9 DAY CAPE TOWN & GARDEN ROUTE EXPEDITION

DAY 1: ARRIVAL AT CAPE TOWN AIRPORT

Arriving in Cape Town Airport your driver will be waiting to transfer you to your hotel.  After checking into the hotel, you will depart for your afternoon City & Table Mountain Tour.

Go for a tour in the city and surrounding area, including Table Mountain, city center, Company’s Gardens, the Bo Kaap, Signal Hill, and V&A Waterfront.  A big part of this tour is walking around the city with your guide and getting to know the city.

DAY 2: CAPE WINELANDS

The Western Cape of South Africa is home to more than 500 wineries, and today we will visit a few of our favorites. The Winelands offer more than just wine though – there is also beautiful scenery and interesting history to enjoy along the way. We typically visit the following three wineries, but we like to consult with our clients on the day to tailor the stops to their tastes.

• Villiera is a family-run winery in the Stellenbosch region and is well known for its excellent Cap Classique (sparkling wine), as well as their environmental initiatives.
• Babylonstoren is one of the oldest Cape Dutch Farms, with a fruit and vegetable farm of great diversity, inspired by the famous Company’s Garden of the Cape.
• Delaire Graff Estate is the ultimate in luxury and a world-class destination for wine in a stunning setting.

DAY 3: CAPE PENINSULA 

You won’t believe the beautiful scenery you will experience in one day on the Cape Peninsula. We will start by driving to the beautiful Atlantic seaside suburbs of Clifton and Camps Bay and see the Twelve Apostles. We will then take the coastal road to the Hout Bay harbor.

After Hout Bay, onto a scenic drive up Chapman’s Peak, one of the best views in the region.  We will then travel on to the Cape of Good Hope, the furthest southwestern point in Africa.  We will have time for hiking to the Cape Point lighthouse and have lunch in the Nature Reserve.  On our way back we will take the scenic route back to Cape Town via Vishoek and Muizenberg.

DAY 4: CAPE TOWN TO CAPE AGULHAS

We depart from Cape Town in the morning for Hermanus. We follow the scenic coastal road, stopping at Betties Bay to view a colony of endangered African penguins.

You can spend the afternoon in the seaside resort town of Hermanus, famous for hundreds of Southern Right Whales during the whale season (July to November) and many shops, restaurants, and markets. In the afternoon, we will drive on to Cape Agulhas, the most southern tip of Africa, where we visit a viewpoint known as the “real” place where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet.

DAY 5: CAPE AGULHAS TO OUDTSHOORN

We travel to Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo, known as the Ostrich Capital of the World, via the scenic and spectacular Route 62, which is South Africa’s longest wine route.

You will be able to experience the subterranean beauty of the Cango Caves on a guided tour, followed by a sampling of the local wine.

DAY 6: OUDTSHOORN TO KNYSNA

After breakfast, we head over the spectacular Outeniqua Mountain pass where we will explore Wilderness National Park with some canoes. Alternatively, if guests aren’t keen to canoe, we can travel through to the famous town of Knysna, where we can go on a Knysna Lagoon cruise.

In the afternoon, we can explore the up-market little town of Knysna, filled with curios, restaurants, and a waterfront, as well as visit the Knysna Heads viewpoint for some spectacular views over the Knysna River estuary and the Indian Ocean.

DAY 7: KNYSNA TO ADDO 

After breakfast, off to Tsitsikamma National Park. En route, we will stop at Bloukrans Bridge to view the world’s highest bungee jump bridge (216 meters).

The afternoon will be spent in Tsitsikamma National Park with its unique combination of indigenous forest and beautiful Indian Ocean coastline.

The park has a wide choice of activities for all, including hiking, crossing a suspension bridge and swimming. Late afternoon we will leave the Garden Route for Big 5 country, Addo.

DAY 8: ADDO TO WILDERNESS

We will spend the morning exploring Addo Elephant National Park. We will spend up to 3-4 hours exploring the 28,000-hectare National reserve with over 600 elephants and some Cape buffalo, lion, black rhino, warthog, zebra, eland, kudu, hartebeest, and many more animals.

After an exciting morning of game viewing, we will drive back to the heart of the Garden Route where we will overnight and have sundowners overlooking the spectacular Wilderness Beach.

DAY 9: WILDERNESS TO CAPE TOWN

After breakfast at the popular George Farmers’ Market, we will stop in Mossel Bay to spend some time on the spectacular beaches, hike the Cape St. Blaize trail along the cliffs overlooking the Indian Ocean, and visit the famous Diaz Museum complex, commemorating the first known European exploration around the tip of Africa.

The more adventurous can try a 10,000-foot tandem skydive or sandboarding on the longest dune in South Africa. We will arrive back to Cape Town in the early evening, tour with us ends.