Cape Town, Garden Route Tour - Africa's Most Trusted Tour Group

Cape Town Garden Route Tour

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Descriptions

Experience a diverse tapestry of landscapes and traditions in Durban, Drakensberg, and Lesotho, blending warmth, grandeur, and authenticity to create a unique travel story.

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Itinerary

Durban, Drakensberg, and Lesotho, take in a rich tapestry of landscapes and customs that combines warmth, grandeur, and authenticity to produce a singular travel experience.

Day 1: Cape Town

Upon arrival in Cape Town proceed to your hotel via a panoramic city tour, if weather and time permits visit Table Mountain before proceeding to hotel for check-in.
Overnight: Cresta Grande Hotel - BB
Day 2: Cape Peninsula

Travel to Hout Bay – take a short boat trip to Seal Island to view the Seals in their natural environment (weather permitting). Continue via Chapmans Peak to the nature reserve of Cape of Good Hope. This is where the famous Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope can be viewed as well as the legendary meeting of the cold Atlantic and warm Indian currents. Return to Cape Town driving along the coastline through small towns such as Simonstown, Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay and Muizenburg. En-route visit Boulders – the Penguin Colony. Continue onto Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens before returning to your hotel.
Overnight: Cresta Grande Hotel - BB
Day 3: Cape Town – Winelands – Cape Town

Start the day with a visit to Table Mountain (if not done on first day) Continue to the famous cape wine lands. It is not only wine but also magnificent scenery and historical places. You will visit the towns of Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. En-route you will stop at the many places of interest as well as enjoy some wine tasting at one of the many wine cellars.

Franschhoek, which lies in one of the most beautiful wine valleys in the world, stop at the Groot Drakenstein Prison where Nelson Mandela was released in Feb 1990. Originally known as the Valley of the Huguenots, a community of French Huguenots were granted land in this valley by the Dutch government of the Cape, after fleeing their homeland when Protestantism was outlawed in France in 1685. Franschhoek’s village has a wonderful collection of art and antique shops and galleries, and the main streets are lined with restaurants and coffee shops. Visit the Huguenot Monument, dedicated to the cultural influences that French Huguenots have brought to the Cape Colony after their immigration during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Memorial Museum neighboring the monument elaborates on the history of the French Huguenots who settled in the Cape.

Stellenbosch is the second oldest town in South Africa, a place of great beauty and culture that's steeped in South African tradition. The heart of the town lies somewhere near the oak lined Dorp Street, with its venerable old buildings, this is the University's main thoroughfare, where modern student life sits comfortably side by side with our history and architectural heritage. On you return to Cape Town and if time allows, proceed to Blaauwberg beach which is the perfect spot to photograph the beautiful 7th natural wonder of the world which is Table Mountain which lays across the Bay.
Overnight – Cresta Grande Hotel - BB
Day 4: Cape Town

Today enjoy a scenic city tour passing the houses of Parliament, City Hall and the Castle of Good Hope. Visit the South African Museum, Jewish Museum, The Bo-Kaap traditional Malay Quarters & Green Market Square. Spend the afternoon exploring the V & A Waterfront. The wide variety of leisure activities and attractions on offer at the V&A Waterfront makes this unique destination the first choice for both local and foreign visitors. The V&A Waterfront is a treasure trove of fun and exciting experiences, to be discovered...new journeys await around every corner. Visit the Two Oceans Aquarium, the place to spend hours on end...
Overnight – Cresta Grande Hotel - BB
Day 5: Cape Town – Oudtshoorn

Depart from Cape Town and travel to Mossel Bay. Visit the “Old Post Office Tree”, a 500-year-old milkwood tree used by 15th century Portuguese sailors as a mailbox. Visit the Bartholomew Diaz Museum and the replica of the boat used by Diaz to sail to South Africa. Continue via the Robinson Pass to Oudtshoorn, a town renowned for the Ostrich feather industry. Oudtshoorn is also a town renowned for the Ostrich feather industry. Visit the “Safari Ostrich Farm” owned by the Lipschitz Family. The guided tour explains every aspect of ostrich farming, from breeding to rearing. Visitors will get the opportunity to test the strength of the eggs by standing on them - a great photo opportunity.
Overnight: Eldorado Hotel – BB
Day 6: Oudtshoorn

After breakfast visit the Cango Caves. Take a standard guided tour, duration of tour is about an hour. View the beautiful chambers of stalactite and stalagmite formations created many thousands of years ago. After your visit to Cango caves, take a journey to the top of the Swartberg Mountain Pass, declared a National Monument in 1988. Where we will stop for a photo opportunity and take in a wide variety of incredible scenery. Continue to Meiringspoort Pass view the soaring cliff walls with spectacular rock formations line the 25 km tarred road which winds along the floor of the gorge. Hardy plants cling to the precarious rock faces while birds, baboons and smaller fauna abound in the protected kloofs and crevices. Among the most scenic spots is the waterfall tumbling into a dark pool which, legend has it, is bottomless. Take a short walk to the waterfall to enjoy and appreciate these formations before return to Oudtshoorn.
Overnight – Eldorado Hotel - BB
Day 7: Oudtshoorn - Knysna

Today depart to Knysna over the spectacular Outeniqua Mountain Pass passing through the Wilderness and Sedgefield. After check-in proceed to the Featherbed nature reserve and enjoy a sunset cruise on the Knysna Lagoon.
Overnight: Premier Resort the Moorings - BB
Day 8: Knysna – Tsitsikamma

Today we visit the Tsitsikamma National Park, at the Eastern edge of the Garden Route, which stretches along some of the most spectacular coastline of Southern Africa. The scenic drive from Knysna takes about 70 minutes. The main access to the park takes one to the mouth of the Storms River, where the dark peat-stained river waters which have flowed through deep gorges finally meet the ultramarine blue ocean. The forest nature trail to the river mouth and across the suspension bridge is a must. Spectacular! Take the Storms River Gorge Cruise. This spectacular cruise allows one to view the otherwise inaccessible Storms River Gorge firsthand and marvel at one of natures' many wonders. The trip departs from the old jetty below the suspension bridge and runs every forty minutes. Huge caverns are interspersed with sheer rock faces on either side of the river, some which extend upwards of 20 meters, providing an ideal habitat for the rare bat species. Cascades of mini waterfalls add to the experience and feed the lush fern vegetation. Spectacular rock over hangs encapsulates the river, making the gorge unique in every respect.
Overnight: Tsitsikamma Village Inn – BB
Day 9: Depart

After breakfast and check-out depart to Gqeberha formerly known as Port Elizabeth for your flight home.