Arrival at Cape Town airport. You are met by your tour guide Frido with a name sign and drive with him to Stellenbosch. South Africa’s second-oldest town, with its many listed buildings and lanes, invites you to stroll as a university town. Dinner, entirely relaxed, in your hotel’s restaurant.
Overnight stay + breakfast in the accessible 4* hotel right in Stellenbosch
Today you enjoy your day with tastings of award-winning wines at beautifully located wine estates. First we go to Babylonstoren, where we take a guided garden tour, tasting, smelling, touching and enjoying the beautiful garden. We drive on to Franschhoek, the little town with its lovely galleries and cafés.
If you wish, a light lunch and wine tasting at Tokara Wine Estate. Opposite, at the Delaire Graff wine estate, you can admire its interesting architecture, or enjoy a wine and chocolate tasting at Waterford. A fulfilling day in the vineyards.
Overnight stay + breakfast again in the same accommodation in Stellenbosch
A stroll through the charming town of Stellenbosch. Then we continue to Somerset West. Here we visit the Vergelegen wine estate at 12:00 for a wine tasting and possibly a delicious cold platter. Wine has been grown on the traditional Vergelegen estate since 1685.
Right next door at the Morgenster olive estate there is an olive oil tasting. On the way back we stop for a winemaker’s lunch or possibly another wine tasting.
Overnight stay + breakfast again in the same accommodation in Stellenbosch
... Start of our 8-day Karoo, Garden Route & safari tour
We leave Stellenbosch and first drive to the Robertson Valley wine region. If you wish, we treat ourselves to a glass of champagne at the Graham Beck wine estate. Afterwards, at Viljoensdrift at 1 pm, we take a picnic boat trip on the Breede River.
Then we continue to Montagu, a small town that many artists and craftspeople have chosen as their home. We spend the rest of the day in the garden and by/in the pool. In the evening we eat in a nice restaurant close by.
Overnight stay & breakfast in the 4* boutique hotel in Montagu
From Montagu we take the famous Route 62 today. This road leads into the “Little Karoo”, a semi-desert with changing landscapes, unrivalled anywhere in the world. In Oudtshoorn we visit a typical ostrich farm before reaching the accommodation.
Overnight stay + breakfast in a 5* accommodation in Oudtshoorn
We drive over the Meiringspoort Pass, which connects the Little Karoo with the Great Karoo, and reach the little Victorian village of Prince Albert. After a short break here we drive back towards Oudtshoorn.
This time we go over the unique Swartberg Pass. This 27-kilometre-long unpaved mountain road reaches a height of 1,583 metres. After dinner we enjoy the unique starry sky of the Karoo.
Overnight stay + breakfast again in the same 5* accommodation
From the Karoo we head for Addo. We drive across the Karoo plateau. On the R329 we stop in the little town of Willowmore, a centre of sheep farming. Merino wool is processed here.
In the afternoon we reach our accommodation near the northern entrance of Addo Elephant Park.
Overnight stay + breakfast in the 4* country estate at Addo
Early in the morning we drive in our tour vehicle right across Addo Elephant National Park, where besides elephants you can see lions, buffalo, zebras, antelope, rhinos and many other wild animals.
This elephant park is the largest in the Eastern Cape and was founded in 1931 to protect the last 11 surviving elephants of the region. A fascinating experience.
In the afternoon a guided game drive through the neighbouring Schotia Private Game Reserve, including dinner in an open boma and a short night safari.
Overnight stay + breakfast again in the same accommodation at Addo
We say goodbye to the wild animals and set off for the Garden Route to Knysna. Having arrived at our accommodation on Thesen Island, in the evening we explore the little Knysna Waterfront and try the freshly caught oysters.
Overnight stay + breakfast in the 5* hotel on Thesen Island in Knysna
A day in Knysna. If you wish, in the morning we take an optional boat trip through the Knysna Lagoon. In the afternoon either on the most beautiful beach of the Garden Route at Brenton-on-Sea or we linger on Leisure Isle, a small peninsula on the lagoon.
For sunset your tour guide takes you up to the Knysna Heads to enjoy the great view of the Knysna Lagoon and the spectacular coast.
Overnight stay + breakfast again in the same hotel in Knysna
Today our route leads via Wilderness, past Mossel Bay first to the idyllic Cape Dutch town of Swellendam, where we stop for lunch.
Through farming areas, through Heidelberg and along the coast via Betty’s Bay, where we visit the penguin colony at Stony Point, we travel on one of South Africa’s most beautiful coastal roads along False Bay to Cape Town.
Overnight stay + breakfast in the 4* hotel right on the Waterfront in Cape Town
The first stop on the drive around the Cape Peninsula is Muizenberg with its famous colourful wooden beach huts. We continue through St James with its insider shops, galleries and junk shops to the harbours of Simon’s Town and Kalk Bay and on to the “Cape of Good Hope”. We ride up to the lighthouse on the Flying Dutchman Funicular.
The return route leads around the Cape Peninsula via Misty Cliffs, Kommetjie and Noordhoek onto the famous Chapman’s Peak Drive, one of the most beautiful coastal roads in the world, then via Hout Bay to Camps Bay, where we stay for dinner at sunset.
Overnight stay + breakfast again in the same hotel in Cape Town
First we take the cable car up Table Mountain today. From the 1,086 m high mountain there is a fantastic view of Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula. Afterwards a short visit to neighbouring Signal Hill.
Via the government district we reach the historic District Six and then Bo-Kaap. In the former residential quarter of slaves from Malaysia and Java, the noisy, cheerful, cosmopolitan heart of Cape Town beats and the houses glow in the brightest colours.
If today is a Saturday, we visit either the Biscuit Mill Market in Woodstock or the Oranjezicht Market. The tour ends at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, a part of Cape Town’s harbour and an entertainment and shopping district with numerous restaurants, bars, live-music venues and attractive shops.
It is a good idea to take a catamaran boat trip or to end the evening with dinner at the Waterfront.
Overnight stay + breakfast again in the same hotel in Cape Town
In line with your departure time you are taken to Cape Town airport. Perhaps on the way there is time for one last lovely lunch in a restaurant right by the sea.
Now it is time to say goodbye to South Africa. Journey home.