in Cape Town, before being privately guided along the Garden Route, stopping at five contrasting destinations over nine nights. Cape Town is situated on South Africa's southwestern tip, while the Garden Route is the coastal strip along the south of the continent, typically encompassing Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. You journey one way by road, stopping off at the eclectic destinations on route. Then fly from Port Elizabeth back to Cape Town for your international departure flight. You travel in a luxury saloon and the road is a big part of the experience, expressive panoramas always accompanying the journey. In total, there are around ten hours of actual driving time on this South Africa tour, split over nine days from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.

The Mother City dances with experiences, from sunset dining with views of the Atlantic Ocean to standing on the top of Table Mountain. A helicopter ride reveals the splendor of the coast while an afternoon in the Constantia vineyards provides new vistas. History comes alive on Robben Island and the colorful city streets expel both a vibrancy and tranquility. Next, you head to Hermanus, one of the world's great whale watching destinations. On some days, it's possible to see the migratory giants from your balcony; a boat trip takes you closer to the coastline of Walker Bay, where the whales raise their calves.

Wilderness is very much like its name, a stretch of empty beach and a flourishing canopy of forest. Two nights here allow you to fully escape from the world and connect with nature's charms. You're in the Garden Route National Park, another serene expression of South Africa's wondrous landscapes. With a private cottage overlooking the Indian Ocean, these two days can be as active or relaxed as you like. South Africa is also safari country and the Garden Route offers a string of private game reserves. Kariega is the most luxurious of these, providing two days of big game encounters and immersion in the wild bush. To complete the Garden Route, you traverse Addo Elephant National Park, admiring huge pachyderm herds before arriving in Port Elizabeth for the final night. 

Starting Price

$9,100 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service

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